MSI to reveal Android netbook at Computex?

We already know that at least two ARM-powered netbooks are due to make an appearance at Computex Taiwan this year. Given the Android push, we would not be surprised to see these running on Google’s operating system. Now we have word from Digitimes, that MSI is planning to showcase an Android-powered netbook at the same show.

The report says that development of the netbook has been in conjunction with the Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry (III), although no further comments were given. Either way, Computex looks like it will have some big news for the netbook market. We can’t wait to see what comes out of it. Computex takes place between 2 – 6 June 2009.

MSI intros Wind U100 PLUS netbook, faster CPU & new colours

The MSI Wind U100 PLUS netbook, which was first spotted back in early March, has now been officially confirmed. As the name suggests, the U100 PLUS is effectively a refresh of the U100 and comes with a faster N280 (1.66GHz) Atom processor. MSI are also talking of a 7 hour battery life with the standard battery. Given that it is listed with the 3-cell battery as standard I find that hard to believe, I imagine that the 7 hours of life relates to the optional 6-cell battery.

The U100 PLUS will also come in two additional colours, Rose Champagne and Metallic Blue, as well as the original three colours (red, black and white). Apart from that the specifications appear to be the same as the original U100 netbook.

The U100 PLUS comes with 10-inch (1024 x 600) panel, 1GB RAM and 160GB hard-disk drive. Wireless functionality is served by wi-fi (b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.0. Other features include a 1.3MP webcam, three USB ports and 4-in-1 card reader. The U100 PLUS weighs around 1kg with the 3-cell battery.

Q1 sales targets missed, netbook gravy train starting to slow?

Netbooks have provided an important leg of growth for the PC industry during the global recession, however there are signs that sales may be starting to moderate. According to Digitimes, the big Taiwanese netbook vendors such as Asustek, Acer and MSI saw shipment volumes fall short of first quarter targets.

Whilst Acer is said to have shipped two million Aspire One netbooks, the sell through rate in retail was lower. Asus were looking to sell one million Eee PCs but fell 100,000 short whilst MSI sold only 200,000 Wind netbooks. Read more

MSI Wind U123 taken through its paces

Following on from the recent unboxing, Portable Monkey has put up a MSI Wind U123 review. Overall impressions on the 10-inch netbook were positive including very good keyboard and screen. However, they felt it was let down by a number of smaller factors including tinny sound from the speakers, no scrolling capability on the touchpad and low microphone volume.

One of the big disappointments, though, was that the RAM/HDD cannot be upgraded without voiding the warranty. Apparently whilst the bottom part of the case can be easily removed, MSI have placed a “void if tampered with” sticker to make sure you don’t upgrade the parts yourself.

The white MSI U123 comes with a 10-inch (1024 x 600) display powered by a 1.66Ghz N280 Intel Atom CPU and 945GSE chipset. Graphics are served by Intel’s GMA950. Other features include Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.0, 1.3MP webcam and a 5-in-1 card reader (the US SKU comes with a 4-in 1 reader). It also comes with a 6-cell battery (5200 mAh) as standard. The unit weighs less than 1.4kg (2.98lbs) including the 6-cell battery. Check out the key points of the review after the break. Read more

25 hours squeezed out of MSI Wind U115 9-cell battery

Around a month ago, Johannes from Eee-PC.de conducted a battery test on the 6-cell battery of the MSI Wind U115 Hybrid which yielded over 13 hours on a single charge. Johannes has since got hold of a 9-cell battery for the U115 Hybrid and has started to see just how much juice he can get out of it. His first test was running the Battery Eater test on the “Idle” setting which resulted in a whopping 25 hours and 4 minutes!

Now it is worth mentioning that under the “idle” setting, Battery Eater will show a result closest to the maximum possible. Therefore you would not expect to achieve a time of 25 hours under real-world use. He is now running tests in the “Classic” mode which provides the results under a maximum 100% workload.

The U115 Hybrid has been designed to have a long battery life. Its unique storage solution combines both a SDD and HDD, and allows the HDD to be disabled when not in use. It also uses a low-power 1.6GHz Z530 Atom CPU. The MSI Wind U115s battery recently came top in a 13-way netbook shoot-out. We can’t wait to test it for ourselves in due course. The MSI Wind U115 Hybrid is due in the UK in May for £499. Check out a preview video of the 9-cell battery and comparison with 6-cell battery after the break. Read more

Battery life of 13 netbooks compared, MSI U115 emerges victorious

Netbook vendors and consumers are placing increasing importance on battery lives. We have seen a number of netbooks announced recently from all of the major players (MSI, Samsung, Asus and Acer) who are trying to push longer and longer lasting battery times. To take the headache out of finding out which ones last the longest, Netbook Review has undertaken the arduous task of comparing the battery life of thirteen different netbooks.

