Weekly Highlights: iWatch Price, Microsoft's New CEO, A Goodbye For Redbox And More

On February 4, Benzinga's Ian Kar wrote, "[2013] was the company's smallest year in terms of acquisitions, but the company could be poised to have a big 2014."

One day later, Amazon announced that it acquired Double Helix, a game development studio.

This acquisition followed a number of rumors that claimed Amazon is working on a new game console.

Analysts aren't convinced that the company will actually develop one.

But if they do, no one seems to think that the price will be anywhere near $300.

Redbox Instant, the joint venture between Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Outerwall's (NASDAQ: OUTR), could be on the verge of destruction.

GroupFlix.tv founder and CEO James Norman recently conducted a report on OTT (over-the-top) services, and his results were anything but encouraging.

"The user experience was too convoluted to actually communicate the value proposition," Norman told Benzinga. "They muddied that proposition by throwing in all these other content plays that they didn't need."

Verizon is currently trying to salvage Redbox Instant, but the company has already poured $40 million into the service. How much more will it take to make it work?

Samsung is reportedly giving away a truckload of Galaxy Note 3 smartphones to athletes who attend the 2014 Winter Olympics.

In exchange for the gift, the company has apparently asked Olympians to cover the Apple logo on any and all iPhones that they use during the opening ceremony.

This is Samsung's way of saying, "We know that many of you already own an iPhone. We'd like you switch when you return home. Until then, please cover the Apple logo so that our promotions take precedent!"

It's an unusual ad strategy, but will it work?

The iPhone 4 was recently discontinued for most markets and most carriers.

In the United States, for example, Virgin Mobile is one of the few (if not the only) carrier that is still selling the device.

Unfortunately for Apple, the company has been unable to improve its market share in India, Brazil and other emerging markets.

To compensate, the company is reportedly producing new iPhone 4 units for sale in select countries.

No one is going to buy an iWatch without an iPhone.

Thus, it would make sense for Apple to charge a fair price that is lower than competing smart watches.

That may not be the case, however, as it seems that Apple might charge as much as $299 for the iWatch.

When combined with a $649 iPhone 5S, consumers can expect to spend at least $948 on both devices.

For less than $200 more, you could take home a MacBook Air.

These days, everyone wants to be hacked like Target.

With all the free press Target received for unintentionally allowing hackers to obtain credit and debit card info from millions of customers, other corporations are sure to be jealous.

This week it was revealed that a number of hotels -- including Hilton (NYSE: HLT), Marriot (NASDAQ: MAR) and properties owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) -- were hit by hackers.

Thousands of guests might have been affected after the hackers began to access credit and debit card files.

It is hard to conclusively state a product has been delayed if it did not have a release date in the first place.

Nonetheless, rumors claim that the Windows 8.1 update might be delayed from March to April.

If the rumors are true, expect the update to arrive on Tuesday, April 8.

The Mobile World Congress is only a couple of weeks away, and guess what?

Samsung's pride and joy is once again rumored to be unveiled at the event.

This is the second or third time that the highly anticipated smartphone was expected to get a MWC unveiling.

At this point, it would be bigger news if the product skipped the event and was unveiled at a later date.

Microsoft officially announced that its new CEO is Satya Nadella.

Praised by analysts and bloggers alike, Satya Nadella was previously the Executive VP of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise group.

Nadella is expected to use his knowledge and expertise of the cloud business to take Microsoft to the next level.

The preceding stories were just the beginning. Check out these other hot tech stories right here on Benzinga.

• Hulu Vs. Snapchat - Which Startup Is Worth More?
• 5 Unusual Things You Should Know About Microsoft's New CEO, Satya Nadella
• Is Satya Nadella The Right CEO For Microsoft?
• 10 Of The Most Expensive Sporting Events Of All Time