NbC: MSI Wind U135 Review
March 29, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Keyboard
One of the key differences between the MSI Wind U130 and the U135 is that the latter comes with a chiclet keyboard. These island (or isolated) keyboards have become a feature across a few netbooks now and MSI has used it as a premium feature. However, not all chiclet keyboards are created equally, with some better than others. The keyboard itself measures 25.0cm (W) x 9.2cm (H) and stretches to the end of the chassis.
All of the buttons are in the right place. However, one of our main niggles was that the right shift key was very small. Apart from this you get a large UK-style Enter key and good-sized arrow keys to the bottom–right of the keyboard.
The left shift key is also very small that is a tad disappointing. Apart from that, the left side of the keyboard shows no unusual button placement. Everything is where we would hope to find it. A number of shortcut Function keys sit at the top that control display brightness, audio volume, wireless activity etc.
According to our measurements the keys were 14mm in width and 13mm in height. Whilst this is smaller than other 10-inch netbooks, the U135 compensates by offering larger spacing of 19mm between the keys.
As with other chiclet keyboards, key travel isn’t that deep but offers good tactile feedback nonetheless. Pressing each key gives a solid depression and is comfortable to use over long periods.
We found the Wind U135 keyboard to be very comfortable in use over long periods. What you notice immediately is how solid the keyboard feels when in use. There is no flex whatsoever, even in the middle part of the keyboard.
Touchpad
The touchpad in the U135 is the largest we’ve come across in a 10-inch netbook. It measures 63.0mm (W) x 38.5mm (H). This compares to the Toshiba NB200 at 78.5mm (W) x 41mm (H), the Asus Eee PC 1005HA at 63mm in width by 33m in height, the MSI Wind U115 at 50mm x 38mm and Samsung N120 at 64mm x 35mm. The touchpad doesn’t support multi-touch gestures out of the box.
The touchpad comes with a striped pattern design much like the lid. We liked the surface of the touchpad that allows your finger to easily slide. We didn’t have any problems scrolling and web browsing was a pleasure. Despite not being the largest netbook touchpad out there we had no issues whatsoever.
The mouse buttons are taken care of by a single rocker bar placed at the bottom of the touchpad.
Once again, button presses had good feedback and found that the rocker bar was long enough that we didn’t make too many mistakes with it.
May 9th, 2010 1:16 PM
I think it needs to be pointed out that the touchpad DOES in fact support multi-touch, scrolling, etc. You just need to grab the Sentelic Multi Touchpad driver from http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=nbdriver&maincat_no=135&prod_no=1973
May 26th, 2010 8:14 PM
Please include a close-up of the two MSI labels on the right underside. These labels show the wireless chipset used in the laptop. I would not touch the U135 if the chipset was Atheros ! too many problems with this chipset. Realtek is the best.
July 8th, 2010 2:43 PM
i have just bought one and the only thing i dnt know how to turn on is the bluetooth dse any one know how to
July 9th, 2010 10:15 PM
I am trying to find the user manual for my MSI wind U100. Not in the box and searched online to no avail. There are many things I do not know about my Netbook, so just do without!! I found a lot of manuals for the Asus Netbooks online, but shame on MSI/Proline for the lack of customer services.
My problem is — I do not know where to set the Webcam, it is not working, can anyone assist please. Thx E
August 3rd, 2010 2:43 PM
Hi,
I also don’t know how to make bluetooth work or my webcam…
can anyone tell me how?
August 4th, 2010 11:08 AM
My problem is — I do not know where to set the Webcam, it is not working, can anyone assist please. Thx E
For U100, Fn+F6 can turn on the webcam.
August 6th, 2010 7:01 PM
hi to turn the webcam on you need to press the fn button and the f6 button at the same time dose anyone know how to switch bluetooth on
October 19th, 2010 4:55 PM
Eli,
The english user manual for the Wind U100 can be found at the address below.
Copy and paste it into your browser.
Josh
http://download1.msi.com/files/downloads/mnu_exe/01_MS_N011+N811_v1.0_English.zip
January 6th, 2011 11:25 PM
hi, i was wondering if anyone could help because i got the netbook for christmas so i can stay in contact with family etc on skype but cant seem to figure out how to make the webcam work
January 17th, 2011 1:33 PM
Hi Guys,
I have bought the Wind U135 just today and the sales guy explained that the netbook doesnt have a built-in Bluetooth. You need to use a bluetooth plug-in/ device.
May 7th, 2011 11:00 AM
hiya i just bort the msi u135 netbook the webcam works an it sayss i have a built bluetooth i dont know ow ta switch it on it says to press fn +f11 togeva that only switches on the wireless can anyone tell me pleasee thanks
May 23rd, 2011 2:39 PM
Please can somebody advice me on how to turn my webcam on and is a built on webcam U135 laptop. it seem when i press the fn and f6 key it comes up but says error or bad signal so please advice