Beginning October 26th, the Redmond company will directly start selling its first ever tablet called Microsoft Surface with its new re-imagined operating system, Windows 8. According to Information Week, Microsoft is planning to open a total of 32 “pop-up” sores in the U.S. and Canada regions. Microsoft is currently having a few retail stores in the North America, but they should provide many customers with first-hand experience and increase brand awareness of its much-anticipated Surface tablet.
There is no specific word yet when these temporary stores will open and for how long MSFT will run them. According to The Verge, here is the list of the upcoming 32 Microsoft ‘pop-up’ locations:
- # Aventura Mall – Aventura, FL
- # Beachwood Place – Beachwood, OH
- # Cherry Creek Shopping Center – Denver, CO
- # Dadeland Mall – Miami, FL
- # Eaton Centre – Toronto, Ontario
- # Fashion Mall at Keystone – Indianapolis, IN
- # Fashion Show Mall– Las Vegas, NV
- # Glendale Galleria – Glendale, CA
- # Mall at Green Hills – Nashville, TN
- # Mall in Columbia – Columbia, MD
- # Metropolis at Metrotown – Burnaby, BC
- # Montgomery Mall – Bethesda, MD
- # Natick Collection – Natick, MA
- # North Star Mall – San Antonio, TX
- # Oakridge Centre – Vancouver, BC
- # Penn Square Mall – Oklahoma City, OK
- # Perimeter Mall – Atlanta, GA
- # Roosevelt Field Mall – Garden, City, NY
- # Ross Park Mall – Pittsburgh, PA
- # Saint Louis Galleria – St. Louis, MO
- # San Francisco Centre – San Francisco, CA
- # South Shore Plaza – Braintree, MA
- # Southpark Mall – Charlotte, NC
- # Stonebriar Centre Mall – Frisco, TX
- # Streets at Southpoint – Durham, NC
- # Time Warner Center – The Shops at Columbus Circle – New York, NY
- # Washington Square– Portland, OR
- # West Edmonton Mall – Edmonton, Alberta
- # Westfarms Mall – West Hartford, CT
- # Westfield Garden State Plaza – Paramus, NJ
- # Woodland Hills Mall – Tulsa, OK
- # Woodlands Mall – Woodlands, TX
So, where will you buy your Surface tablet? Be sure to keep an eye on the nearby ‘pop-up’ stores.
At these seasonal stores, the company will be also showcasing all the Microsoft’s products, including the Windows Phone 8 devices and non-Surface Windows tablets such as the recently launched Samsung ATIV Tab, HP ENVY X2 Hybrid and Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 and more. For you information, Windows 8 OS will be available for general availability on the same day Surface launches on October 26th and Windows Phone 8’s launch is set to follow soon after. Nokia has recently launched the WP8 OS powered Lumia 820 and PureView Phase 2 based Lumia 920, and Sammy has also unveiled its first WP8 running Samsung ATIV S handset at this year’s IFA event. HTC is expect to announce the “8X” phone in the coming weeks, along with a couple of other WP8 handsets.
Source: Information Week, The Verge