Microsoft's anticipated home-grown tablet offering, the Surface, will launch on midnight October 25, alongside the company's next-generation operating system, Windows 8.
Both products will be available for purchase in the US at a number of Microsoft's new 'pop-up' stores, according to the UK's Telegraph.
Microsoft will debut 32 pop-up stores across the US and Canada from October 26 as part of its marketing campaign for Windows 8. It has previously announced plans to open 75 stores over the next few years in an effort to combat Apple - seeking retail locations as close to Apple stores as possible.
The Microsoft stores will retail Windows-based PCs, phones, Microsoft and third-party software, games and peripherals.
The company has declined to confirm whether the pop-up stores will make their way to Australia, or beyond the US and Canada. It did not respond to request for local availability.
Microsoft has kept quiet on the pricing of the tablet-laptop hybrid device, with several vague statements by CEO Steve Ballmer hinting at a sweet spot of between $US300 ($A286) and $US800 ($A763).
The price range is quite large and encompasses everything from the Google Nexus 7 to the iPad. The initial shipments of ARM-based Surface RT tablets are likely to ship at the lower end of the range, while the x86-based Surface tablet will inevitably have a more ultrabook-like price tag.
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