NbC: MSI Wind U135 Review
March 29, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Battery Life
The MSI Wind U135 comes with a 6-cell lithium-ion battery. MSI claims that the battery should last for 7 and a half hours. We were eager to see how close it came to this figure.
The 6-cell Li-ion battery is rated at 49Whr (4400mAh).
We have used a number of different scenario tests to determine what kind of battery life to expect from the MSI Wind U135. Battery life is one of the most critical considerations to make when choosing a netbook. As with our previous reviews, we avoid using synthetic battery tests to determine battery life. Apps, such as Battery Eater, are designed to determine the extreme points of battery performance and we just feel that they are not representative of what the netbook will be used for. We also feel that they are of limited use to our readers, who want real-world examples of what the netbook is capable of.
Airplane
We replicate an environment where one may want to watch video throughout an airplane journey. For this test we turned off both Wi-Fi and the webcam. Screen brightness was set to 60 percent (given the dark environment) and audio was set to 50 percent. We also plugged in a pair of headphones (noise cancelling Sennheiser PXC 250’s) to make the test as authentic as possible. We then looped an AVI video file continuously on full screen until the battery died.
Result: In this scenario, we found that the battery lasted for 309 minutes (5 hours and 9 minutes), coming second from last.
Business
For this test, we simulated the likely setting one would use if using the netbook on the move for business. We had Wi-Fi and the webcam switched on. The screen was set to 50 percent brightness and audio at 50 percent. To make sure the Wi-Fi was being used, we also opened the Opera browser and set a couple of web pages to refresh every 30 seconds.
Result: Under this scenario, the battery lasted for 306 minutes (5 hours and 6 minutes). This put it second-to-last again.
Coffee Shop
Here we replicated an environment where you might surf the net or watch YouTube whilst having a coffee. For this test we turned on Wi-Fi (and left the webcam off). Screen brightness was 100 percent whilst audio was at 50 percent. We streamed a YouTube video on an endless loop until the battery died.
Result: As you can imagine, this particular test really stressed the CPU. On average CPU usage was over 85 percent. It is no surprise to therefore see that the battery lasted the shortest time under this test at 219 minutes (3 hours and 39 minutes), keeping its position to the back of netbooks tested so far.
Jukebox
This particular test involved streaming music over a wireless network. Audio was set to 75 percent, whilst brightness was set to 27.5 percent. Wi-Fi was switched on, but the webcam was switched off. An album was looped until the battery died.
Result: The MSI Wind U135 lasted for 337 minutes (5 hours and 37 minutes), this put it third from last in front of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA and Samsung N510.
Summary
Considering the power efficiency and lower TDP of the Pine Trail platform, it was disappointing not to see the Wind U135 fare better in the battery standings. It consistently came towards the bottom of the pile if we exclude the ION-powered Samsung N510 that has an 11.6-inch display. This put it in last place of the 10-inch netbooks in all of the tests bar one.
Despite this, it is worth noting that the netbooks tested so far have some of the best battery lives out of all of its peers. In absolute terms, the battery life was good, we were just hoping it would upset the top-order a bit more. Also, tweaking the power settings could bring you even longer life if needed.
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