MSI said Wednesday it has started shipping its ultraslim notebook computer that weighs just about 2.86 pounds and is priced nearly half of that of Apple’s MacBook Air laptop.
The X340 notebook from MSI had a public showing at the CTIA mobile conference in Las Vegas in April but MSI did not reveal the complete specs or the price tag.
Now word from the company is that it will cost $900. Apple’s MacBook Air starts at $1800.
The X340 notebook will be about 0.78 inches thick at it’s widest point, compared to MacBook’s 0.76 inches at its thickest. It will run Intel’s ULV SU3500 processor, Windows Vista, a 13-4- inch display, a HDMI input, 320 GB storage and 2GB memory. The notebook will also come with Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi capability and a 1.3 megapixel camera.
While Apple clearly has set the benchmark for ultralight notebooks with the MacBook Air, the MSI X340 seems like it could be a potentially strong rival. Laptop Mag, which reviewed the X340 earlier this month, liked the battery life and the number of ports that the X340 offers. But they found the the lack of powerful graphics capability and the build quality–my biggest peeve with most MSI computers–to be the drawbacks.
Still the MSI X340 carries a recession-friendly price tag for road warriors and can be an alternative to easy-to-carry but light on features netbooks.
See also:
MSI X340 review [Laptop Mag]
Photo: MSI X340/MSI


