MSI X-Slim X340; Extra Slim Laptop

Posted by GarySims

June 5, 2009

When Apple released the MacBook Air last year there were lots of oohs and ahs. Since then PC laptop makers have be working hard to bring thinness to PC laptops. Do MSI have a winner in the MSI X-Slim X340?

The MSI X-Slim X340 wants to be slim, it is designed to be slim and slim it is. It is just 19.8mm at its thickest point, making is just slightly thicker than the MacBook Air. The MSI is also a few grams lighter than the MacBook Air which means the MSI marketing department came up with the slogan it is ‘lighter than Air’.

The MSI is cheaper than the MacBook Air by more than £500. You can pick up an MSI X-Slim X340 for around £755 whereas a MacBook Air will cost you nearly £1300. But what do you get for your money.

The X340 has an Intel Core 2 Solo processor running at 1.4GHz, 2GB of RAM and 320GB hard disk. The memory and hard disk are sufficient for a laptop but having only a 1.4GHz single core CPU means that it could be underpowered for advanced users.

The X340 has the normal array of USB ports, WiFi (in this case Draft-N), Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet. It also comes with a built in webcam with microphone.

The X340 does have one weakness, its keyboard. Many reviewers have found that the keyboard is not easy to use for long periods. The layout of the keyboard is a little odd and those used to typing on a good PC keyboard could find the X340’s keyboard annoying.

But apart from the keyboard the X340 is a good (but not excellent) laptop. Battery life is good and should last between three and 4 hours of normal usage.

In conclusion, the price is nice for such a light and thin laptop. I won’t start a war by commenting on the differences between Windows Vista and Apple OS X or the differences between PCs and Macs. If you are looking for a MacBook Air, buy a MacBook Air. But if you are looking for a light weight and thin Windows laptop, then the X340 could be what you are looking for.

Do you have an X340? Have you used one? To comment use the box below.

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