MSI announced its X-Slim line of “MacBook Air Killers” for this year's CeBIT show, and sure enough, it has delivered on its promise. So, upon visiting its booth, we had the chance to take a very close look at these portable computing systems, which, albeit being indeed extremely slim, can't really be described as true competitors for the Air.

The MSI X-Slim would do better to aim a little lower, maybe towards the “competitor” status. MSI’s press release stated that “The all-new X340 and X600 both feature Intel ULV architecture for performance and power saving advantages. This is another new mark in the history of the notebook market!”

Now, I don't know about you but when you're planning a new mark in the history of the notebook market, you should at least be able to destroy your competition, right? Whereas in terms of “slimness,” the X-Slim has come a little short. This series is said to aim for the “Light, Slim, Aesthetic” product design, for the more aesthetically pretentious user (myself included). On that note, the press release says that, through the X-Slim series, the maker is planning on expanding its borders with more innovative and ultra portable notebooks.

More ultra portable notebooks are never a bad thing, right? Here are a few notes on the specifications - the “X340 ultra portable notebook, making its first showing at CeBIT, shares the same specifications as X320, including the golden ratio 16:9 cinematic 13” LED display, weight of just 1.3kg, thickest point at 1.98cm thin and just 6mm at its thinnest. This notebook is even thinner than a small pack of tissue paper!”

And that was no exaggeration, folks! Although not the MacBook Air Killer it was supposed to be, and maybe not as groundbreaking as MSI makes it sound, the X-Slim is indeed slick, beautiful and just a little thicker than a next-generation mobile phone.
Live report by Alex Vochin from CeBIT 2009 in Hanover, Germany.












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