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From the Department of I Can Hardly Wait: A Sneak Peek of the New Microsoft Store

August 7, 2009 at 5:50 pm PT

Today, Microsoft (MSFT) tweeted a photo of the wall in front of one of its upcoming retail stores, either in Scottsdale, Ariz., or Mission Viejo, Calif.

You can see it below, as well as the Twitter post, although it is not clear which location it is.

Frankly, those mall potted plants could be just about anywhere–I am guessing some Foot Locker is right around the corner and an Outback Steakhouse is not far either.

This does not bode well if the software giant is hoping to one-up the sleek and hip Apple (AAPL) store vibe.

In fact, that’s where BoomTown is off to now, to nab an early place in line for an iTablet.

(Click on the images to make them larger.)

(By the way, Microsoft made one failed foray into retail many years ago in San Francisco, which you can read about here.)

Tagged with: Apple, Arizona, BoomTown, California, digital, Foot Locker, hardware, Internet, iTablet, Kara Swisher, mall, Microsoft, Mission Viejo, Outback Steakhouse, photo, potted plant, retail, Scottsdale, software, Store, tweet, Twitter

comments so far. Add yours.

http://allthingsd.com/ Dave Barnes

Kara,

According to http://www.bennigans.com/locator.php there is no Bennigan’s in AZ and only 2 in CA.

But, just for you, there is one in Bahrain and one in Qatar. Given the strong support of women’s rights in both these countries, I expect to see you there.
http://www.davidmyun.com David Yun

haa haa…i had the same reaction as Dave as bennigan’s went bankrupt and there are few of the chain left…but your comment is a little harsh, no?
http://kara.allthingsd.com Kara Swisher

D & D:

Ok, i will change bennigan’s reference to an Outback Steakhouse.

But Dave Barnes, your rude comment about the Middle East makes exactly no sense.
http://allthingsd.com/ Dave Barnes

“makes exactly no sense.”

My daughter (age=23) says that all the time about my jokes/comments.

No explanation as I would screw that up.
Suffice it say that I only meant to rude to Bahrain and Qatar and not to you.
Steve Goldstein

Actually, this is not the first Microsoft store.

The first Microsoft retail store which was authorized (by Steve Ballmer), co-designed and operated by Microsoft was at Metreon, the Sony Retail Entertainment Center in San Francisco.
http://kara.allthingsd.com Kara Swisher

S:

Yes, I meant the new one. I, in fact wrote about that store when Microsoft first announced the new ones.

http://kara.allthingsd.com/200.....as-a-bust/
http://nealsaferstein.com Neal Saferstein

I have no interest in shopping at Microsoft store. This is going to be like the Sony stores empty.

Neal Saferstein
http://nealsaferstein.com
http://gisnap.com gisnap

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http://gisnap.com/
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