MSI X-Slim 320 vs MacBook Air... fight!

You knew the comparisons were inevitable, but have you braced yourself for how incredibly similar these two laptops are? MSI's new X-Slim 320 13.3-inch ultraportable is a teensy bit wider and a teensy bit thicker than the MacBook Air, but most of the dimensions, layouts and curves are uncannily alike. As for build quality, MSI obviously suffers a bit for its netbook heritage. The plastics aren't stellar, and the keyboard, while delightfully full size, is a tad squishy, but there's still no denying that this is a pretty wild deal for this very particular form factor -- plus that built-in 3G, VGA and Ethernet are just rubbing it in Apple's face.

Gallery: MSI X-Slim 320 vs MacBook Air... fight!

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[jakem @ Jan 8th 2009 1:29PM]

I'm surprised anybody had a Macbook Air available for the comparison. Did MSI provide it?

[john @ May 29th 2009 11:07PM]

guess which one is more green?

[Giroro @ Jan 8th 2009 3:43PM]

Neither... No, wait BOTH!

Uhh, how do you measure how "green" something is, and is that really the most important thing to consider when talking about laptops?

[nicole @ Jan 8th 2009 9:07PM]

Do yourself a favor DON'T purchase an apple. They are over-priced with little to offer. And if you need it repaired you might as well throw it away for they start quoting prices that are more than what the actual laptop cost is. I have purchased from several different manufacturers, HP, Dell, Alienware, Gateway etc. and the biggest dissapointment was when I purchased a MAC. Same goes for all of the i-pods that need repairs. Just consider them throw aways on a yearly basis.

[xValentine @ Jan 8th 2009 1:31PM]

If that thing can slice a cake and gets you hold up on an airport too, then we have winner.

[Verythrax @ Jan 8th 2009 1:32PM]

Hahaha, it's really funny when even MSI is able to put Apple's leg ;)

[Josh @ Jan 8th 2009 2:03PM]

The fake unibody bezel is icing on the cake =P

[chris @ Jan 8th 2009 1:33PM]

I love the 3G. But why not put a better processor in it??

[Thomas Ricker @ Jan 8th 2009 1:34PM]

come on i want the worlds thinnest pc!!!!no mac should hold that title!

[Steve @ Jan 8th 2009 1:35PM]

it doesnt, a PC holds the record for worlds thinnest PC

[Wii60 @ Jan 8th 2009 2:58PM]

Also, Sony released a Vaio that is thinner than the Air 4-5 years ago.

[Jeremy K. @ Jan 8th 2009 3:34PM]

Apple has made idiots of their users. Macs are PCs.

[Joshua Walters @ Jan 8th 2009 1:34PM]

Its allowed to be slightly thicker. Its got three USB ports.

[dark star @ Jan 8th 2009 1:38PM]

no. its thicker because msi stuck that vga port in there. it coulda been a lot slimmer with 4 usb ports easily if there wasnt that vga. i wish msi made a vga adapter instead of sticking it in the laptop.

[Tobias @ Jan 8th 2009 2:04PM]

No... it's allowed to be bigger because it has two / (slash) keys!! One under the ? and one under the @

How strange. But then again it is a netbook... guess you need those extra / . - . / .com's

[Scott @ Jan 8th 2009 2:50PM]

Yeah, that's really odd. I guess they're not using the standard keyboard where the @ is on the #2 key...

[Scott @ Jan 8th 2009 2:53PM]

It also has two ~ keys - one next to the 1, and one under the backspace key.

Makes you wonder about the quality if they couldn't even get the keyboard right...

[sjdurfey @ Jan 8th 2009 3:42PM]

that's the strangest keyboard ive ever seen. makes one hope the effed up keyboard on that particular laptop is a fluke. there's certainly no need for the duplicate keys.

[Wii60 @ Jan 8th 2009 10:11PM]

Yeah, MSI does that on all their keyboards its weird. I own an MSI 1651 and it does that two / thing.

I'm sure you'll get used to it.

[Wayne Williams @ Jan 8th 2009 1:39PM]

Why is everyone bragging about having something you have to PAY for in the built in 3G? That's not free, you know.

