In the earth of notebooks, Apple tree is an indisputable trend setter. Instance in point, the xiii-inch Averatec N3400 that we recently reviewed had an aluminum outer beat out, while the Acer Timeline 4810T used island-style keys like those found on MacBooks. Not surprisingly, however, those two laptops are considerably less expensive than annihilation on Apple tree's product line.

Today we'll exist taking a await at the X-Slim X340, a very slim notebook from MSI that's been labeled by many as the budget culling to the MacBook Air. Currently selling for $600, MSI hopes to lure potential buyers with its svelte design and extended bombardment life.

The MSI X340 weighs in at only 3.2 pounds with the included 8-cell bombardment and is powered by Intel'due south Core 2 Solo SU3500 CULV processor operating at 1.4GHz. Information technology comes equipped with 2GB of DDR2 -- its maximum supported capacity -- a 320GB SATA hard bulldoze, xiii.4" LCD display sporting a 1366 x 768 resolution, Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics, and 802.11b/1000/northward wireless connectivity.

These specs are somewhat reminiscent of those found on the 14" Timeline 4810T we reviewed earlier on the month, except for the obvious deviation in screen size and the X340's larger battery. Information technology will be interesting to run across if the X-Slim tin can lucifer or perhaps even superlative the outstanding six+ hours of bombardment life on Acer's notebook.

Every bit you may be aware, MSI has been offering the X-Slim X340 since May. Dating back to its launch, the X340 used to sell for as much as $900, which didn't exactly make it a budget contender. Today the aforementioned model is sold for substantially less at $600, bringing an interesting buying proposition for this holiday season.