Microsoft and Apple in a street fight this fall

Microsoft is preparing to open retail stores next to Apple’s, intentionally. “We’re going to have some retail stores opened up right next door to Apple stores this fall,” (Kevin Turner, COO of Microsoft).

This will be an interesting competition for customer attention… Microsoft understands that consumers like to see (and touch) stuff before they buy and the company wants to make sure that it has an opportunity to tell its story. With the Xbox 360 and the upcoming Zune HD, Microsoft too will have cool stuff to show to the public. We wonder what the Microsoft stores will look like.