MSI Wind U100-641US Netbook Review

Duration: 4:03

UPDATE: ASUS has released an Atom N280 model, the new processor. If considering shopping for a netbook, you should check this new generation of devices. Easy on me. This is my first review EVER! Manuscript: We will look at the MSI u100-641US, a new netbook release from MSI, or Micro Star International, the famous Taiwanese manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other products. This is part of the company's u100 series, with the usual Atom n270 processor at 1.6 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, nicely upgradable to 2GB, 160GB HD and a 10" screen, a three cell battery, Windows XP and almost nothing else. It has an overly simple design, so practical, and has absolutely no aesthetic touches except for the glossy top. Material quality is not extreme, but rahter very decent. It has 3 USB inputs, mike and sound jacks, VGA output, a LAN input, an SD card reader and built-in .3 MP webcam and mike. It weighs 2.6 pounds, or around 1.2 kilos. It has a 10" non-glossy screen with very impressive brightness, providing for the current 1024 web-standard width resolution. Good for mobility, bad for long hours. A netbook's form factor helps massively with mobility. This one has that average laptop look with indicators right where you want them. The keyboard is downscaled, but not so much as in 9" devices, which were the first-gen netbooks. A problem I faced with the keyboard is to press the keypad mistakingly when typing, taking the cursor into other places. The three-cell battery lives between an hour with moderate usage, and an hour and a half tops. Larger batteries are available for nearly a third of the device's price. The atom has been around for 9 months, selling well since its inception. Intel has officially released its second generation of laptop atoms, yet it will take a while for manufacturers to absorb it. The device performs nicely, but only when keeping in mind that this is a stripprd out laptop. In this segment of devices, you will miss a DVD drive, and HD video. Here, merits are size, and price, as Taiwanese manufacturers, starting with Asus, took over in this field. Here, the machine is slipped into a simple and small soft case, maintaining lightness and size. Here we run computational-intensive MATLAB and LABVIEW, which are programs common with engineers. I have seen that running several internet explorers and office applications can clog this device. HD, even hi-res videos are out of the question. A segment of netbook users like to put in Linux, or even versions of MAC OSX, but the latter had discussions over unavailability of mike and camera drivers. For April and May, you're very well suited to get these. A weird fact is that they provide recovery and windows XP CDs. This device sells for 300$ or less. You might want to try shifting from 15.4" into a kilogram laptop, given that you have a performance desktop if you have computational or important work, gaming, or HD. This is a device that you buy knowing that you will change it within two years max. Here, we have a machine weighing between a half to a third of 15.4" laptop, whithout necessarily slashing abilities heavily. If you have time on your hand, shop for a better deal, although it can prove hard for the moment. On the other hand, you are better off to wait till the next-gen atoms roll out and shuffle. I give this device a B+ overall score for great pricing and good performance.

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