User interface elements

The wide-aspect LCD on the X340 joins the trend of computer displays migrating to a TV-style 16:9 aspect ratio. This display has a 1366x768 resolution, which feels positively roomy next to a netbook and is quite nice for playing movies and the like. However, coming from a 13.3" 1280x800 laptop I use daily, the X340 feels cramped on the vertical axis. I've accepted the move from 4:3 to 16:10 as better generally for how laptops and keyboards are shaped, but this next little leap to 16:9 feels unpleasant. For any sort of web surfing, reading, or writing, I'd take the additional vertical pixels at 1280x800 any day.

Happily, though, the X340's display is otherwise quite good. The transreflective coating isn't among the best I've seen, but it doesn't reflect background light as sharply as some. And it allows a tremendous amount of light through from the LED backlight, which rivals any I've ever seen for peak brightness. This thing has some candlepower. The LED backlight does give the display a bit of a cool color temperature, but for LCDs of this type (looks to be a TN panel), the color contrast is quite good, with a broader range of optimal viewing angles than we saw on the Samsung NC20.

My own personal litmus test for an LCD is to check the blue and beige tones in the TR design, because we seem to have chosen colors that are particularly problematic for cheap panels. The X340's display passes that test reasonably well, without turning the khaki tones pink or making the deep blues look ridiculously electric. A true 8-bit display still looks noticeably superior in a side-by-side comparison, but the X340's LCD doesn't offend.

I wish I could say the same for the keyboard, but it's a major disappointment. Even a light key-press produces a visible flex in the surrounding keys, and the whole thing tends to bounce rather disconcertingly as you peck away. Typing accurately at speed is a chore that can only be accomplished with a relatively light touch, if at all. One would think MSI had killed SpongeBob and stuffed him under this keyboard. I'm notoriously picky on this front, but you don't have to take just my word for it. I checked around, and several other online reviews of the X340 all unanimously decry the keyboard. One reviewer even called it the single worst keyboard he'd ever used, which constitutes scientific proof that he never owned an Atari ST.

The shame of it is that it didn't have to be so. The X320 prototype we manhandled at CES had a more traditional laptop keyboard mechanism in it with a sturdier feel and better positive feedback. Not only that, but the X340's keyboard is cosmetically quite unexceptional, with few layout quirks and a decidedly full-size feel. Versus our reference "full size" keyboard, the X340's is 98% of the width, 94% of the height, and 92% of the full area. The alpha keys, though, are 98% of the width and height and 97% of the area. Compared to a netbook, they're enormous.

Yet all things considered, I'd rather type on my Eee PC 1000H.

Part of the problem isn't the keyboard itself, but the enormously large touchpad that lies just below it. Normally, we'd take all the touchpad area we could get, but this one is an exception. MSI chose a bit of an unknown, a company called Sentelic, to supply the X340's touchpad. The result is a decent enough finger-sensing pad that lacks the driver maturity and functionality you'd find elsewhere. Exhibit one is the input filtering while you're typing. My first act on the X340 was to input my user name during Vista setup, "Scott". Simple enough, right? But I got halfway in, "Sco", and must have brushed the touchpad inadvertently. Instantly, I was transported two steps down the setup wizard path, with no ability to step back. "Sco" would be my username. Quite the introduction—and such episodes are all too routine while typing on the X340.

What's more, the touchpad has no apparent multi-touch capability and no dedicated scrolling area, like zillions of other laptops with Synaptics touchpads have. In fact, out of the box, the touchpad has no scrolling function whatsoever, amazingly enough. When I asked MSI about it, they pointed me to some Sentelic drivers that offer a dedicated tap-to-scroll area in the top and bottom right corners of the pad. As in: tap once in the top corner, and it's as if you've pressed the up-arrow key. Tap in the bottom corner for a down arrow. Hold down, and it repeats like a key would. That's all you get—no swipes, no smooth motion of any kind. The eye doesn't track well while scrolling via this method, and even the taps don't always register reliably with the pad, in my experience. Sometimes, tapping in the bottom corner of the pad produces an upward movement, or vice-versa. Using it is slow and cumbersome for anyone who's used to a dedicated scroll area, and it feels positively like the Stone Age compared to a multitouch device.

The Sentelic driver does have an option to filter out stray inputs while typing, at least; it helps, but isn't as effective as one might expect based on experiences with other touchpads.

I'm also no fan of the touchpad surface, which is a little too grippy for fast motion. Furthermore, because the surrounding area has the exact same texture, there's little tactile indication, other than the touchpad's slight indentation, that you have your finger in the right spot.

MSI does include a mouse with the X340, but it's a USB job with a retractable cord, which seems like an odd inclusion with a stylish laptop that has Bluetooth support.

On a less depressing note, the X340's 1.3-megapixel webcam is pretty good for what it is, and the system's speakers have enough volume to allow you to share that choice YouTube clip in a busy room or coffee shop without your companions having to strain to hear it. The sound quality isn't stellar, with no more bass than you'd expect from such a small chassis, but it's passable. Audio quality via the headphone jack is decent and free of audible interference at normal volume levels.