MSI is to offer new netbooks: the Wind U110, U115 and U120.
The U120 is much the same as the original U100, but with 3G built-in. It’s the other two that do clever things with the standard netbook loadout, though all remain stuck with a 600-line display. Here’s a bullet list:
• Options for 2GB of RAM.
• The Z530, a more expensive version of Intel’s Atom CPU, which uses 20% less power.
• A new chipset that uses less power.
• 6-cell battery as standard.
• Hybrid flash/spinning storage, also said to use less power.
The holy grail is to get a full day of work off a single charge. It’s driven netbook makers to offer long-life batteries, and Acer’s Aspire One rules at Amazon thanks to the inclusion, at no extra cost, of the 6-cell upgrade. In the case of Samsung’s NC10, almost 7 hours can be squeezed by keeping the display dim. even with WiFi on.
MSI’s response line-items every part to stay ahead of the game, and UMPC Portal outlines where the compromise might be: New MSI Netbooks; Not Your Standard Cookie-Cutter Specs.
Update: I just double-checked the sales ranks, and it turns out Asus’ Eee 900HA has dethroned the Aspire One. It’s understandable – the 900HA has gotten excellent word of mouth. But look who’s storming up the chart, despite its relatively high price.
Damn – I just bought an MSI wind for my son’s Christmas present.
Of course, the $300 deal at newegg wouldn’t have applied to a brand new model anyways.
Once the new wears off his, I’ll have to borrow it for a day and see if I can comfortably type on it for any extended period of time. If I can, then I’ll likely wind up with one of the newer models.
He’ll he delighted with the Wind as-is — it’s still a great machine, and these new Winds will not be $300! Chippy reckons they could be as much as $700.
The only salient question is whether the new MSI Wind U120 runs a hackintosh OSx86 as well or better than the previous Wind model did — particularly if the modem menuicon works with the built-in 3G data. (Not to mention working audio out on the 3.5mm port.)
Yes, I’m sure he will be delighted – almost as delighted as I’ll be to have the opportunity to remind him frequently to take care not to break [his] wind.
And if the new ones are going to be $700, you can count me out. For that money I could buy a $300 netbook and a PS3.
I just went netbook shopping this weekend, and found this to be the best priced:
Acer Aspire One AOA110-1112 White Intel Atom N270(1.60GHz) 8.9″ 512MB Memory 8GB SSD Netbook – Retail
Thats $249 at NewEgg which is a great price. I can’t get free/cheap shipping cuz I’m in HI so my total cost would be $275
BUT I ended buying this one:
ASUS Eee PC 901 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB Solid State Drive, XP Home, 6 Cell Battery) Pearl White
It was $349 before shipping, $375 after
It was a real tough choice for me, but I chose the 901 because that extra $100 bought me:
* 512mb Ram increase (512 to 1g)
* 4gb SSD increase (8gb to 12gb)
* 3 Cell Battery increase (3cell to 6cell)
* Windows XP
That felt like a lot of extras for the $$$
I’m sporting an OLPC right now and want to see how much better, if any, the 901 is (I suspect it will be) – Although I am dual-booting sugar/ubuntu on it and have it overclocked.
I see the EEE 900HA is a lot cheaper than my 901 (especially with free Amazon shipping)
Did I make a bad choice?
I really wanted a SSD and don’t need more than 8gb, but it looks like I could have saved a lot by going with the larger HDD on the 900HA
Other than HD is there another reason to choose the 901 over the 900HA or vice-versa?
Some report that the 901′s SSD isn’t the fastest, but if isn’t noticeable (as it is with the 900A at Best Buy) it’s not a problem.
The reason I haven’t gotten a 900HA myself if the lack of 6-cell batteries for that model. No-one is making them yet. So I’m likely to get a 901 myself — just like yours — if nothing else appears before Christmas. I’m fond of the Eees slightly smaller form, compared to the rest of the “good” netbooks.