MSI Wind U100 Review, Comparison to Acer Aspire One, Eee PC 901
July 2, 2008
Mobile Computer has put together some information, photos, and a video comparison of the Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind U100, and Asus Eee PC 901, three netbooks that, despite the display-size differences, are all basically run off of the same platform, powered by Intel’s Atom CPU.
Even though the Wind U100, with a 10.2-inch widescreen display, has a larger display than the 8.9-inch displays of the Aspire One and Eee PC 901, it’s actually not that much bigger, as the photos and video illustrate.
They’ve also reviewed the MSI Wind U100, and were impressed with its design, saying:
Like Acer, MSI has gone to great lengths to ensure that the Wind looks nothing like a cheap laptop and it feels no less well made (nor any less good looking) than a laptop that costs three times as much. The all-plastic case is solid and there are no creaks or pops even when it’s flexed with both hands. There’s something about a smoothly shaped lid that we like – it worked well on the Aspire One and it’s just as good-looking here.
They gave it a rating of six out of six (the main problem being the battery, given the price) and their Editor’s Choice Award.
Read:
- Mobile Computer - Hands on with MSI Wind, Aspire One, Eee PC 901
- Mobile Computer - MSI Wind Review
MSI Wind Roundup, Availability in the US
June 27, 2008
Almost two weeks ago, the online MSI store was listing the 10-inch MSI Wind as being available today - June 27th - in the US but that’s not going to happen, unfortunately. Originally it was scheduled for June 16th, 2008. Now it’s looking like the week after next, July 7th or July 8th (coincidentally around the same time as the Eee PC 901 and 1000 launch).
An email was posted to the MSIWind.net forums (via liliputing) from MSI (a North American contact) stating that it would the week of July 7th, “due to the industry wide battery shortage“. The good news (if you want to call it that) is that shipping for the MSI Wind NB from the MSI Online Store will be upgraded to overnight shipping, free of charge. Contact numbers are listed at the link above.
Asus Eee PC 900, 901, 1000 Roundup, Availability
June 27, 2008
First up, some news on the battery issue with the Register hardware is reporting that Asus will be contacting owners on July 1st, about swapping their 4400mAh battery for a 5800mAh battery. That doesn’t mean they’ll be shipped immediately - there appears to be a delay while Asus UK waits to physically get the batteries (and not just on paper), but it looks like the situation will be soon resolved.
Next up, Liliputing mentions that Asus has told some customers that the 10-inch Eee PC 1000 / 1000H and the 8.9-inch Eee PC 901 would be available in the US on July 8, 2008. This would put the Eee PC 1000 / 1000(H) in direct competition literally with the 10-inch MSI Wind, which is powered by the same Intel Atom CPU (albeit slightly cheaper).
Read more
ASUS Eee PC Review (LAPTOP Mag.)
June 25, 2008
Last week, LAPTOP magazine published a review of the new 10-inch Intel Atom-powered ASUS Eee PC 1000H.
The Eee PC 1000H offers the option of a mechanical hard drive (80GB in this case). The Eee PC 1000H reviewed had only 1GB of memory (you can go up to 2GB), and was priced at $649.
As they point out, this is the largest netbook or sub-notebook to come out so far (it’s even slightly larger and heavier than the 10-inch version of the MSI Wind).
Of particular interest is the fact that the Eee PC 1000 series has a hardware switching system for switching between resolutions (800×600 up through a “compressed” 1024×768 mode - the normal resolution is 1024×600, but it can go higher by compressing the image). It also, like the MSI Wind, has
hardware switches for its “Super Hybrid Engine” which allows you to change the speed and power-saving mode of the device - from 1.2GHz up through 1.8GHz.
With the 6-cell battery, they were able to hit around four and a half hours of battery life, and overall they liked it, giving it 4 out of 5 stars (with the main drawback being price - $150 more than the MSI Wind).
Read: LAPTOP Magazine
Asus Eee PC 901 Mini-Review, First Impressions
June 10, 2008
A couple of more mini-reviews / first impressions of Asus’ Eee PC 901 have started rolling out, this time from the LAPTOP Magazine blog and from NotebookReview.com.
Joanna Stern (she must be the official netbook person over at LAPTOP Magazine) got her hands on a retail Eee PC 901 from the computer market in Taiwan. Although the 8.9-inch Intel Atom-powered device she has is running a Chinese-language version of Windows XP, she was still able to put it through its paces. She posted a video of the 901, as well as her impressions of the netboook / sub-notebook and its design changes (improved hinges, improved trackpad, improved covering).
While she didn’t notice any changes performance wise between the Eee PC 900 and the 901 (although she didn’t run benchmarks), she did mention that, like the MSI Wind, the Eee PC 901 has an overclocking mode (that takes the 1.6GHz Atom up to 1.8GHz). Asus calls it their “Super Hybrid Engine” (while plugged in - when it’s unplugged the function slows the CPU down to 1.4GHz to save on the battery life). She has gotten upwards of 5 hours of battery life, beating the Eee PC 900.
Read more
Acer Aspire One - Videos, Hands-On
June 4, 2008
The announcement at Computex this week concerned the 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One has generated a lot of interest in Acer’s entry into the netbook market. Between the price (starting at under $400) and the specifications (Intel Atom CPU, LED-backlit display, large keyboard), it’s not hard to see why.
Videos (AVING TV, Eee PC News) and photos are starting to be published to the web.
CNET is reporting that the Linux version with an 8GB Solid State Drive (SSD) SSD, and 512MB of RAM will be available July 2, with the Windows XP version coming later on in July. Acer see the market as being both highly mobile tech-savvy types as well as a great first laptop for students.
Read:
- AVING.net
- CNET / News.com
- Eee PC News (German)
Thanks to Dan for sending these in.
