Software and warranty
The good news is its undesired
pre-installed softwares are not much. Everything we found on our test system is
Evernote, Fresh Paint, Music Maker Jam, PuzzleTouch, CookBook and a free trial
version of Norton Internet Security. There's also Skype, but it is not
considered as a bloatware, seeing as how Microsoft owns Skype now, and it is a
useful application, which is widely used. If not a gamer, you might not
appreciate the pre-loaded Xbox Live games but fortunately, they're few in
number: only Adera, Microsoft Mahjong, Pinball FX2, Taptiles and Microsoft
Solitaire Collection. About warranty, Slidebook S20 comes with 1 year warranty,
making it on par with nearly every other consumer laptops we've tested.
The
good news is its undesired pre-installed softwares are not much
Configuration options and competitors
At least in the U.S., you will find only
one configuration is sold: $1,200 model that we have tested with Core i5 processor,
8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. That means you should best be prepared to do without the
Core i7 or a bigger 256GB drive if you're going to go all-in.
After all our complaints, if you still
think a slider is the way to go, we would like to walk you through some of the
better choices. Starting with Sony, Vaio Duo 11 that also lacks the touchpad,
but at least there are 2 small touch buttons and 1 optical tracking stick
wedged into the middle of the keyboard. Battery life is also longer, with
approximately 5 hours. The bad news? The $1,200 model starts with lesser specs
- Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM - but at least you have the option to
upgrade to Core i7 and a 256GB drive. Meanwhile, Satellite U925t starts at a
more reasonable price of $1,050 with Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM, but the
screen resolution is fixed at 1,366x768, and you cannot configure it with
better specifications.
Sony
Vaio Duo 11
But honestly, you would be better with a
different form factor. Our current favorite computers are the Lenovo IdeaPad
Yoga 13, whose screen folds all the way backward like a book, and the Dell XPS
12, a laptop whose display pop out of the screen hinge allows you to flip it
over into tablet mode. Both provide comfortable keyboards with comparable
performance and battery life; the Yoga is probably the more versatile of the
two, though the Dell XPS 12 benefits from a sharper 1,080p display (the Yoga 13
is 1,600 x 900 only).
Lenovo
IdeaPad Yoga 13
Dell
XPS 12
And who knows what other convertible
computers that we will see in the coming months, especially when Intel started
selling Haswell chip? We are eagerly waiting Lenovo ThinkPad Helix, a 11 inch
tablet/laptop hybrid with keyboard dock that lets you insert the tablet with
the screen facing either forward or backward (great for presentations).
However, it was delayed until at least next month. And not to mention all the
Ultrabooks we do not know. So, maybe it's worth the wait - a good advice
regardless of whether you want to buy a laptop from MSI or any other manufacturers.
Conclusion
No. We still do not like the slider form
factor. As we have said, the Ultrabook with this design is not perfect, with
the propped-up display usually ruining the typing experience. The same is true
with Slidebook S20, although the build quality was so bad that we almost insult
MSI for daring to get $ 1,200 for this thing. It's hard to recommend a laptop
with high-end, Ultrabook-grade specs when it does not even have mouse or
touchpad to navigate the desktop application in 1080p.
If nothing else (and there really are not
many good things to say), we appreciate that the battery life is longer than on
some other 11-inch PCs with similar specs. Moreover, MSI has found a way to
create a slider with an adjustable display, which other OEMs should take note
of - if they decide to produce any other system with this form factor. However,
we really recommend you buy another slider or, better yet, an Ultrabook with
completely different designs.
MSI Slidebook S20
Info
·
Price: $1,200
Pros
·
The screen can be adjusted - a rare thing on the
sliders
·
Sound is pretty good
·
A good selection of ports
Cons
·
Poor build quality
·
Flimsy, cramped keyboard
·
No touchpad or mouse
·
There are no configuration options
Verdict
·
MSI chose the wrong form factor for its flagship
Windows 8 Ultrabook: S20 has uncomfortable keyboard, poor build quality and
inconvenient design without pointing device.
|
MSI
Slidebook S20’s specifications
·
Operating system: Windows 8
·
Screen Size: 11.6 Full HD
·
Screen Resolution : (1,920x1,080) LED
backlight, IPS LCD Display
·
Dimensions: 302.6mm(W) x 196.1mm(D) x
19.8mm(H)
·
Battery: 3 Cell (4:34 H)
·
Weight: 1.16kg with mSATA SSD
·
Graphics : Intel® HD Graphics
, share with system memory
·
Hard Drive: mSATA slot: for SSD
(Half-size), SATA slot: optional for 7mm HDD/SSD
·
RAM memory: DDR3 1,066/1,333/1,600MHz,
DIMM x 1slot (Max: 8GB)
·
Audio : THX
·
Ports : 2 USB 3.0, 1 Mini HDMI, 1
Mic-in/Headphone-Out, 1 LAN
·
Hardware: HD Webcam (30fps@720p), Card
Reader 2 in 1 (SD/MMC)
·
Wireless LAN: 802.11 b/g/n
·
Bluetooth: Bluetooth v4.0
|
