Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Having bought loads of PCs and laptops over the last 25 years, and always after hours/days of scrutiny each time, I purchased this unknown MSI product on Amazon USA after only a brief look/feel. It felt intuitively good specwise, although I had earlier checked out the Asus eePC.

I am simply delighted with this netbook. It just does not feel like a mere $450 product but much higher in quality and looks (and lightweight!). It runs XP very fast and so far flawlessly. It does not heat up after even some hours of use and makes no buzz (my heavier HP Pavilion gets hotter by far). The screen is very clear and dispels all my concerns (I am abit shortsighted - there is even some basic screen magnifying software for the hard of sight!).The hardware specs all round are pleasing (120GB SATA HD is a decent amount of space for most users - shop around for bigger HDs though it is easy to replace one yourself too). I will bump up the memory to 2GB max - this was not easy to do on Amazon as there was no clearcut offer of compatible memory. Although the Amazon spec strangely did not talk of a webcam, there is one at the top of the screeen (not used yet after a week).

You get a 60 day trial full Microsoft Office 2007 (limited to 25 runs I believe before it nags you and reduces functionality). Also trial? PowerDVD and a few other things eg Windows Media 9...but no antivirus product). The keyboard is much better than expected (and Asus') and really poses no problems except that the , . / keys are a little smaller than the rest and require a bit more care when typing. Touch typing is easy. The glide pad works fine. It works off my home wireless ADSL broadband/Netgear router transparently (hint: do turn on the wireless option [Fn key + F11]when you first start it or nothing happens). I am going to invest in a USB DVD burner for about $100 to load up programs. I love the weight of the machine and there is a vast difference lugging this and a normal heavy laptop, differences accepted but really all in favour of a netbook unless you are publishing an encyclopedia...or doing heavy animation/Photoshop stuff.

Cons? : the 3 cell battery is too short at about 2 hours of use (charging is fairly fast) but at the time of order, there were no 6 cell versions at a reasonable price on Amazon. I will be ordering a 6 cell pronto. The click buttons at the bottom of the glide pad are a bit too close to the edge of the netbook and you tend to not hit it squarely always, but this is not an annoyance! A better design is hoped for.

The free white? case from MSI that comes with the pack is ok (bit thin on insulation) but I bought the black Senyx case on the webpage and am much happier (unfortunately that does not have a side pocket for extras though).

All in all, I was so pleased that I ordered a second one (probably more for the kids). I think MSI scored heavily in my books to get the form factor and price right (and quality) and I hope it lasts for at least 3 years... (MSI even answered my web site questions quickly, surprising for an inexpensive product.)

PS If someone can design a tummy-stand to work laying in bed with this netbook on top!, I'd be grateful to know.

I first have to say that I love Amazon for its great features, prices, and selection, but there are some huge savings if you buy this little jewel thru E-bay.
You will NOT be disappointed with the WIND! This is a fantastic miniature laptop with all the right features. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Webcam, SD/MS card reader etc.

PROS
-Very quiet (the fan vents out the side and can barely be heard)
-Super compact and light
-High quality construction
-Still comes w/ Win XP !!
-Super bright screen (brightness easily adjusted via function keys)
-3 USB ports

Here are a few CONS that other users have posted:
-Unintended cursor movement when typing. - THIS IS SUPER EASY TO CORRECT BY DISABLING THE TRACKPAD USING FN-F3 (hotkey)
-Poor speaker sound - I agree that they are somewhat lacking but the RealTek audio driver has a million different adjustments that can vary the sound quite a bit.

[...]!

Lightweight and fast with plenty of power. I installed Microsoft Office and have no problem running the programs. I am also able to do presentations on an overhead projector. But when I do that, because of the wide, low shape of the screen; the display is reduced to only a small part of the screen. This problem would be the same for any laptop with a wide screen.

OK, so I fell in love with it as soon as I opened it and started using it. But my love was misplaced. After 10 days of use the f12 key and the "o" key have fallen off and will not clip back on. So now it's off to warranty I go. Bummer.

Natalie

This is perfect for traveling with it's compact size. I have a HP TX 1410 laptop and this one is a whole lot faster especially with the internet. This product was recommended by an IT person and I am glad he recommended it. I have never heard of this brand until now. I recommend this to anyone that travels. This laptop can preform as well as the bulky ones.

I have used my Wind MSI for over two months now, and I want to share how happy I am about it.

Specifically, two friends of mine have bought the basic ACER AspireOne at some 80$-100$ less, and I've had the occasion to compare the two. At the beginning I thought the AspireOne would have been a better buy, but now I know I was right in choosing the Wind.

Comparing MSI Wind to ACER AspireOne, I prefer the MSI Wind because:
- it is the same weight (1kg), even if 1'' larger in width/length dimensions
- that 1'' more gives you a much better user experience with the keyboard, I could not feel the difference with my standard 14'' laptop; conversely, I tried the AspireOne and it was somehow difficult to type with 10 fingers
- the Wind is faster! My mates take 3-4 times the time it takes me to open the browser and check on the internet! We experimented it live!
- the wider screen helps if you want to edit docs

What I like better in the AspireOne is the higher quality of colours in the screen, much more vivid than in the Wind. But that's about the only thing.

As to battery life, apparently it's comparable... it lasts about 2h-2h30 for both models.

This is a terrific mini laptop. It's easy to carry around to our different sites. The keyboard is excellent and the 120 Gb Hard drive can handle most application and storage issues.