Microsoft (News - Alert) will have the grand opening for its San Juan, Puerto Rico store in the Plaza Las Americas on November 1^st. This store is one of the 44 stores that Microsoft plans on having open by the middle of next year. Consumers can anticipate rapid openings between now and Black Friday (News - Alert), as Microsoft prepares for the holiday season.

In recent years, the software giant has faced a number of challenges as PC sales have been on the decline, in favor of mobile devices running Apple and Android (News - Alert) software. Microsoft has already started combating this with the release of their operating system for mobile phones and the announcement of the Surface tablet. As the launch draws near, excitement and tension are mounting for the Surface tablet, Windows 8, and Windows Phone (News - Alert) 8. 

As they delve into hardware, retail locations will be the puzzle piece to breaking into the market, likely to become as popular as Apple (News - Alert) stores. The stores will all Microsoft-related products: Surface tablets and other Microsoft-branded hardware, software powered by Windows, and PCs running Windows. Locations have already been opening in Delaware, New York, New Hampshire, and Ohio.

The San Juan store is not the only one slated to open. More stores are scheduled to open in Corte Madera, California and Toronto, Ontario. The thirty new locations that are scheduled to open leading up to the holiday season will stretch from Florida to British Columbia, bringing Microsoft products to consumers across North America.

Although Microsoft has been overshadowed by Apple and Google’s developments in recent years, the combined efforts of their new ventures are certain to put them back on the top and at the forefront of consumers’ minds. With a launch date slated for October 25, the Surface tablet is likely to become just as much of a holiday phenomenon for the company as Microsoft Barney was in 1997.