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MSI Slidebook S20
Engadget Review
MSI Slidebook S20 review: MSI's flagship Windows 8 Ultrabook has a flawed design
Summary
MSI chose the wrong form factor for its flagship Windows 8 Ultrabook: the S20 suffers from an uncomfortable keyboard, poor build quality and an awkward design that includes no pointing device whatsoever.
Pros
- Adjustable display -- a rarity on slider laptops
- Decent audio
- Good port selection
Cons
- Inferior build quality
- Cramped, flimsy keyboard
- No touchpad or mouse
- No configuration options
If you've been following our reviews of Windows 8 laptops, you know we haven't been too kind to the slider form factor. It's not like we set out to pan these machines, but time and again we've found that the propped-up display ruins the typing experience. Keep that in mind as we begin our review of the Slidebook S20, MSI's flagship Win 8 device, priced at $1,200 in the US. It's a bold move from a company whose bread and butter is not ultraportables, but gaming systems. In fact, the 11.6-inch S20 is the outfit's only high-end Windows 8 Ultrabook. So the company must have quite a bit of confidence in that form factor, then, if it didn't bother with dockable tablets or some other kind of convertible design. Could that mean the S20 has something all the others don't?
