To make sure it's easy for you to get your hands on new Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices, Microsoft plans to open more than 30 holiday stores across the United States.
A brief check of the Microsoft Store site suggests most of these stores will be operational on October 26. You can find a complete list of regular and Holiday Store locations on the Microsoft Store site.
5 Windows 8 devices to watch
Many new tablets, hybrid notebooks, and regular PCs are lining up to ship on or shortly after the Windows 8 release on October 26. Here are five devices to keep your eye on.
Acer Iconia W700
Scheduled for release on October 26, the Acer Iconia W700 features an 11.6-inch display with 1920 by 1080 resolution, Intel Core i3 or Core i5 Ivy Bridge processors, a USB 3.0 port with another three full-size USB ports in the bundled cradle, micro HDMI, 64GB or 128GB SSD storage, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, and up to eight hours of battery life.
The W700 weighs 2.3 pounds and measures less than half an inch thick. It can be used as a tablet or docked in a desktop cradle with an accompanying keyboard. Pricing for the W700 starts at $800.
[RELATED: Six Windows 8 Tablets: Can one be your next travel PC?]
Samsung Ativ Smart PC
The Samsung Ativ Smart PC will feature an 11.6-inch display with 1366 by 768 resolution, 1.5 GHz Intel Atom Z2760 Clover Trail processor, keyboard dock, and 64GB of storage.
The Smart PC will be released before the end of the year and AT&T will carry a wireless broadband version in time for the holidays.
Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2
Lenovo's Windows 8-powered touch tablet has a 10.1-inch screen, Intel Atom Z2760 processor, 3G and 4G connectivity, optional keyboard dock, and a weight of 1.3 pounds.
Pricing has yet to be announced and Lenovo has only said the device will be available in October when Windows 8 launches.
