|
Written by Sasa Pantelic
|
|
Wednesday, 09 July 2008 |
|
Page 1 of 3  Category of small cheap notebooks became very popular and there is no wonder why most of big brands want a piece of cake for themselves. But Asus got all of them off-guard. Because of that we’ve been waiting rather long for Eee’s true rival . We’ve already mentioned MSI’s agility which allowed them again to be first with new product on market. Their trump card wears name Wind and model that InsideHW had tested is MSI Wind U100.
Even if we don’t pay much attention, during notebook tests, on package we just cannot overlook it this time. Picture that was used for package was chosen in that manner so that your new notebook looks like it came with a gift bow. Perfect package choice for this “little guy”. It is made of white, relatively firm plastic. To be honest, it would be unreal to expect small and lightweight notebook to have low price and to be firm enough. Small weight and firm case has for example Lenovo X300, but for multiple higher price. So in general, we are satisfied with quality made of MSI Wind notebook. Edges are rounded and whole design concept is pretty much neutral (whit such a design Wind will be suitable to most users).
Comparison with Asus Eee PC 900 is simply inevitable (two direct rivals ASUS Eee vs. MSI Wind). Screen on Wind has a 10’’ diagonal and 1024x600px resolution. Difference in screen size is 1.1’’ and Wind’s dimensions in total are much bigger from Eee’s dimensions. Wind is 26x18cm (1.9-3.15cm thick) against Asus’s 22.5x17cm (2-3.38cm thick). Keyboard reaches from side to side and typing on it is incomparably cozier than it is on rival from Asus. Only detail that bothers us is Enter key which is similar by dimensions to Shift key. It should be a little bigger. Touch pad on Eee Pc is bigger and also has Dual Touch possibility, so we prefer this one more than Touch pad on Wind.
Besides evident size advantage, screen on MSI Wind has also better characteristics. The picture is brighter (easier to use on direct sun light) and view angles are bigger. Screen is matte with LED backlight. In this category Wind takes clear victory. Nevertheless, on the other side, bigger dimensions have their drawbacks. Model that we tested have 30% larger weight from Eee 900 (1.3kg against 1kg).
It is important to mention that most of that weight enlargement comes from battery. Wind that we tested had 6-cell battery and with it Wind weights 1.3kg (30% more than Eee). With 3-cell battery it will weight exact 1.0kg, but because of shortage on the market of 6-cell batteries, Wind will be at first shipped with 3-cell battery. Why all this fuss with batteries? Because, with 6-cell battery notebook has much more autonomy than it does with 3-cell.
Warming up is less than is for Eee PC. Wind has also a few interesting details such are: camera, wireless 802.11 b/g adapter, Bluetooth and card reader.
|
