MSI X320 : MacBook Air’s Clone

Why this particular notebook? Because it’s the MacBook Air’s twin. And a not so pricey twin at that. While the MacBook air will set you back by $1600 this ultra-thin notebook’s price range is from $800-$1,000.

Still, there is more to this ultrathin notebook than just the price. It’s not a cheap knockoff. The X320, like the Air, has an all-aluminum body. It weighs, in-fact, a little less than the Air; its LED screen is not different from the Mac Air, with a screen resolution of 1,366x768 and a 16:9 form factor. Where it differs is in the keyboard and touch pad. The keyboard does not follow the isolated style of the Air and of course there are no gesture capabilities on the touch-pad such as pinching and three finger swiping etc.

Yet, some of the X320’s features can actually make the Air squirm. For instance a total of three USB ports. VGA and Ethernet ports are built in, and so are the SD slot and webcam. The hard drive is 160 GB but expandable to 250 GB. There’s no internal 3G wireless, but Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are present. MSI claims the four cell battery will give you 10 hours of battery life, which will have to be put to test. But fact remains this is the closest thing to a Mac without it really being a Mac.