MSI Wind U100-016US 10-Inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 3 Cell Battery) Black

by MSI

Product Details

• Item Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001EWE6VC
• Item model number: U100-016US
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 30, 2008

Product Description

The U100 has selected a 10-inch wide LCD display as oppose to the typical smaller sizes to provide better comfort while viewing or reading. In addition, the 1024x 600 resolution can relief concerns of the full display of WebPages while browsing, giving you the freedom when exploring the internet. It is embedded with the LED power-saving backlight technology in providing better color fullness and brightness, elevating the total quality of imagery. Furthermore, the lower usage of power can offer a longer operating time. The U100 is equipped with the capability of magnifying text within software, so you may magnify any of the words displayed on the monitor freely, making it easier when you are viewing photos, editing or reading documents. The frame is approximately 26 centimeters in length and 18 centimeters in width. It is only 19-31.5 mm in thickness making it extremely thin. The total weight added with the battery is not more than 1 kilogram, making the U100 very ideal for taking it on the go. MSI has the same persistence for proper ergonomically design even on the keyboards of our smaller notebook computers. The keyboard of the U100 not only has great texture, it also increased the space between the keys to 17.5mm, allowing you to be as comfortable as you can. Plus, ingeniously designed spacebar and touchpad, so your fingers can move smoothly while avoiding strain. Intel Atom Processor uses a brand new design structure as basis adding in as much as 47 million transistors into one single chip, and the size is not even 25 (mm)². This is smallest and uses the least energy (power usage in limited below 1 to 2.5 watts) Intel processors thus far.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe not an only computer, but it ROCKS for travel essentials!, November 16, 2008

By 

John (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MSI Wind U100-016US 10-Inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 3 Cell Battery) Black (Personal Computers)

I just wanted a secure client (i.e., my own computer) while on personal travel, and this exceeds my expectations. As a light packer, I was not looking forward to lugging a heavy 14" laptop along.

I am a fast touch-typist with large hands. The HP 2133 has full-sized keys, but it's pricey and heavy. I could not type at all on any of the Asus "net books"; it was just impossible. The Asus keys appear to be about the same size as these, but these are ever-so-slightly larger with bevel edges for separation and it makes all the difference.

Consider spending slightly more for this one, which has longer battery life and an additional 40 GB of disk.

MSI's Live Update Online gave me a *scary* warning and required me to OK running it at my own risk outside the warranty (because it could include BIOS updates). After all that it found no applicable updates to install! Ha!

STRENGTHS:

* Though small, the display is nice and bright. It's kind of exciting, a cool little device.

* Good old 32-bit Windows runs great. It came with XP Home Edition, SP 3. Set-up was a breeze and there were no "craplets" to clean off, just a trial version of MS Office.

* Bootup --from cold to password prompt-- is only 36 seconds! After typing in my password, disk activity settles down after only 20 seconds, but this will vary with what software you have loading at startup.

* Performance is great for what I run: the IE 7 browser w/Google toolbar, TextPad 5.2, PGP Desktop 9.9, and a good free photo editor called IrfanView 4.2.

* If I don't feel like connecting my camera, I can just stick its SD card directly into the slot. (I've done it with cards from Canon and Minolta cameras, probably works for any.)

* It came with Windows Magnifier, which I had never heard of until I got this. It magnifies fine print in case you're without reading glasses.

* The con that's really a pro: it's tiny, so I don't spend so much of my vacation on the computer.

LIMITATIONS:

* My Canon camera's software refuses to load, citing insufficient screen resolution. (1024x600 and 800x600 are the only choices on this computer.) You might experience this with your apps; read the label on the software box. (I can still offload photos to the laptop and use IrfanView to tweak them.)

* The loudspeaker ("squeaker") is such a joke that it's cute, but it's loud enough on headphones.

* You have to hold down the Fn key to use the End or Home keys.

TIPS/FYI:

* Fn+F3 turns off the touch pad so that one can type without the cursor jumping all over the place.

* Run Windows update and let it load IE 7. Then Youtube and CNN will work. (They didn't in the store, where the floor model had apparently not been updated. Youtube's a little jittery.) My banking sites work, as do advanced, feature-rich sites such as WSJ and Amazon.

* Set-up partitions the disk into a C: "drive" for the Windows operating system with about 30 GB of free space left over (where I installed all my software), and an empty 70 GB D: drive.

* There's no CD or DVD player, so software must be downloaded from the net or from a USB device (external CD/DVD or memory stick). That keeps the weight down.

* It runs 90 minutes on battery and then KABOOM! It plays the two-piano-note Windows "asterisk" sound and shut itself down in the blink of an eye. I plug in the AC adapter and it's back up in under ten seconds (!) and has not lost any work! Awesome! 8-[] It takes about two hours to charge back up while in use.

One Acer has a similar price & keyboard, but I did not test it. Sorry for the lengthy review but there are too many considerations about a computer to cover in 300 words. I hope I hit some points that you find useful.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Netbook, October 14, 2008

By 

Michael Crowder (Roanoke, Va) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MSI Wind U100-016US 10-Inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 3 Cell Battery) Black (Personal Computers)

I purchased this netbook from Amazon and I am amazed. I had previously purchased the Asus 900 from Best Buy and it was awful. I have never seen anything so slow. Returned it and after reading the reviews on the MSI Wind 100U decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised at its speed. Faster than my Vista laptop that's for sure. I love this computer. The only thing I would change would be ordering this with the 6 cell battery. The 3 cell is OK and give you 2 hrs plus. If I use the Eco Friendly mode it goes longer but slows down some. I will order the 6 cell but could have saved some money if I had purchased the 100U with the 6 cell in the first place.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The little laptop that could....with only one quirk, October 30, 2008

By 

M. Mundahl (Lake Wobegon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MSI Wind U100-016US 10-Inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 3 Cell Battery) Black (Personal Computers)

I've been waiting my whole career for a product like this. I am a consultant who travels - but who also wants to be able to work anywhere in the house, office, or client site. The Wind U100 fits the bill. It is small, light, fast, quiet, bright hi-res screen, with ample storage, a solid feel and professional appearance. It boots and/or resumes quickly and locks onto Wifi signals fast. It runs cool to the touch. It is perfect - except for the quirky keyboard. The keyboard is as about as large as it can get, the keys are well spaced and respond well. The only problem is that when you type, the leading cursor will disappear and then reappear at some other random spot on the page - and as you continue to touch-type, it proceeds to alter or destroy a section you thought you just finished. Tried adjusting mouse cursor controls in XP, but to no avail. It is also not a "fat finger" problem. Perhaps the quirk is unique to my machine. Were it not for it's mad cursor disease, it would earn 5 stars.