Published in Reviews

MSI Wind notebook starts the storm

by on30 May 2008

Index



We tried to surf the net, connect on wireless networks, type, listen to music, publish stuff at Fudzilla, write articles and watch some YouTube videos and the machine worked just fine. It can even cope with normal divx Video. We couldn’t really try a DVD, as there is no DVD drive in this tiny machine, but you won’t really miss it. When you play DivX AVI you have to count on 20 to 30 percent CPU time, which is not that bad considering that this CPU has 4W Thermal design power. 

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There will also be a six-cell battery with 52WH capacity that should be enough for 4.30 to 6 hours, but we still don't know the price of such an option. MSI told us that a fire happened in the factory that makes the batteries in China, and therefore they couldn't send us a sample notebook with a six-cell battery. The notebook weighs approximately 1.2KG with the 3-cell battery, which is heavier than Asus Eee PC, but we don’t really mind.

The only bad part is the plastic. It doesn’t look as cheap and doesn't squeak as the one found on Asus Eee PC, and the display is far better than the 7-inch Eee PC 701 that we've seen before. However, the Wind PC casing still acts as a magnet for fingerprints. MSI needs to bundle a wiping cloth and to replace this plastic at its earliest convenience. Another good thing is that MSI changed its logo and this new one looks much more attractive than the previous one.

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The machine weights about 1.2KG with a three-Cell battery, which is quite heavy, and the power adapter is quite small.

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We managed to run a few tests and we've found out that only thing that really doesn’t run that fast on this notebook and CPU is video and audio encoding. This goes much slower than on a normal Celeron CPU.

We ran 3Dmark just for fun and scored 571 points. It is a sad score but that’s due to the ancient 945GME chipset. We believe that the chipset is the weakest link of this machine, as the chipset dissipates and needs more than the CPU. We still cannot prove this claim but we've heard that 1.6GHz CPU has TDP of 4W, while the chipset has 8W. This is simply unacceptable, but we'll have to live with it. You can guess that the next generation notebook entry level platform will end up with a better chipset.

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The CPU works between 792MHz and 1548MHz (12x132MHz) and the machine is great for a few browser windows, WordPad or word processing, picture viewer and some instant messaging programs. It is as fast as you would need and the speed won't be a problem.


Conclusion

We believe that a lot of people who never had a notebook will consider buying Wind PC U100. It is small and light, it has all you need from a notebook and it is as mobile as it gets. The battery life is not great, but it is still within acceptable levels. The 80GB Western Digital drive really helps a lot and 1GB of memory is enough for just about anything a normal notebook user might need.

Realtek W-LAN uses Windows W-LAN manager; that is a bit primitive, as it forces you to type the password twice but it works quite well. We do believe that W-LAN can and will get a bit faster, but at least it works stable in four W-LAN environments we tested.

Plastic is the biggest minus, as it leaves greasy fingerprint trails all over the small and cute case, but it’s nothing that a nice wipeoff cannot solve. From a design point, MSI deserves 9.5 of 10. We showed the machine to a dozen computer enthusiasts and non-geeks, including a few girls, and they all agree that this notebook looks great. The female part of audience said that it looks really cute, and they could imagine themselves having one.

The price of €399 for this machine will sound unreal, as it costs just €100 more than Asus Eeee PC 701 but has a much better and larger display, better CPU, more memory, a real 80GB HDD inside and more connectors. We are sure that MSI will ignite some price wars, but we were impressed by MSI Wind PC U100.

We still don’t know how you put three USBs a camera, microphone and Bluetooth in this tiny machine and still keep the price at a really acceptable level. Even the keyboard works well and feels good. As proof to this claim I wrote this article in less than an hour in the plane heading to the capital of Spain.

Wind PC notebook is as big as a paper planner, fits any, even the smallest of bags, and still packs enough power. It is as good as it gets and we will be surprised if we see anyone making anything much better than this. 

This is a perfect second machine for people that already have a desktop but really need to be mobile now and then. We can see this tiny thing as very popular in universities, as it has a student budget price and it has all the features that any student might require. This is a perfect PC to show off in a local cafe, as the ladies might actually come to you and start a conversation about your cute notebook.

We can highly recommend it to anyone who can live with a 10-inch display and really likes ultra mobility.


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Last modified on 01 June 2008
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