With the Asus 1201T now available, it only makes sense to compare it to another MV-40 based netbook, the MSI U230-033US.  Both have 12 inch screens and six cell batteries.  Unfortunately the similarities don’t run much deeper than that.

The U230 from MSI beats the 1201T hands down for several reasons.

For starters the U230 comes with a Windows operating system whereas the 1201T doesn’t.  If you were to buy a 1201T and wanted to use a Linux OS like Jolicloud, Moblin, or Chrome then it wouldn’t bother you.  Most people would rather have Windows which they know how to use and are already familiar with.

Also the U230 includes an HDMI port while the 1201T is missing one.  Not everyone is going to want to play video from their netbook to their television but it’s better to have and not use than to not have at all.

The next difference is storage concerning both hard drive and memory.  The 1201T comes with a 160GB hard drive and 2GB of memory.  The problem is that the 1201T is maxed out at 2GB.  The U230 comes with a 250GB hard drive with 2GB of memory, with the potential to reach 4GB of RAM.

Lastly, the U230 comes with Gigabit ethernet while the Asus 1201T only comes with 10/100 ethernet.

Everything isn’t all bad as far as the 1201T goes.  The Asus 1201T is selling for $389 while the MSI U230 sells for $429.  Considering the benefits you get for the extra $40 it’s hard to see why anyone would choose the Asus version but hopefully with this comparison you’ll be able to decide which is best for you.

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