MSI X-Slim: Time for a Slimmed-Down Price?
With Acer’s well-received Timeline series already seeing decent discounting, pressure must be mounting upon MSI’s X-Slim range. Even though the X340 appears to be good value for its handsome exterior and light weight, it’s around $200 more expensive than Acer’s 3810T. Even without the 3810T standing by, it’s hard to imagine the X340 selling well at such a high price given its mediocre press reviews.
At the time of writing there are still only four mixed consumer reviews on NewEgg, whilst the 3810T has nine. Even worse for MSI, the SSD version of the 3810T costs the same as the typical $799 street price of the X340.
Let’s see a price cut MSI, or perhaps at least a 2.0 with a better keyboard?
Neil Berman
MSI X340
Hmm…the eagerly anticipated MSI X340; this one turned out to be a mixed bag. Looks great, feels just OK to hold. Keyboard is big enough, feels just OK to use. Some reviewers have said the keyboard is horrific, it’s not quite as bad as that, but it does flex downward in the center more than it should. The battery is replaceable but is outpaced by the Acer Timeline.
But for $899 it weighs under 3lbs, does HD video, has a bright 13 inch screen and a real-life-useful 1.4GHz Intel CULV processor. That’s a tempting prospect…especially as many retailers are listing it at nearer $799. If you like the form factor and can survive with less power the X320 sports an Intel Atom for $599, but also sacrifices the HD capable graphics chipset.
Crucially is the $899 X340 better than a $999 refurbished MacBook Air Rev A? For HD video, connectivity and battery life I’d say yes; for coolness and build quality probably no. Then there’s also the Acer Timeline series and the semi-light but powerful Acer AS3935-6504 with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo for $899. It’s a difficult, but consumer friendly, choice.
Neil Berman
Laptop prices falling hard
Today’s MacBook price cuts were both welcome and not unique in the current laptop market. Ultraportables and desktop replacements alike have been suffering from netbooks and Intel CULV powered thin ‘n lights pulling down the whole sector.
It’s pretty cool that you can finally get a decently powered 3-4lb laptop with a 13 inch screen for well under $1,000; MSI’s X340 and Acer’s Timeline are good examples. Both are HD video capable and provide enough power for day-to-day computing.
These machines pull down the premium end of the ultraportable market like the Dell Adamo and MacBook Air, which don’t really offer much more hardware than the MSI or Acer. In fact the Dell is probably slower than both. So now we have a $1,499-$1,799 MacBook Air, which is great news for consumers and effectively sets a glass ceiling for ultraportable prices.
At the heavier end of the market 17 inch laptops are under strain from all-in-ones like the Asus EEE Top which are semi-mobile and keenly priced. I found a new Toshiba dual-core T3400 17 inch laptop on Amazon this evening for $529. This thing was fully loaded, you really wouldn’t need much more for a day-to-day desktop replacement…and of course you can install Windows 7 RC and get almost a year of usage before you need to buy a license.
Neil Berman
Update to ‘MSI X340: Now priced-out by the MacBook Air?’ Acer throws an $899 curve ball
Wow this bout just got a whole lot more interesting. After initially pricing the X340 at $1,099 MSI are now listing it at $899…and several mainstream e-tailers are taking orders for $799. That kind of pricing makes the whole proposition turn on its head. Even as a refurb, the MacBook Air Rev A looks too expensive in this company.
On the downside for the X340, initial reviews have been mixed. Praise for its battery life and video performance have been tempered by concerns about chassis quality and a poor keyboard.
There is another curve ball mixing up the X340’s home run plans in the form of Acer’s recently released 13″ AS3935-6504. At 1.3lbs heavier than the X340, it offers a full power P7350 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB RAM, DVD-RW and the same Intel GMA4500MHD 1080-capable GPU. And the Acer looks and feels great.
At 2.9lbs and $799 the X340 would be my choice if running Windows 7 RC, but those needing more power or running the out-of-the-box Vista Home Premium I’d have to recommend the Acer for the greater horsepower. Price/performance-wise the MacBook Air needs to do more to move out third place in this contest. Especially as you could swap out the hard drives in the MSI and Acer with latest gen SSDs and still save megabucks compared to the MBAir.
Neil Berman
MSI X340: Now priced-out by the MacBook Air?
I was excited to talk to MSI in January about their upcoming X320 and X340. The ultra-light 13″ laptops closely resembled the MacBook Air with the bonus of offering a removable battery and better connectivity.
It seems the $700-1,000 price target is hopefully looking accurate for when the X340 starts shipping. The HDMI equipped X340 briefly appeared on MSI’s website recently at $1,099. The lower powered X320 is likely to be in the $700-800 range.
In January this pricing seemed sensible…until MacBook Airs started appearing for $999. This week MacMall and Apple were both listing Airs starting at $999, although these may be refurbs. Given that the Air has a way faster CPU than the X340, this looks like MSI is going to have a difficult job convincing buyers to choose their laptop over the Air.
The only sore points for the Air continue to be the weak connectivity and low capacity battery, which is outperformed by many similar weight netbooks for runtime.
On the plus side $999 now buys a super-svelte 3lb 1.6ghz Core 2 Duo MacBook Air, which a year ago cost almost twice as much and is capable of running OSX and Windows. Nice.
Neil Berman
theONbutton@CES – MSI X320 differs from Macbook Air design by providing removable battery?
This is a shot of the underside of the MSI X320, which as we already know looks very very similar to the Macbook Air. However those of you salivating in anticipation of the X320 release may be even further encouraged by what appears to be a battery release catch. Thank you MSI for keepin it real and thinking of great design, real-life practicalities and the environment.
Neil Berman
theONbutton@CES – MSI booth walking tour including X320 and U115
MSI’s X320 is about as close as you’ll ever see to a Macbook Air without an Apple logo on the back of the screen. When the lid is closed the laptop is a dead ringer for the Cupertino model, aside from MSI’s black and white color models which accompany the silver one. The X320 should be released in the US in Q2 this year for under $1,000, sporting an Intel Atom and 13″ screen.
The U115 hybrid has a SSD and a traditional hard drive as well for mass storage. The spinning hard drive can be turned off for extended battery life, MSI claims up to 12 hours of total usage.
Note that the white X320 in the video is a mock-up concept.
Neil Berman
theONbutton
Turning the world on, one gadget at a time.