[000000 @ Jan 8th 2009 1:48PM]

Good point. It seems to me that all the providers would be forcing "3G" chips into any device they could just to get the subscriptions. Toasters, TV's, laptops, whatever. That's like an extra 400$ a year or more if you use that dang thing.

I'll tether my netbooks to my phone thank you very much.

[bob e @ Jan 8th 2009 1:41PM]

Apple's days are numbered as more and more manufacturers jump on the style bandwagon. People will see similar looks and think - why should I pay extra to line Steve-o's pockets? Makes no sense whatsoever.


How much for the little MSI?

[Wayne Williams @ Jan 8th 2009 1:43PM]

I heard that same line 20 years ago.

[jinushaun @ Jan 8th 2009 1:52PM]

That's why I like Apple. They help advanced the industry because everyone else has to up their game.

[Paul Chapel @ Jan 8th 2009 1:53PM]

OS X?

[Dave @ Jan 8th 2009 2:09PM]

Style? I am not a fan of the MacBook airs features but I think it rates a 10 on style compared to the MSI.

- Cheap white plastic
- Giant Vents
- Big ugly VGA plug on the side.

Fact of the matter is that Apple released this SYLE months ago, as long as PC manufactures just COPY style instead of launching it they will be behind Apple on that front.

[Jim @ Jan 8th 2009 1:56PM]

The way things are going, its Dell you should be worried about - not that anyone would notice if Dell went belly up since it is hardly innovative. It's lean, mean companies like MSI that are literally taking the wind out of Dell, HP and Sony.

[aazis @ Jan 8th 2009 3:47PM]

@Dave

WTF? big ugly vga plug? Maybe apple should just redesign the same plug call it iVga put an extra price on it and sell it to you?
What's next - "I dont like the big ugly motherboard with those 'things' on it"??

[VanillaSpice @ Jan 8th 2009 6:21PM]

You are a twit aazis - dave clearly said he wasn't a fan of the feature set of the Air, but you ignored that and just assumed that since he was praising an Apple product over a non-Apple one (on one criteria alone - style) then dave must be an Apple fanboy.

dave made a cogent argument, you do not have to agree with him but there was nothing fanboyish about his comment. Yours, on the other hand, demonstrated typical hyperbolic fanboy (in this case, anti-Apple fanboy) behaviour.

You are an anti-Apple fanboy troll. You are as bad as any Apple fanboy troll. You might think you're on the "winning side" in terms of support from Engagdet commentors, but to anyone with a brain you look as stupid and crazed and biased as the iEye et al trolls.

[Wayne Williams @ Jan 8th 2009 1:41PM]

How can you work with only 3 usb ports???

[Rick @ Jan 8th 2009 1:46PM]

I don't understand the recent mac bashing undertones to a lot of articles recently. Did Engadget hire new Window Fan Boy writers this past fall? Talk about your pc, boast about it, fine. Why throw in jabs against macs or Apple? That's just childish and food for trolls.

[eggothewaffle @ Jan 8th 2009 1:49PM]

Damn, Engadget will never hear the end of being Apple's shill or Windows' shill or whatever from idiots on the internet.

[Shyam D @ Jan 8th 2009 1:55PM]

Because all the Mac Fan boys trash PCs. Hell even Apple themselves trash talk about PCs. Are you saying PC Fan boys should just sit down and take that? Under most circumstances, I would say that pointing the finger is childish, but in this case, Apple really did start the whole bashing phenomenon with their ads, so it's really bitchy to whine about them being bashed back.

[Derbeste @ Jan 8th 2009 2:07PM]

It never fails to amaze me that when negative press for apple, ms, dell, nintendo, sony, etc goes up in ANY way there is always some idiot that will find a way to blame anyone BUT the company that is getting the bad press.

Maybe......just MAYBE.....the company(s) in question aren't performing up to their respective reputations lately?

No one will ever do so well that they have earned a free pass to rest on their laurels................EVER.

