SlashGear Japan
The MSI X-Slim X320 is, as many have observed, surprisingly similar in design to Apple’s MacBook Air. Coincidentally, SlashGear brought Apple’s second-gen Air to CES today, so we can bring you this exclusive comparison gallery. 1.98cm thick X320 or 1.94cm Air – despite the design overlap there’s plenty of difference if you look closely.
Port-wise the X320 blows the Air out of the water: three USB 2.0 ports, ethernet, audio in/out and a memory card slot, compared to the Air’s single headphone socket, Mini DisplayPort and single USB. Under the hood, though, the Air claws back the difference, squashing the X-Slim’s Intel Merom processor with its Core 2 Duo.
Stack the Air up on a pile of twenty dollar bills and a USB hub to make up the difference with the X320, and it probably slips into second place when it comes to thickness. Still, these are very different machines with very different target audiences.
Check out the gallery below for all the images.
2 Responses to “CES 2009: MSI X-Slim X320 versus Apple MacBook Air”
Ron Bannon January 8, 2009
I own an MSI Wind (runnning OS X) and have vast experience with Apple’s hardware and software, and I must say that MSI products are in no way comparable to Apple’s. Fact is, Apple’s hardware/software is in a class of its own.
-6Bob Smith January 12, 2009
Yeah, for one, MSI hardware is affordable. These computers have similar form factors, but they’re different machines. The MSI is designed for people who want a simple, light, usable laptop with a decent sized screen and keyboard. The macbook air is for yuppies with cash to burn to look cool at starbucks with, pretending to write that screenplay they’ve been working on eight years while they subsist on the trust fund their fathers set up for them. This is evidenced by the fact that the cheapest macbook Air is about $800 more than the projected price of these laptops. I am typing this on an MSI Wind, as well, one that I’m well aware that I can install OSX on, but I don’t have the time, or the inclination to cripple a perfectly good netbook.
When’s that apple netbook coming out, by the way?
+3