Customer Reviews

MSI PR201-013US 12.1-Inch Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Centrino 2 Penryn P7350 Processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium) White

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pros:
-Good hardware specs for the money
-Good build quality
-Every bell and whistle I'll ever need

Cons:
-Keyboard has a lot of flex
-Screen is too glossy for my taste
-Power button LED is too bright (creates some glare in low lighting)

I am very happy with this laptop overall. It was the best value I've yet seen in 12" laptops which are dominated by super expensive models. The keyboard is well laid out with dedicated Home/Page Up/Page Down/End and arrow keys while still keeping the right shift key where it belongs. The ports are also well laid out and it has every port I can ever imagine wanting. The build quality is excellent all the way down to the magnetic lid closure.

Linux fans will be happy to hear that the basics work on this machine out of the box with Ubuntu 8.10. No problems with the touchpad, USB ports, display, or keyboard, even the screen brightness and volume control keyboard shortcuts work. However, the speakers play sound even when the headphones are plugged in and the webcam was not detected. I have not tested the following: microphone, HDMI, VGA, antenna, modem, express card, memory card reader, finger print reader.

I have only a few criticisms of the hardware. The biggest of which is that the keyboard had WAY too much flex plus it actually made some rattling sounds which makes it feel and sound cheap so I bought some double sided thermal tape, pulled the keyboard off and taped the heck out of the frame on which the keyboard sits. No more flex or rattle. The next complaint is that it sports a high gloss LCD that acts like a mirror especially in low light situations. I like to use my laptop at low backlight settings and the result is that I end up being destracted by my reflection in the screen, but apparently these screens are becoming popular with many manufacturers. My last complaint, which is admittedly a bit nit picky, is that the power button LED is too bright which is distracting and causes some glare in low light situations.

I love the laptop but the price could have been more reasonable and I dislike the fact that the "C' Drive was only allocated 43.9GB and "D" was allocated 181GB. It should have been in the reverse.