It’s apparently not just online that Microsoft feels it needs to make up ground against Apple’s ever increasing lead on the mobile front, as it’s now hired an ex Wal-Mart executive, David Porter, to pioneer a chain of high street stores.

The Apple stores are fairly few and far between – at least here in the UK – but those we have are pretty popular, often because it’s one of the few places you can go to buy an iPhone in person. The new chain of Microsoft branded shops actually seems like an obvious idea, considering it has a much larger product range than Apple.

Combined with Xbox 360, PC and smartphone sales, its ulterior motive is also to try and get the ill-fated Zune into the consumer’s hands. The talk of Microsoft's own take on the App Store, along with its determination to get Windows Mobile back into cutting edge handsets is all presumably linked to this big sales push intended to see Microsoft through tough economic times.

Presumably these Microsoft stores will be concentrated in the US until the marketing model is worked out, but could follow Apple around the world quite soon.

Cellular News.