Available for under £200, the X200MA seems like something of a bargain, particularly as it’s both small(11.1in screen) and light(1.2kg). While cheap laptops can also look a bit bland, the X200MA is available in a vibrant blue or red case, although more standard black or white models are also available. In reality, your choice of colour might not have that big an impact, as the bold colours don’t extend beyond the laptop’s exterior.
The laptop’s chassis is reassuringly well made, especially for such an inexpensive laptop, but there is a copious use of plastic as you might expect. Our review model came in blue and the exterior was made from glossy plastic that helps make it seem more premium than its price suggests. Despite the coating we were pleased to see that the case didn’t pick up fingerprints. On the inside you’ll find Asus has used textured, carbon fibre-like plastic around the keyboard that is smart looking. There’s a thick matt black bezel surrounding the 11.1in screen.
The laptop only weighs 1.2kg so it’s easy enough to throw it in a bag if you want to take it on the road and is reasonably thin, too, at 25.6mm. Disappointingly, there is some flex to the external and internal chassis and this unfortunately extends to the keyboard as well. Thankfully, the flex to the keyboard is minimal and certainly not as much as we have seen on other inexpensive Asus laptops.