We always look forward to Friday. Undeniably the best day of the workweek, sometimes we wish it could last more than 24 hours. And this week at Pure Mobile, it's going to – sort of.

We're celebrating the Friday to top all Fridays, Black Friday that is, with a special 4-day Black Friday Sale that'll make you wish it came around more than once a year.

Starting this Friday, November 23, and running until Monday, November 26, Pure Mobile will be offering crazy discounts of up to 70% off on the latest and hottest mobile accessories.

From cases and covers for iPhone 5 to skins, cases, headsets and more for Android phones – like the Samsung Galaxy line – it's the perfect chance to save huge on the gadgets and accessories that top your holiday shopping list.

The sale covers Apple and Android products, as well as fun gadgets and practical accessories for BlackBerry phones, like keyboard protectors, styluses and pens. You'll also find incredible deals on best-selling and top-rated items from the world's leading accessories makers, like Griffin, Incipio, and OtterBox.

So make the most of your Black Friday and check out our collection of cases and skins, chargers and docks, speakers, headphones, car chargers and holders, BlueTooth kits, and more for up to 70% off on the best mobile accessories around.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says there have already been 4 million Windows 8 upgrades

Microsoft put the finishing touches on a massive month this week, with the global launch of Windows Phone 8 Monday, and the Build developer conference Tuesday.

The company already launched their extra-sized Surface Tablet earlier this month, as well as holding their Windows 8 event.

But what most of us were really waiting for was windows Phone 8, and now it's here. Touted by the event's speakers as "the most personal smartphone operating system you can get," Microsoft began by highlighting the growing number of apps for Windows Phone, 120,000 and counting.

However, speakers stressed that people, not apps, are the focus of the revamped OS, and called out Apple and Android for not doing enough to really change smartphones since they arrived on the scene.

As such, Microsoft is banking a lot on one of Windows Phone 8's main features, "live apps." Live apps move like live tiles and update themselves, so that your phone becomes like your fingerprint, says Microsoft.

"For example, the Facebook app updates the lock screen with your personal photos,"  explains WebProNews. "A number of app developers including Twitter, Zynga and Rovio are updating their apps to take advantage of live apps."

That brings us to what TechCrunch says the "future of the Windows 8 platform," hinges on – the developers.

Because the OS – nevermind the idea of live tiles – is so new, Microsoft's going to have to lure developers to it for it to really take off. At the moment, says TechCrunch, the number of new Windows 8 apps is "underwhelming," and that may explain the somewhat middling reviews Microsoft's Surface Tablet has received:

"Most of the reviewers cited the lack of apps – and not the hardware itself – as one of the reasons they didn’t enjoy the experience."

But as he took the stage to kick off the Build developer conference, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer already had some positive news about the new OS' reception, saying that there have already been 4 million Windows 8 upgrades in just the few days since its launch. Hopefully some of those interested parties are developers.

But as for regular users who want to get in on the new OS, Windows Phone 8 will be globally available by November across a number of devices, including the Nokia Lumia, and HTC and Samsung smartphones.

Seeing is not believing: beware this bogus iPhone 5 dock

At Pure Mobile, top-notch mobile accessories are kind of our thing.

So when we came across a story on Gizmodo about a bogus Chinese iPhone 5 dock that doesn't actually work, all we could think was "for shame."

"Don't buy an iPhone 5 dock," Gizmodo warned, "because it's a Chinese scam."

Their information comes from Double Helix Cables, where a friend actually had a hands-on experience with the fake accessory. Here's what they had to say:

"Opening up the box and out pops this stinker. I did a double take because it looked like a prank, prop, or placeholder of some sort. The lightning plug on the dock looks like a damn piece of cardboard, if you can even call it that. Because it's a cardboard-like chunk of circuit board that supposedly is going to fit into my iPhone 5."

The reviewer goes on to write about the the fact that dock's cutout "isn't remotely close to being iPhone 5 shaped," and then elaborates on the "home brewed lightning plug [...] which 100% doesn't fit."

A critic of the phoney dock took major issue with its "home brewed lightning plug"

This lovely critique then ends with the writer concluding that any "further effort to make this non functional dock [work] would probably damage my iPhone."

