MSI Wind U100 Review

When the ASUS Eee PC burst onto the market it defined a new class of notebook; the netbook, which offers a notebook that's small, a notebook that's feature rich and a notebook that's low cost. The MSI Wind is targeted at this sector of the market, with an affordable, stylish laptop which comes in a range of colours and includes an integrated webcam, WiFi and Bluetooth as well as a 6-cell battery. Punching above its weight in the competitive ultra-portable market, the MSI Wind also features Intel's Atom processor, 1GB of memory and a LED screen.

Key Features:

• 10-inch matte widescreen LED backlit TFT display
• Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Processor
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• 80GB hard drive
• Built-in web camera
• WiFi 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth
• Intel 945GMS Graphics

Specification

Compared to the ASUS Eee PC:

Name	MSI Wind U100	ASUS Eee PC 1000H
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Form Factor	Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)	Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)
Operating System	Microsoft Windows XP Home	Microsoft Windows XP Home
Display	10-inch Matte TFT display, 1024 by 600 resolution	10-inch Matte TFT display, 1024 by 600 resolution
Processor	Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz (512KB L2 cache shared, 533MHz bus)	Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz (512KB L2 cache shared, 533MHz bus)
Memory	1GB (1x 1GB) DDR2	1GB (1x 1GB) DDR2
Hard drive	80GB 5400-rpm SATA	80GB 5400-rpm SATA
Graphics	Intel GMA 950 (64MB shared memory)	Intel GMA 950 (64MB shared memory)
USB	3x USB2	3x USB2
Firewire
VGA	Yes (VGA out)	Yes (VGA out)
DVI
HDMI
Video
Other Input
Audio	Yes (audio line out),Yes (audio line in),Built-in microphone,Built-in stereo speakers	Yes (audio line out),Yes (audio line in),Built-in microphone,Built-in stereo speakers
Expansion
Keyboard	80% of full-size	less than full-size
Pointer	Trackpad	Trackpad
Memory card reader
Modem
Network	10/100	10/100
Wireless	802.11b/g	802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Other wireless
Webcam	Built-in webcam	Built-in webcam
Remote Controller
Power Supply/Charger	Yes	Yes
Dimensions	31.5mm (H) x 260mm (W) x 180mm (D)	45mm (H) x 266mm (W) x 191mm (D)
Weight	1.18kg	1.45kg
Warranty	1 Year,	1 Year,

Design

The MSI Wind is well built for a notebook in this price range, made of good quality plastic and sturdy throughout. The fit and finish is very good, with the lid's glossy finish exuding a touch of style (whilst acting as a fingerprint magnet!). The input ports are along both sides of the body and the air grilles on the left side and below the notebook. The screen hinges are sturdy and the lid opens smoothly, although be warned, the notebook is top heavy with the lid open and has a tendency to tip back.

Design - Details

Screen

The 10-inch screen on the MSI Wind is bright and clear, with excellent vertical and horizontal viewing angles. Its native resolution is 1024x600 which is typical for a notebook this size although fonts in Windows are difficult to read. Colour rendition is good and the matte finish copes very well with reflections and is readable in strong light thanks to its bright LED backlight.

Ports

Ports on the MSI Wind are found along both sides of the machine with none to be found on the rear. This is excellent news for those used to picking up their notebook up from the front and finding that they've bent a connected usb pen or the power plug connected in the back. On the left side is a Kensington cable lock slot, and two USB ports. On the right is an Ethernet port, VGA port, audio line out and microphone in, as well as a 4-in-1 memory card reader and another USB port. On an ultra-mobile notebook an Ethernet port without gigabit is forgivable, but it really should be standard by now. The memory card reader however is a valuable addition and reads SD, MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro.

Keyboard

Notebook's can make or break on the quality of their keyboards, fortunately the keyboard on the MSI Wind is very good indeed. The keys are very nearly full size and have good travel. Touch typing is not a problem either, with the only concerns being some flex in the keyboard when pressed hard and interference from the trackpad when the wrist brushes against it. Despite these minor points, it's clear that MSI has spent some time on their keyboard with it almost approaching the quality of Lenovo's Thinkpad range.

Trackpad

The trackpad on the MSI Wind unfortunately does not live up to the quality of its keyboard. Whilst it is accurate and responsive, its tiny size makes it difficult to use for those with large hands and when using the keyboard, the close proximity of the trackpad means it is easy to accidentally 'click' by brushing your wrist against it. Since single click tapping cannot be disabled this behaviour appears to be unavoidable. Instead of scrolling, the trackpad offers a sort of pseudo-mouse-wheel experience where the top left and bottom right corners are tapped to scroll the page up or down. It's a little clunky but it works, it's just a pity that the trackpad on the MSI Wind is so poor compared to its keyboard.

Battery & power

The MSI Wind's power adapter is the standard black brick which ships with most laptops. It does have a reassuringly sturdy connector however which makes it less likely to bend or break.

The battery is a 6-cell design meaning it offers high capacity and long battery life. It slides into the back of the notebook and sits proud of the base. Removing the battery is simple enough, with two catches sliding to the side to release it.