MSI X-Slim X340 Gets Blasted: "Cheap, Nasty & Tacky"

If MSI thought they could rest easy on the back of a good review for their X-Slim X340 ultraportable, they've a disappointment coming today.  ZDNet Australia have been playing with the first Intel CULV notebook to the market, and they're really not impressed.  Ranking the MacBook Air-a-like a mere 5 out of 10, reviewer Craig Simms is most disappointed by the "cheap, nasty and tacky" keyboard.

"The keyboard is, in three words, cheap, nasty and tacky. Our review sample was misshapen, clacky, and the sluggish response of the keys often ended up with the PC simply not registering the strike. It takes the dubious honour of being the worst keyboard we've used." Craig Simms, ZDNet Australia

That's shortly followed by the "cheap and nasty" trackpad, and he describes the whole thing as feeling cheap and plastic.  Nonetheless, the X340 gets a little praise for its slimness and reasonable sturdiness, and the 13.4-inch screen meets with approval.

Unfortunately everything goes downhill again when it comes to the hardware, as Simms finds the single-core Celeron CULV processor incapable of smoothly playing HD YouTube video.  There are some comedy face-palm moments along the way too, for instance the driver CD which MSI supply having no clickable buttons aside from the Exit command.  The MSI X-Slim X340 may look like something from Apple's stable, but it sounds like there's a long way to go before it feels the same way.

[Thanks Andrew!]