Granted, Apple doesn't actually make a dock accessory for the iPhone 5, yet. But that's no reason for third party manufacturers to start churning out ones that simply don't work.

Many would be more than happy to produce a suitable iPhone 5 dock that actually functions, especially if they don't have to compete with Apple itself. There are plenty of fun third party iPhone 5 gadgets out there that not only work, but work really well.

And, in our opinion, there's no excuse for this kind of blatant BS when so many companies have been able to turn a dollar making affordable and functional iPhone accessories that consumers actually want.

Branded as the official James Bond Skyfall phone, Sony's XPeria TL arrives at AT&T November 2

Dubbed the "Official James Bond Phone," the latest in Sony's XPeria Lineup, the Xperia TL, will be swaggering into AT&T stores as of November 2.

In pretty hyperbolic style and promising to "give everyday people the chance to live like James Bond," the AT&T press release promised to make the new smartphone available for $99.99, so long as you sign a 2 year contract.

According to Engaget, the device has quite a lot going for it, despite the fact that its "materials feel cheap." For one, it's got a 1.5GHz dual-core S4 processor as well as NFC capabilities.

Sony's XPeria TL features a 4.6-inch 720p display

Aside from that, AT&T just couldn't help reminding us all (for what seems like the thousandth time) that the Xperia TL is "featured in the upcoming James Bond cinema release Skyfall [and] will be used in the film by 007 himself."

But just in case you didn't get the message, they've preloaded the device with tons of Skyfall content like "behind the scenes footage, interviews, clips, wallpapers, ring tones, and more."

Though we have a hard time believing that any smartphone can ever really let someone "live like James Bond," we have to admit the XPeria TL at least looks slick enough to be something Bond would carry.

Samsung has been promoting the "Next Big Thing", and this time it’s the Galaxy Note 2. The phone was launched yesterday at Samsung's Galaxy Note II World Tour 2012 press event. T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon will all be carrying it. Just considering cost, timing and coverage, which service provider should get your business?

Here’s the lowdown on cost and timing:

Verizon
Pre-order date: Oct. 25
Available: Nov. 27
Price: $299.99 with a 2-year plan, $699.99 off-contract

AT&T
Pre-sale date: Oct. 25
Available: Nov. 9
Price: $299.99 with a 2-year plan, $649.99 off-contract

Sprint
Available: Now
Price: $299.99 with a 2-year plan, $699.99 off-contract

T-Mobile
Available: Now
Price: $369.99 with a 2-year plan, $699.99 off-contract

The Galaxy Note 2 has 4G LTE capability, and you don’t want it to go to waste. While Verizon beats all the competition for nationwide 4G LTE coverage (370+ markets), AT&T is rapidly expanding their 4G LTE network and is adding to their network all the time (approximately 65 markets.) Sprint basically covers Atlanta and big cities in Texas (15 markets) with their 4G LTE, the rest is 3G. T-Mobile doesn’t yet have 4G LTE connectivity, but they advertise their network as “4G”, which is really a supercharged 3G (HSPA+ 42) network.

For those buying an unlocked Galaxy Note 2, here’s a heads-up. The unlocked version isn’t compatible with CDMA carriers and LTE networks.

There’s no doubt that the Galaxy Note 2 is a fine smartphone. Its 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display is the big reason it’s being called a “phablet” – part phone, part tablet. In a nod to its tablet-ness, the Note 2 is the only smartphone that comes with a stylus that Samsung calls the” S Pen.” For those of us with big fingers or who are touchscreen accuracy-challenged, a stylus sure comes in handy.

Inside the Galaxy Note 2, you’ll find a quad-core 1.6GHz Exynos processor, up to 16GB of storage space (with expansion up to 64GB), and 2GB of RAM. On the back is a high-quality 8MP camera with an LED flash, and on the front a 1.9MP camera for video calls. The camera can record video in 1080p, and has a 4x zoom. It’s rated for up to 15 hours of talk time and 12.5 days of standby time.

Carphone Warehouse leaked, well, everything about the next Nexus smartphone

As writer Ernest Hamlin Abbott once put it, "rumors are not news; but they sometimes foreshadow news."

