We've been hearing constant rumors that Microsoft's enigmatic media event in New York Oct. 25 was for the simultaneous release of its new Surface tablets and Windows 8, and now it seems we can confirm what many fans have been whispering for weeks now. Thursday Oct. 4 Microsoft began sending out press invitations for a Windows 8 event in New York that will kick off at 10 a.m. on Oct. 25 and that will lead up to the launch of the Surface at midnight on Oct. 26, according to The Verge.

According to The Verge, "other Microsoft stores" will start selling the tablet starting Oct. 26, although they don't specify whether all Microsoft stores will sell the tablet, or just a select few.

Like many, we'd been wondering why Microsoft hadn't kicked into high gear yet to promote its new line of Surface tablets yet. But it looks like the company is finally ready to throw themselves behind their new products.

Microsoft is currently stoking anticipation by teasing its Surface tablets through a concise listing of the devices on several product pages around the world. Microsoft product sites in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and Italy are just some of those showing Surface as an item under the product category.

However, in the tradition of Apple, the company is keeping a tight leash on its new products until they're unveiled, clicking on the link for the tablet simply brings you to a U.S. page on Surface with the note "Coming Soon." This could be a smart move on Microsoft's part, as it gives the company more control over the device's public narrative already circulating.

Other than CEO Steve Ballmer recently suggesting in an interview that the Surface tablets would probably carry a price between $300 and $800, Microsoft continues to maintain its silence on the price of its devices.

Microsoft will hold an event in New York City on Oct. 25 to kick off its ARM-based Surface RT tablet as part of the Windows 8 launch. Surface is then expected to go on sale the following day. The tablet will be sold through Microsoft's retail outlets, 32 pop-up stores around the U.S. and Canada, and "select" Microsoft online stores.

The 32 stores are temporary outlets that will be open only during the holiday season, and are not permanent locations like the two-dozen permanent Microsoft retail stores already in operation.

While it's largely tech insiders (read: nerds) that have been drooling over the Surface thus far, this move might be just what Microsoft needs to stir up wider public interest. With 29 of the 32 stores located in the same mall or shopping center as Apple stores, that shouldn't be hard. The proximity of Microsoft's pop-up stores to Apple's products in those instances will obviously give users a chance to readily compare devices as they use them for the first time, a priceless, ingenious marketing ploy.

Microsoft reportedly has 3 million Surface tablets ready to sell on launch day through pop-up and permanent stores, as a new report from research firm IDC indicates. 

The pop-up stores are:

U.S.
Atlanta (Perimeter Mall); Aventura, Fla. (Aventura Mall); Beachwood, Ohio (Beachwood Place); Bethesda, Md. (Montgomery Mall); Braintree, Mass. (South Shore Plaza); Charlotte, NC (Southpark Mall); Columbia, Md. (Mall in Columbia); Denver (Cherry Creek Shopping Center); Durham, NC (Streets at Southpoint); Frisco, Texas (Stonebriar Centre Mall); Garden, City, NY (Roosevelt Field Mall); Glendale, Calif. (Glendale Galleria); Indianapolis (Fashion Mall at Keystone); Las Vegas (Fashion Show Mall); Miami (Dadeland Mall); Nashville (Mall at Green Hills); Natick, Mass. (Natick Collection); New York City (Time Warner Center -- The Shops at Columbus Circle); Oklahoma City (Penn Square Mall); Paramus, NJ (Westfield Garden State Plaza); Pittsburgh (Ross Park Mall); Portland, Ore. (Washington Square); San Antonio (North Star Mall); San Francisco (San Francisco Centre); St. Louis (Saint Louis Galleria); Tulsa, Okla. (Woodland Hills Mall); West Hartford, Conn. (Westfarms Mall); Woodlands, Texas (Woodlands Mall)

Canada
Burnaby, British Columbia (Metropolis at Metrotown); Edmonton, Alberta (West Edmonton Mall); Toronto (Eaton Centre); Vancouver, BC (Oakridge Centre)

Microsoft's website promises more locations will be revealed in the future.

Microsoft has not commented on the pop-ups, or included confirmation that they would sell the Surface RT.

Microsoft Surface tablet features

The RT sports a HD screen (1280 x 720), while the Pro has a 10.6-inch Clear type Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen with 16:9 widescreen.  

That means they are among the biggest tablets in the market. If you are not satisfied with the typical 10.1-inch tablet, you can go for the Surface tablet. Along with the touch keyboards with the device, you can turn the machine to a small notebook.

The Surface tablet comes with five Touch Covers. Well, you can pick up any one while purchasing the machine. Different from typical keyboards, the Surface keypads provide brilliant typing experience thanks to their touch-based surface.

The Surface tablets mount both front and rear cameras. The front camera, named life cam by Microsoft, makes the tablet perfect for video chatting through Skype or other services. Using the rear camera, you can capture images and video clips.

Microsoft puts forward better memory options with the Surface tablets. The device comes in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB options. The 128GB is available only with Surface Pro. Further, you can expand the memory using external memory sticks thanks to microSD card slot. That is, you can store enough data including music, software items and video in external clips.

The 3mm Touch Cover can be connected to your Surface tablet with a single magnetic click, so, now you can type text and send messages quite easily.

The Surface's tablet housing features a revolutionary kickstand. Along with fully functioning keyboard and track-pad, the integrated kickstand helps you place the gadget in both portrait or landscape modes. 

According to Bloomberg, Surface will only be able to go online using a short-range Wi-Fi connection. This is a stark contrast to Apple's iPad 3, which has a 3G option, and a faster LTE connection.

Media tablets powered by new Microsoft operating systems Windows 8 and Windows RT will have an impact on the overall market - just not this year, according to market intelligence firm ABI Research.

Windows-based tablets will commence shipments at the end of October and capture an estimated 1.5 percent of total tablet shipments for 2012. Pricing for Windows tablets will be a key consideration for end-user adoption.

If priced aggressively towards current Android tablets, Windows tablets could see 2013 shipments increase 10-fold year-over-year. But if they're priced like Apple's iPad offerings, Windows tablets may only double or triple shipments in 2013. Growth in the total available market is expected to come from businesses adopting tablets, which is expected to be a strong area for Windows 8.