CHILD-FRIENDLY: The bundled Microsoft Vista Home Premium allows games to be played on the X400

WHO: Marhalim Abas (Crime Desk)

WHY: Halim’s been looking for a new laptop after three years of lugging around his trusty but too sturdy notebook, so the chance to test out something in the “ultra-portable” category, was too much to resist.

I have been looking to replace my laptop just shy of its third birthday.

Honestly, I love my Dell Inspiron (it’s the only thing that I own outright, no lease or bank loan) but as old age creeps up on me, I admit it’s becoming too cumbersome to carry the 15-incher around.

It’s been a good servant but I started to notice that they are lighter alternatives around, more portable than and just as powerful as the Dell.

My kids, who had grown up on it, are also clamouring for Daddy to buy a new machine as they are starting
to get hooked on the Net and now command much more time on the machine than me nowadays.

I have been looking at various 10-inch minis available from various manufacturers and was pleasantly surprised to be handed over the MSI X400 almost two weeks after I pawed it at a shop in Subang Parade.

Someone mentioned to me that the X400 was a “poor man’s Mac AirBook”. I have not seen the Airbook personally but from the pictures of the Airbook, it does look like that the MSI people had a good look at the Apple machine before coming out with the X400.

For starters, the X400 is ultra slim and feels feather-like compared to my Inspiron. Some people even call it sexy with sinuous curves... I did not get it.

To me, an assault rifle or a fighter jet is sexy but not a laptop. My other half simply loved it as did my two naughty children especially my three-year-old girl who insisted on conducting a test drive the first time I brought the X400 home.

She was especially keen on the bundled Microsoft Vista Home Premium, which allowed her to play games even though the machine was not connected to our home’s wireless network.

My nine-year-old was mostly relieved that his sister was pre-occupied with the X400 rather than my Inspiron so he let her spent the time on the machine.

My other half, who is also looking for a new laptop, was also keen on the X400. Its 1.5kg weight was her favourite feature; she even went looking around for a new handbag which can carry the 14-incher around.

Like me, she had been looking at netbooks, mostly for its portability but like me, she is also impressed with the X400 14-inch WXGA with its vivid and rich colours (wonder if Gabey remembered my RM500 offer?

(*Editor’s Note: Yes she did and no you can’t buy it for that price… yet) The X400 comes with Intel ULV SU3500 (1.4GHZ processor) which allows for quick-start up and shutdown.

Optical drive is optional but there is ample storage with the 320GB hard drive. Apart from two USB 2.0 ports, the X400 is also fitted with HDMI out, headphone and microphone jacks.

It also comes fitted with a 1.3-mega pixel webcam and the customary SD/SDHC/MMC card reader. The X400 comes standard with four-cell battery, which can last up to two hours, probably to reduce its weight.

I spent around two weeks with the X400, carrying it around during my usual rounds and even a two-day stint in Kampar to cover the collapsed suspension bridge tragedy.

I found it a handy little machine with the 14-inch display a great relief for my tired eyes especially after slugging around town avoiding traffic jams.

My pet peeve about the X400 is the keyboard. For someone who learned to type on manual typewriters, the X400 keyboard feels as if it is almost ready to fly out on every touch.

Apart from that and the fact that the review machine is white and there are only two USB ports, the X400 is a good alternative to the minis and even better than those e-phones... And it’s not an Airbook, not by a long shot.

• Pros: Light and slender thin. Bright 14-inch display.

• Cons: Iffy keyboard, plastic feel and not enough USB ports.