And, boy, have the rumors ever been stacking up concerning Google's next Nexus device, even though Google's expected to be saving any official news about it until their October 29 event.

Still, between the speculation that the new Android phone will be LG-made, the pictures, and even a premature review, we've already learned quite a bit about the upcoming Nexus 4.

And today, a new leak from retailer Carphone Warehouse revealed pretty much everything else, right down to the LG phone's specs, price and expected release date.

Advertising pre-orders for the phone, Carphone Warehouse has listed a price of £389.95. And their description boasts that the new smartphone has a 4.7" LCD display, and "the fastest and smoothest version of Android yet," Android OS 4.2 Jelly Bean, as well as some new features:

"Search gets smarter with Google Now. You ask. Google answers, instantly, and with all the detail you want... Stay in touch with Gesture Typing, a faster way of typing that lets you spell words by dragging your finger across the screen from letter to letter."

Meanwhile, Carphone Warehouse sets October 30 as the start date for delivery, just one day after Google's event. Though, after this last and possibly most comprehensive leak, there isn't much Google could tell us about their latest smartphone that we don't already know.

Now that the launch of the Surface tablet is history and the Windows 8 hoopla will be behind them today, Microsoft is revving up for their next event: release of the new devices that will run on Windows Phone 8. Lucky for all of us, Microsoft will live stream the event to be held in San Francisco on Monday, October 29th. Get ready for a broadcast at 10am PST.

Microsoft will also show off more Windows Phone 8 features like Xbox Music, new competition for Spotify and iTunes. “There are a whole series of…new capabilities and features that will come that we haven’t talked about and there’s integration with Windows 8 that we’ll demo closer to the date,” promises Greg Sullivan, Microsoft’s Windows Phone senior product manager.

Both product manufacturers and wireless providers have been announcing they'll be showing off a range of Windows Phone 8 devices at the event. The lineup includes HTC’s Windows Phone 8X and 8S, Samsung’s ATIV S, Nokia’s Lumia 820 and 920, and Verizon’s exclusive Nokia Lumia 822 (aka the Atlas). There’s also an outside possibility that ZTE will be there with a Windows Phone 8 device, too.

Hopefully Microsoft will be specific about shipment dates for Windows Phone 8 devices. So far, we've only heard that they will begin shipping in November.

In the meantime, Microsoft is showing its new Windows 8 to the world today.

Alarmingly Android: Pure Mobile is rounding up the best in Halloween smartphone apps

This week, we started a frightening little feature on the Pure Mobile blog with a list of our favorite Halloween-themed smartphone apps.

In our first instalment, we rounded up some eerie apps for iPhone, but today, we'll be moving along to the best Halloween apps for Android.

From games and photo editors to real ghost detectors, your smartphone will have all the spooky it can handle come October 31, with these seasonal picks

1. Angry Birds Seasons for Android

If you've ever wanted to go ghost hunting, SpecTrek lets you chase spectres using your smartphone's GPS. The augmented reality game shows you "ghosts" on a map of your area and gives you a time limit to find and capture them.

It may be kind of silly, but hey, it's probably the most fun you'll ever have using a smartphone GPS.

3. Entity Sensor Pro app for Android

If virtual ghosts don't cut it for you, the Entity Sensor Pro app for Android claims to let you detect "real" ghosts using a supposed EMF sensor in your smartphone to check for "paranormal" readings.

It's essentially like playing Ghost Busters with a mobile device. Whether or not you actually believe in ghosts, the app has a pretty high rating among users.

And even if you think it's useless as a ghost detector, you can always use it with friends as a gullibility detector.

4. Ouija Board app for Android

Like so many classics, the Ouija Board has been revamped for modern mobile devices.

Use your smartphone to try making contact with the spirit world, or simply relive the fun of middle school with this Android app. In any case, it gives new meaning to "the ghost in the machine."

5. Ghost Camera Pro app for Android

Halloween pictures looking like dullsville? Think a specter would spice things up?

You can add a little eerie appeal to party pics with the Ghost Camera Pro smartphone app for Android.

