Microsoft Store begins major online makeover

If you live in the United States, Microsoft Store online is newly redesigned and celebrates with big savings on the Acer Aspire S7, up to $350 off. The ultra-thin Windows PC is clearly a MacBook Air competitor. The 11-inch model is now available for as little as $899. Lest memory fails me, I saw the same deal inside the physical San Diego Store on Friday night.

The makeover marks the first of many. Microsoft plans to overhaul the online shop in all 228 markets. The new home page is more spacious, with lots more white space and prominently links to three subshops -- Student, Small Business and Developer.

Microsoft opened the online store concurrently with its retail shops, the first of which in October 2009. The store here in San Diego opened in June 2010. The company now runs more than 65 shops in Canada and the United States. So, for most potential buyers anywhere, online is the only option buying direct from Microsoft.

Among benefits buying direct rather than retailer or reseller: No crapware, free shipping and free returns.

Circling back to the S7, it's a hellva bargain compared to MacBook Air. The laptops are similar size and weight. With Microsoft's discount, the entry-level S7 and MBA have 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 processors, same amount of memory (4GB) and similar size-screens (11.6 inches); otherwise, differences are pronounced. The S7 has twice the solid-state storage (128GB versus 64GB) and higher screen resolution (1920 by 1080 versus 1366 by 768), for $100 less ($899 vs $999). Screen resolution alone is huge benefit for the Windows 8 laptop.

Regarding the 13-inch entry-level models, Apple's has slight processor edge -- 1.8GHz versus 1.7GHz processor and same amount of memory and storage. But Microsoft's deal puts the S7 two-hundred bucks less, $999, again with higher screen resolution (1920 by 1080 versus 1440 by 900).