Given that most ultraportable notebooks have traditionally cost north of $1,500, a budget 12-inch laptop might seem like something of an oxymoron. But the colorful $699 MSI VR220 YA Edition is among the first notebooks to shake up this once expensive category. Using an older-generation Pentium processor, the VR220’s performance is nothing to write home about, and its keyboard is ridden with flex, but students or consumers scouring for a notebook with an optical drive and more performance than a netbook will find it to be an acceptable choice for light everyday use.
Colorful, Potentially Off-Putting Design
The VR220’s design reminds us of a mismatched '70s outfit. Its matte Wasabi Green lid is an attention getter; a black option may best suit those looking for something more demure (it’s also available in Coral Pink and Denim Blue). The lip and interior match the exterior color but in a lighter, metallic shade. At the top of the deck is a silver speaker bar, and below a white keyboard that looks completely out of place. While the overall build of the MSI VR220 is solid, it isn’t anywhere near as sleek as the similarly sized and priced Dell Inspiron Mini 12.
While the MSI VR220’s size (11.9 x 9.1 x 1.2 inches) is comparable to some of the most expensive ultraportables, its weight of 4.4 pounds (5.2 pounds with the AC adapter) makes it much heavier and more akin to a thin-and-light. For example, the VR200 is just 0.4 inches thicker than the Toshiba Portégé R500, but is 2.2 pounds heavier. (Then again, the Portégé’s starting price is $1,000 higher.) Part of the reason for VR220’s bulk is its standard eight-cell battery, which weighs 1 pound by itself and bulges out of the back.
Decent Screen, Weak Audio
The 12.1-inch 1280 x 800-pixel glossy display on the MSI VR220 is surrounded by an inch-thick bezel, and is large enough for long viewing stretches. We were able to watch DVDs comfortably off its optical drive and when cranked up to full brightness, Dazed and Confused looked crisp. Vertical viewing angles were decent, but moving off-axis horizontally to the screen’s maximum viewing angle of 130 degrees made for a substantial reflection shift. The integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam above the display provided decent video in a video call over Skype. Our caller could see our new hair-do, but mentioned that we looked a bit washed out.
The speaker strip above the keyboard is far from booming; we struggled to hear our favorite lines while watching our DVD, even with the volume cranked up all the way. Listening to an MP3 in Windows Media Player was slightly better, but still not loud enough to fill a small bedroom. We recommend plugging in a set of external notebook speakers or headphones.
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