Each of the netbooks were tested with the UserBench Battery 2008 benchmark, which involves stress-testing the battery to an absolute maximum. The author claims that the results present a worse-case scenario and should be the bare minimum life expected. The app plays back a WMV video clip with the display and hard drive set to never switch off. Power management was set to “always on”. Read more

MSI Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed

The 10-inch MSI Wind U123 netbook, which was officially announced at the beginning of the month, has been unboxed by Portable Monkey. It seems that MSI provides no access to upgrade your hard-drive or RAM. This is a strange move especially as the U123 supports 2GB RAM, but only ships with 1GB. I imagine, you would have to send it back to MSI if you want the RAM upgrade or open it yourself and void the warranty.

The white MSI U123 came with a 10-inch (1024 x 600) display powered by a 1.66Ghz N280 Intel Atom CPU and 945GSE chipset. Graphics are served by Intel’s GMA950. Other features include WiFi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.0, 1.3MP webcam and a 5-in-1 card reader (the US SKU comes with a 4-in 1 reader). It also comes with a 6-cell battery (5200 mAh) as standard. The unit weighs less than 1.4kg (2.98lbs) including the 6-cell battery.

In Japan, the U123T and U123H models are also due which will include a TV tuner and 3G modem respectively. However, judging from the US press release, the Wind U123 will come with a TV tuner as standard. The MSI Wind U123 comes in a choice of four colours (white, red, blue and grey). The unit is not due to launch in the US until May, but releases in Japan tomorrow. There is no confirmation on pricing or availability in other regions. Click through for some pictures of the MSI Wind U123 being unboxed.

Update: Apparently all MSI Wind netbooks come without access panels on the back. However, the bottom casing can be easily unscrewed to access the HDD and RAM.
Read more

MSI Wind U115 Hybrid netbook gets official UK pricing

The MSI U115 Hybrid netbook has been officially announced for the UK market. It is expected to arrive in May at a price point of £499. This certainly is quite pricey for a 10-inch netbook, especially compared to the competition. However, this price accounts for a Hybrid (HDD/SDD) storage solution and Intel’s latest Poulsbo chipset.

We have certainly been impressed by the technology behind the U115 Hybrid. The UK SKU will come with a 160GB hard-disk drive and 8GB solid-state drive. The HDD can be disabled to preserve power, which some users have managed to get 13 hours of battery life of use out of it. The official announcement refers to a 12 hour battery time on its 6-cell battery. This figure is based on the SSD and LCD enabled and the HDD, WiFi, Bluetooth and webcam disabled and speakers muted.

The 10-inch (1024 x 600) LED-backlit display is powered by a low-power 1.6GHz Z530 Atom CPU and US15W (Poulsbo) chipset. This chipset provides full hardware acceleration of HD files (including H.264, MPEG2 and VC1) helping to reduce the total power consumption. It will come with 1GB RAM and a 4-in-1 card reader. Other features include WiFi (including draft n), Bluetooth, a 1.3MP webcam and three USB ports.

Despite this impressive technology, MSI may have a challenge on its hands. Whilst it has to be commended for introducing new hybrid storage technology and the impressive battery life, one is able to buy the Samsung NC10 or Asus Eee 1000HE and extra battery for less money than the MSI U115. Click through for the full U115 Hybrid specifications. Read more

MSI Wind U123 netbook to see May US launch

MSI has officially announced the launch of the Wind U123 netbook at CTIA in Las Vegas. The U123 appeared on MSI’s website last week when we broke the full official specifications.

Comparing the US spec list to that of the global site there seem to be few differences. The US SKU of the U123 Wind seems to suggest that it will come with a TV tuner and 6-cell battery as standard (with optional 9-cell battery). The unit will weigh 1.4kg (2.98lbs) with the 6-cell battery. This highlights that the 6-cell battery is 400g heavier than with the 3-cell battery which has a combined weight of 1kg (2.2lbs).

The MSI Wind U123 has a 10-inch (1024 x 600) display powered by a 1.66Ghz N280 Intel Atom CPU and 945GSE chipset. It is a shame that MSI decided not to pair the N280 with the GN40 chipset which would have been much more powerful over the 945GSE. Graphics will be served by Intel’s GMA950. It will come with 1GB RAM although 2GB will be supported. Other features include WiFi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.0, 1.3MP webcam and a 4-in-1 card reader. The unit is expected to launch in May in the US. There is no confirmation on pricing or availability in other regions. Full US spec-list after the break. Read more

“Mr. Compromise” looks at netbooks

David Pogue’s “Mr. Compromise” of the New York Times has finally taken a look at netbooks with a ‘review ‘ of four different models. He asked Joanna Stern of Laptop Mag which ones to look at and came up with four 10-inch models. The Asus Eee PC 1000HE, HP Mini 1001, MSI Wind U120 and Samsung NC10.