[phanbouy fan fan @ Jan 8th 2009 2:30PM]

ah yes, the neverending backlack against evil mac people. since when is being a whiny bitch-hole justified because someone else is a whiny bitch hole? doesn't that make you a hypocritical whiny bitch hole?
[e-mail]

[nohone @ Jan 8th 2009 3:17PM]

I think this is the problem with this site. Mac fans were so used to having everything be roses around here for them and enjoyed the continual basing of anything not Apple, that it became a second TUAW. But now cracks are starting to develop in some of Apple's plans - not suddenly develop, but apparent enough that most Mac fans (the rational ones, not the few that we all know and, erm, love?) are starting to simply ask questions and say that maybe everything is not perfect. This is such a shock to some, we have been seeing more and more of these types of responses.

This is the type of thing that we on the other side have been dealing with for a long time. If Engadget wants to criticize one company, criticize the other when they F-up also. But not criticize one and bless the other for doing, often, the same exact thing. No company should get all criticism all the time, just like no company should receive accolades all the time. When one company does good, tell that. When they (anybody) does bad, tell that also.


And as we have heard over and over again when we voice criticism - If you don't like it, leave!

[Mobius_1 @ Jan 8th 2009 1:51PM]

THREE USB ports! :P

[David @ Jan 8th 2009 1:54PM]

"3G, VGA and Ethernet are just rubbing it in Apple's face."

3G is really nice, but VGA doesnt really fit in this context!
I mean.. w o w .. it has a damn-old really-sucking analog video-output ..

What's the deal here?

[eggothewaffle @ Jan 8th 2009 1:58PM]

What do most projectors you'll see in business rooms and classrooms plug into?

It's not HDMI, DisplayPort, or even DVI that's for sure.

[David @ Jan 8th 2009 2:03PM]

Maybe, but I really wouldn't wanna see such an old connector at my brand-new notebook.
I'd rather use an adapter for those and see a crisp pic on real displays.

miniDisplayPort definitely rocks VGA though it needs an adapter for most displays..
it's at least able to connect to all of them - incl. hdmi..

[nikster @ Jan 8th 2009 7:31PM]

It's a choice to add an outdated, crap graphics port just because projectors use it. Another choice would be a modern port and a -to-VGA adapter. Personally I prefer the latter because I'd want to connect this to my 24" LCD and I am sure as hell not going to use VGA for that.

[IsleOfMan @ Jan 8th 2009 1:58PM]

Price it similarly to the Dell Mini 12 (even if it takes losing the 3G) and I might be sold... otherwise, once some refurbished Dell Mini 12s start hitting, that's the route I'll likely take. I want a thin/light travel machine for email, office, and some basic video playback without completely sacrificing screen size... basically I want a big netbook and so far there's only one available and now this one announced.

[Jacko @ Jan 8th 2009 1:59PM]

On the first picture it looks more like they are making love than fighting.

[A1e @ Jan 8th 2009 2:00PM]

Air is like air very light, performance wise.

[RemDX @ Jan 8th 2009 2:01PM]

If you're constipated, there's nothing in the loo...

[Jash Sayani @ Jan 8th 2009 2:04PM]

Take that Apple !!!

MSI is great! I love this one. And built-in 3G is just amazing !

BTW, Apple, it has 3 USB ports.... Think about it!

[Wayne Williams @ Jan 8th 2009 5:13PM]

Have fun PAYING for 3G access, on top of internet fees at home, plus whatever is on your cell phone.

[Jash Sayani @ Jan 9th 2009 8:18AM]

@Wayne

It has 3G, it does not mean you have to use it. Its an additional feature. And besides, I do have a broadband connection at home, Edge connection on my iPhone and a mobile CDMA connection for my netbook. Its not very expensive though.

So its all on the usage and needs....

[ImaYam @ Jan 8th 2009 2:10PM]

3 usb's, three times the fun!

One was more like a night with Palmela Handerson, 3 usb's is a threesome!! :D

[Santiago @ Jan 8th 2009 2:11PM]

The MSI does look a lot like the new MacBooks with the black border, but it is made of plastic... Though If you assure me that I can put Leopard easily in that computer, then we have a winner...