Photo: MSI

With all the new netbooks coming out at the moment, MSI have released one that is light and easy to take around with you. The Wind U160 has a stylish design with a black and silver finish, giving it a modern and fresh look. It boasts a 10-inch screen with a glossy shine, but unfortunately lacks the glare reduction that helps when outside. It’s very lightweight at 1kg and relatively thin except for the bulging battery compartment at the back which can be a bit of a nuisance, but it’s an affordable netbook with loads to offer.

All the features

The MSI Wind U160 uses the 1.66Ghz PineTrail N450 atom processor which is pretty new from Intel, plus they also use a graphics card which is able to display HD-ready content. It has 1GB of internal memory which can be upgraded to 2GB, and has hard drive storage space of an impressive 250GB, giving you loads of room to fit in all your favourite movies, shows, music and photos that you can transport through the USB port. The U160 uses Windows 7 which is easy to use for all those who are familiar with it.

Getting used to the design

Photo: MSI

The Wind U160 netbook has a different look when it comes to its keyboard and trackpad. The keys are spaced out more than usual, are smaller and are raised higher than ordinary keyboards. This could take some getting used to, but they work well and you won’t have to beat down on the keys to get them to work. The trackpad has a dimple effect which may feel a little strange at first and again takes some getting used to, but with practice and use you probably won’t realise the difference after a while.

Cool little netbook

The MSI netbook is able to regulate its temperature to ensure over-heating isn’t a possibility, so it’ll stay cool even when watching media content that tends to heat up the device. The U160 is a nice netbook to have, it looks good, is thin and can be taken around with you thanks to its impressive battery life of approximately 8 hours. The keyboard and trackpad are a bit different, but over time they’ll be easier to use. The HD-ready quality keeps the video displays up there with the best, and the large storage space begs to be filled with all your favourite media content. The MSI Wind U160 is an affordable netbook that is priced at £299.

A compact notebook, MSI Wind U100-220 is highly functional machine, which will allow the user to complete more tasks in less time. A lightweight gadget, it is ultra portable and can be easily carried from one office to another with much ease. A high performing laptop, it has a 10 inch LCD display screen that offers sharp and vivid images. The crystal clear screen offers additional comfort and reduces eye strain and has a resolution of 1024×600.

The notebook has a hard disk drive of 120GB, which offers ample storage space for all your media, photos, music and data. Equipped with 1GB of RAM, the notebook guarantees smooth operations even while using most advanced applications. It has Windows XP Home as its operating system and is powered by an Intel Atom N270 Processor which is fast and efficient. The processor can run multiple programmes at once and powers the notebook for outstanding access and mobility. For convenience, this net book also has wireless and Bluetooth capabilities so that you can access the Internet and share media wherever you go.

The laptop comes equipped with USB ports that enhance its expansion capabilities while its 4-in-1 card reader gives it additional connectivity. The USB ports make it possible for you to connect the laptop to external devices like a printer, Apple iPod or a digital camera and even a memory card. Weighing a mere 1kg and measuring just 26cm in length, the notebook is travel-ready. Ergonomically designed, the MSI Wind U100-220 netbook has an innovative keyboard and a touch pad that will allow you to use the net book easily and without any strain. Moreover, the U100 MSI Net book also has built-in webcam, stereo speakers and a microphone, all of which make it fun to indulge in online gaming and video calling.

Tags for this article: netbook, notebook, review

An ultra-portable netbook from Taiwanese manufacturer MSI, MSI Wind U100-291UK weighs a paltry 1kg. Only 19mm thick, it has been designed after much research and innovation. A perfect mobile PC for the executives on the move, the laptop offers the performance of the full-fledged laptop. Powered by an Intel Atom processor, it is high on performance. Featuring a 160GB hard drive, it has ample storage space for all your files, music, photos and other media too. With 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM that runs at a clock speed of 667 MHz, this solid machine has a vibrant 10 inch TFT WSVGA display screen with a resolution of 1024X600. The screen offers good viewing angles and offers crystal clear images in bright daylight. It also has an excellent keyboard, which is easy to type on. A comfortable keyboard increases efficiency and productivity of the user.

The “underclock” feature in this notebook can be activated to give extended battery life. On top of all these features, this lightweight machine also offers amazing sound quality through its HD stereo speakers. It also has an integrated webcam that makes keeping in touch with friends easy no matter where you are. The robust machine has Intel GMA 950 for its graphical applications while it also has Bluetooth which enhances its connectivity. An efficient and ergonomic machine, the laptop has been designed keeping in mind the needs of an active executive who works on the move. A comfortable and user-friendly machine, the MSI Wind U100-291UK has the best ergonomics in its class of mini laptops. Available at a reasonable price, it is an attractive gadget and a wise buy.

Moblin, the open source project founded by Intel for netbooks has just released the second alpha or the Moblin version 2. It’s basically an upgrade over the first alpha that was released by the company for Moblin v1 couple of months back. The original Mobil Linux Kernel was developed to offer a fast, powerful and lightweight platform for mobile computing with special emphasis on Intel Atom CPU.

The version 2 of alpha offers an updated kernel, improved graphics framework and a revised Moblin Image Creator (MIC2). However as far as the graphic capability is concerned the kernel still lacks in two areas. The Intel’s GMA 500 graphics chipset is not yet supported and the development for 3D performance is still going on. However the new kernel now supports the MSI Wind U100 netbook, in addition to the Acer Aspire One, Asus Eee PC 901 and Dell Mini 9. Moblin is set to compete with other Linux based projects including Google’s Android, Jolicloud and gOS. The beta release of the application will be available in April. Its Alpha version and pre-built images are available at the official website.

Below is the list of upgrades that the Moblin v2 offers:

• Updated UI libraries
• Improved graphics system
• Enhanced Moblin system services
• Support for MSI Wind, Acer Aspire One, Asus Eee PC 901 and Dell Mini 9
• Updated ConnMan
• Enhanced boot process, inter-process and package interactions
• OS libraries updated
• Updated XFCE (v4.6)
• Kernel updated to Kernel 2.6.29-rc7
• New Moblin Image Creator (MIC2)
• Gnome 2.26 RC