Surprise, surprise he found that owning a netbook requires making compromises. Some of the issues with each netbook include mouse buttons on either side of the touchpad for the HP Mini 1001, the Samsung NC10 costs too much, the Asus is too heavy and the Wind doesn’t have upgradeable memory. The video doesn’t cover any new ground but is meant to be a bit of light relief, check it out after the break. Read more

Netbook Review Roundup 27/03/2009

Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Friday 27th March 2009.

Asus Eee PC 1000HE @ Khabrein.Info
Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)

HP Mini 2140 @ Wi-Fi Planet
Rating: N/A

MSI Wind U120 @ PC World
Rating: 4.5 Stars (out of 5)

Samsung NC10 review @ Cnet UK
Rating: 8.9

Sony Vaio P (P588E) @ Mobile Tech Review
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)

Netbook Roundup (Asus N10Jc, HP Mini 2140, Samsung NC10, Sony Vaio P) @ Computer World
Rating: N/A

MSI Wind U123/U123T/U123H netbooks appear on official site

The MSI Wind U123 netbook, which was first shown at CeBIT, has now made an appearance on the official MSI site. A full list of specifications is available along with drivers, BIOS and manuals. Interestingly, as well as the Wind U123, MSI will also release the U123T which includes a built-in TV tuner and the U123H which comes with built-in 3.5G (HSDPA).

As far as I am aware, the U123 was meant to come with a 6-cell battery but according to the official Global site it looks like a 3-cell battery will be standard, with options for a 6-cell battery (we hear that an optional 9-cell battery will also be available). However, there is some discrepancy with the MSI Global site and Japanese site as the latter says that it will come with a 6-cell battery as standard. So maybe the Global site has a typo. Read more

MSI Wind U115 Hybrid stripped to bare bones

The guys over at UMPC Fever have taken the traditional ‘unboxing’ to new levels by stripping the Wind U115 right down to its Hybrid storage. The MSI Wind U115 Hybrid promises the longest battery life yet seen in a netbook through a combination of 9-cell battery and hybrid storage solution. Recent tests have shown that the battery life lasted as long as 13 hours on a single charge.

The model came with a 160GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue HDD and 8GB SDD, seated next to 1GB of RAM. Overall, the U115 Hybrid is believed to come in three HDD/SDD combinations. There will be 8GB SSD + 80GB HDD, 16GB SSD + 120GB HDD and 32GB SSD + 160GB HDD models planned. The model won’t be cheap though with an expected price point of €549 in Europe. Check out some more pictures after the jump. Read more

MSI confirms no ATI Radeon in U110 ECO

As we suspected in yesterday’s post regarding the official MSI Wind U110 ECO launch, MSI has made a mistake in the specification list. We were confused when in the list there was an ATi Radeon HD3200 listed for graphics duty. However, given that the Intel Poulsbo US15W chipset features integrated GMA500 graphics and only two PCI Express x 1 lanes it was hard to see how it was possible.

MSI has now officially confirmed that the listing was indeed a mistake and the GMA500 integrated graphics will have to suffice, which may be a disappointment for some.

The Wind U110 offers a nine-hour battery life. Other specs include Intel’s Menlow Atom 1.6GHz Z530, 1GB of RAM and Windows XP, together with a 160GB hard-drive. There’s also optional Bluetooth 2.0 and WiFi draft-n support. Pricing and availability is yet to be announced.

MSI Wind U115 to launch at premium price point of €549?

The MSI Wind U115 Hybrid is reported to cost €549 when it is released in France later this month according to Blogeee. This price point would put it a premium to a lot of its peers, even when you consider the Hybrid nature of its storage system.

We reported last week how the U115 Hybrid managed 13-hours of battery life from a single charge, mainly due to the combination of hard-disk drive and solid-state drive. The U115 Hybrid is believed to come in three HDD/SDD combinations. There will be 8GB SSD + 80GB HDD, 16GB SSD + 120GB HDD and 32GB SSD + 160GB HDD models planned. It is unclear as to which price point the €549 refers to.

If this price point is a true reflection of how much the unit will cost across Europe, then MSI may have a challenge on its hands. Whilst it has to be commended for introducing new hybrid storage technology and the impressive battery life, one may be able to buy the Samsung NC10 or Asus Eee 1000HE and extra battery for less money than MSI’s U115.

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