The app lets you choose from a bunch of different types of ghosts and spirits (not just the cute kind pictured above) and insert them into pictures on your device. You can also edit the size, color and opacity of your ghosts.

We consider this more of a humor app, especially if some of some of your subjects have been going at the punch bowl hard.

The upcoming 2012 Presidential Election is likely to be more closely followed on mobile devices than any other in U.S. history. Voters will be keeping up with the election on their smartphones with polls and political news, as well as on social media.

But how, exactly, will smartphones figure into this election and, ultimately, who will smartphone owners be voting for?

Mashable reported on a new study from ad network Mojiva, which surveyed smartphone owners 18 and up to get answers to some of those questions.

According to Mojiva, people who use smartphones are more likely to vote for Obama on November 6. 47% of those polled said they identify themselves as Democrats, while only 28% identified themselves as Republicans.

Either way, 82% of respondents said they are planning to vote – a very high rate compared to the actual voter turnout for the past two elections which were below 60%.

In the lead-up to voting day, more Democrats than Republicans will be reading political news on their smartphones (63% vs. 59%), but more Republicans than Democrats will be researching the candidates (53% vs. 50%).

Come election day, over half of respondents said that they would be using an iPhone or an Android-powered smartphone to check results throughout the day.

But many of the respondents said they would use their phone to do even more if they could. When asked if they would use their smartphone to vote if they had the option to, 59% said they would, while a whopping 85% said they would at least consider doing so.

What about you? Do you plan on using your smartphone to follow the elections? If so, how? Let us know in the comments section.

Reddit hosted an “ask me almost anything” (AMAA) session with the Microsoft Surface development team last Tuesday (Oct. 16th), the same day the Surface tablet was available for pre-order. Mashable did a great job of summarizing the Q&A and posted a few details about the tablet that were heard from the developers for the first time. Some of their comments are summarized below.

Why would someone using an iPad want to change to the Surface tablet. What makes the Surface so amazing?

The Surface team said they have a vision for Surface. On it you can get “a ton of stuff done.” It has a full Windows operating system and can run the Office suite. The “seamless transitioning” from one user state to another with the touch cover, the ability to use it all day, and a USB port that creates endless connectivity possibilities all add up to a fully functional pc in a tablet form.

With Windows RT installed, how much many GBs of free space will be left?

After the OS, OfficeRT and a few apps are installed, they claimed that more than 20GB remains. Adding an SD card would also add space for music, movies and photos (though not apps.)

No 3G/4G option for the Surface

Even without 3G/4G, the team’s position is that the tablet design is still “world-class Wi-Fi connectivity.” They looked at specific elements of 3G/4G that they needed to include. Since the Surface would probably be used most often at home, their tablet sales data showed connectivity there would be one-third Wi-Fi and one-third mobile broadband. They also considered frequent usage at hotspots as part of the decision.

Using USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.0

The full size USB 2.0 port on Surface supports hundreds of millions of devices that are already being used so the network is already in place. Timing was factor, too. They chose USB 2.0 based on capability of the ARM SoCs during their development time frame.

Surface resolution that’s significantly less than new iPad’s

With the ClearType Display technology they’ve taken what they call a three-pronged approach to maximizing resolution while optimizing the device for battery life, weight, and thickness.

1. First, they believe Microsoft’s Cleartype 1.0 and 2.0 is the best pixel rendering technology in the industry because it smoothes text regardless of pixel count. The technology is exclusive and unique to Windows. Unofficially, the amount of light reflected off the display screen allowed by Cleartype is approximately 5.5% - 6.2%. The iPad's is a more glaring 9.9%
2. Second, the custom design of the 10.6” high-contrast wide-angle screen LCD screen enhances resolution.
3. Third, the optically-bonded screen that has “the thinnest optical stack anywhere on the market - something which is more commonly done on phones but not on a tablet.

Surface RT pricing

The 10.6-inch Microsoft Surface Tablet will cost $499 for the 32GB model, up to $699 for the 64GB tablet. The Touch Cover keypad is an extra $119. If you want the Type Cover with real keys, add $129 to your budget.

Apple may have something to worry about. The Surface tablet has sold out of pre-orders in the U.S.