The question I am unable to answer in this review is whether the MSI X300 notebook, CDN received for review from Supercom, is a slim and light product or a netbook.
It is powered by an Intel Atom Z530 processor (1.60GHz), but with a 13-inch wide screen display advanced power saving technology, 3.5G drive, and many other regular notebook features, it was hardly a traditional netbook.
Making a case for its netbook status it the 3G communication capability along with its 802.11b / g / n Wireless Lan with Bluetooth feature. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of notebooks that feature the same things, but the promise of the netbook was, and still is, that it can be an alternative to your Blackberry, iPhone or other smartphone device.
The wireless capabilities are excellent in the X300 but the jury is still out on if it can replace a smartphone.
If pressed I would lean slightly to calling it a netbook because even though I didn’t try to do any heavy computations on it, I felt hesitant to do so because I didn’t think it could handle intensive CPU demands. This machine is best suited for general use.
Overall I rate this product very high. It was durable and it made the voyage overseas to Europe and back. Performance was solid throughout the testing period. Set up was smooth. The only hiccup was finding out how to turn on the wireless function. The symbols on the keyboard were confusing.
The X300 looks sleek and visually appealing. Everyone who saw it commented on how good it looks and how thin it is.
It is very light weight. MSI has done an outstanding job in this area. Compared to other netbooks I have tested the X300 feels lighter. The lightweight X300 is an important factor when buying a portable computer. The X300 can be carried around and gives you the ability to perform tasks seemingly on the fly. X300 has edges
The edges are contoured and only added to its attractiveness. Most netbooks have either 10-inch or 7-inch screens and have users longing for their big screen cousins. The X300’s 13-inch wide screen display will make other netbook screens feel inadequate.
Battery life is reasonable and met all my requirements here and overseas.
The MSI product compared very well to other tier 1 brands such as Dell, Toshiba, HP and Acer. I would definitely recommended MSI to anyone.
For watching movies, reading books and occasionally surfing the Internet, the X300 is more than adequate. Handling intensive situations such as calculation of a massive spreadsheet should be left to power notebooks.
Price objections
The only objection I have is its price tag of $689. Despite it being slick and cool looking, spending that kind of money compared to the $300 to $400 netbooks with 10-inch screens would be a hard decision to make. You can get more computing for your money. But maybe what MSI is trying to do here is create a whole new category of computing: the power netbook. Now that would be something I would spend money on.