While reviews have been a mixed bag of blind fanboy fawning, and "technological heartbreak," as Gizmodo put it, at the very least, Microsoft's first tablet venture, The Surface, has proved its popularity early on. Preorders for the Surface are already on backorder in the U.S., and the device is sold-out in the U.K. Regardless of the Surface's advantages and shortcomings, most seem to agree much of the tablet's future success rides on growing the Windows apps store.

A Microsoft executive recently claimed there would be around 100,000 apps available for Windows 8 PCs and tablets within 90 days of the operating system's launch on Oct. 26.

"It's critical for us to get a critical mass of apps," said Keith Lorizio, VP of U.S. sales and marketing for Microsoft Advertising, critically, in an interview with online tech channel Beet.TV. "We're expecting to aggressively pursue 100,000-plus apps over the first three months."

Windows 8 has already attracted companies like The Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and Amazon to make apps. But the Windows Store, the only, officially sanctioned source for Metro-style apps, currently has less than 3,000 apps. Microsoft clearly has a lot of work to do to meet Lorizio's lofty prediction.

Considering Apple's robust ecosystem of over 250,000  apps, Microsoft would do well to invest further in app development, or, at the very least streamlining the process to get its Windows 8 enabled apps to the public faster.

Although, according to a Windows 8 app developer, Microsoft may be part of the problem, not the solution.

As self-described "long-time Windows developer" and enthusiast Jeffrey Harmon reported on his blog he began work on an app for Windows 8 - to be sold via the Windows Store - in December 2011. The application, "Memorylage," is designed for viewing and sharing photos, making collages, and taking photo-booth-style photos, using the new Windows UI.

Harmon said he used vacation time from his day job to attend a three-day Application Excellence Labs program hosted by Microsoft at its office in Waltham, Mass., earlier in 2011 to sharpen his Windows 8 development skills.

On the final day, his app won an "App X contest" hosted by Microsoft. One of the prizes included face time with a field engineer from Microsoft, who flew out from Redmond and reviewed his app, using a 60-point checklist, all to help him secure early access to the store.

Hoping to gain an edge on potential competitors, Harmon submitted his app to the Windows Store for review on Aug. 29. "With only 500 apps in the store, and almost 2 months before general release of Windows 8, I was feeling pretty good about the work I had put into it," he wrote in his blog. "A day later though, I got the first of what would be many failure reports," which said that the application had failed on four fronts.

Harmon made the corrections the best he could given Microsoft's "vague" description of the errors, and resubmitted the application. However, the app failed the store-review process a total of six times, leading Harmon to blog that "I still don't know what is causing the failure."

"Windows 8 is a great opportunity for developers, but as it stands, they are in for a world of hurt in trying to get through that last hurdle," he said, referring to the approval process. "As a long-time Windows developer, I really hope that changes soon."

Harmon says he meant the blog post as a heads-up to Microsoft to get its head out of the sand. "One of the reasons why I detailed how much effort went into creating the app, and mentioning the awards it won was so people didn't think I was just some person taking their first stab at development, and was unhappy I didn't get in on my first try," he said. "I have no problem failing, as I want there to be a high standard of quality, but if you are going to fail me, at least tell me why. Everyone at Microsoft that actually looked at the program has said it should pass, and it even made it into a technician's personal test store. I can't fix a bug that no one can find."

Despite the obstacles, Harmon remains enthusiastic about Windows 8. "My experience was very positive up until submission," he said. "The tools are great, the documentation is extensive, there are plenty of samples out there, and Microsoft has been hosting tons of events around the country and online to help out."

"This is one reason why the failure at the last mile is so striking," he said to information Week. "It's not like Microsoft isn't trying here. They really are, but are just missing some basic things in the approval process."

Harmon contacted Information Week on Oct. 26 to announce that he finally received word from Microsoft that his app had been approved.

If Harmon's case is part of a larger trend for Microsoft, the company could have an even more diffuclt time meeting VP Lorizio's projections of reaching 100,000 apps in the next 90 days for the Windows 8 app store.

Microsoft announced plans on its website to release its devices through permanent and temporary "pop-up" stores in 32 cities across the U.S. and Canada on Oct. 26.

Microsoft Surface "pop-up" stores

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 Surface tablet features

The RT sports a 1366x768 HD screen, 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. Different from typical keyboards, the Surface keypads provide a smoother 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 ideal 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.