Customer Reviews

MSI Wind U100-420US 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 3 Cell Battery) Black

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This U100 is almost identical to the $429 ($80 price difference now) model MSI Wind U100-279US 10-Inch Mini Laptop (1.6 GHz Intel Atom, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 6 Cell Battery, 802.11 b/g/n+BT, XP Home) White - you can read my detailed review there.

What you are giving up for the $80 difference is:

1/2 the battery capacity. This is a 3 cell - the more expensive model is a 6 cell (and they make a 9 cell aftermarket battery). Expect 2.6 hr, 5.5 hr, and 8 hr runtimes for each battery. Weight really is not a factor in this small of a system but runtime is real nice to have!

40 GB less disk space (this has a 120 GB drive and 80 buck more unit uses a 160 GB drve) - note that the drive comes partitioned into a drive C with the operating system of about 39 GB and a drive D that is empty for you to store your programs and data on - this makes drive upgrades easy.

Other than that - it's the same computer. If you plan to buy a 9 cell battery and rip out the disk and put in a 320 GB drive instead down the road, this is the place to start. (be sure to add another 1 GB ram while you are inside)

If you plan to start using your U100 for serious work right away and want to enjoy almost 6 hours of runtime then now is the time to spend the extra $80 for the other model.

Hope that helps explain the price difference.

If you are plugged in most of the time, and have an external usb drive then this may be the model for you. I almost went this way but finally gave into the more expensive version because I wanted to use it from day one.

The MSI Wind may be one of the best technology purchases I've made. As long as you calibrate your expectations to the product's intended purpose, you won't be disappointed! I've owned a lot of notebook PC's (and a few MacBooks) and this may be the best notebook I've had. It's certainly not the fastest or the most ergonomic, but the performance and features you get for the price can't be beat. I use this notebook for IT consulting work in which portability and convenience are key, and this little Netbook works great. Additionally, I use it around the house for casual web-browsing and email. As previously stated, it is all about your expectations. If you simply want a device to provide you web/network access, store and edit files and documents, and to take with you to a class or a coffee shop, this is a great choice. If you are looking for a Photoshop editing portable, or a multimedia-centric laptop, you need to stick to a traditional notebook PC or a desktop solution. Bottom line, for around $350 you can't find a better portable computer.

Pros:
- Surprisingly quick intel Atom CPU (N270).
- Very decent storage capacity thanks to the 120GB hard drive.
- MSI built-in dynamic overclocking for increased performance.
- Comes with Windows XP.
- Very respectable array of ports and connectivity including VGA-out, audio in/out, three USB ports, wired & wireless networking, and a decent webcam.

Cons:
- Upgrading the memory, while easy to do, may void the warranty.
- Cramped keyboard (typical of netbooks) is not great for extended usage periods (get a USB keyboard to resolve this).
- Battery life is around 2 hours with the included 3-cell.
- Stupid default hard drive partitioning scheme (2 partitions, one for OS @ ~40GB & one for data @ ~65GB).

In summary: A great little netbook and a very capable substitute for a traditional notebook PC as long as the intended use for the device is Web, email, and some document creation/editing. Non tech-savvy users will enjoy the device for its' intended purpose almost right out of the box. G33ks & IT Pros will like the additional performance and functionality to be gained by a little performance tweaking of XP and adding some additional memory.

Have only had this little GEM for less than one day, and have not been able to drag myself away except to grab a bite to eat and catch a few winks!

As someone who has a good deal of experience with computers and up to now built my own, this little notebook is quite a revelation.

The quality and design are first rate, as is the construction. The sensitivity and stability of the Wireless function is absolutely astounding.

With the built-in camera and microphone, it is a phenomenal performer on Skype.

If this U-100 420US continues to perform as stated above, (which it probably will) being a first class product from MSI, it is my belief that you can't go wrong by purchasing this excellent machine.

This is a great little machine. Keyboard is fine for anyone with any dexterity skills at all. The battery is only adequate and I am buying a 6 cell. In the end I will have spent the difference between the one I got and the same model with a larger battery but I will have two batteries. The 1GB memory is ok. Upgrading in the field apparently voids the warranty so that's a poor move. The three USB ports and the large hard drive are important pluses. Poor documentation is a real complaint. I had to cruise the internet to find out that Fn-11 activates the wi-fi and Fn-6 activates the webcam. Plus, you have to reboot to make it happen. Those moves should be tatooed on the bottom of the machine as they are critical to use. Otherwise, I have really enjoyed it and it is everything you want in a road warrior. I just called MSi Tech Support and the guy said they now do not void the warranty if you upgrade. However, he said there is no documentation of that change and if you aren't grounded and zap the unit with static the warranty wouldn't cover damage from that.

Excellent product! Working flawless so far! Very comfortable keyboard (80% of regular laptop sized keyboard) with US standard layout (a real plus). No keys placed on odd spots (like ASUS right SHIFT key). Big backspace and enter keys. Function key could have been placed near the spacebar but that's a matter of personal taste.

Nice touchpad. Sometimes it goes a little crazy (oversensitive) but only if you press it very weakly with your fingers. Under normal finger pressure (like when you use an iPhone) it works just fine. Office 2007 suit 60 days trial included works fine. Performance is great for such an small device.

Sharp and bright screen. Screen is big enough to fit 60-70% or more of most pages loaded so scrolling while navigating is like on a regular PC with a non-maximized form. As an illustration, reduce you monitor resolution to 1024x768, then open a browser window and make it cover just a little above 2/3th of your screen's width. You'll get the feeling of it so you can try before you buy! ;)

It doesn't overheat or make any noises so far.

The only thing you must be aware is battery life. Expect only 2.5 hours unplugged. So, if you have no plugs around and you want to last long you should consider 6 cell battery model. I'll give it FIVE stars since I took this matter into account before buying and I don't need to pay extra $100 just for 2.5 hours of battery and a bluetooth connection (I do not connect to any bluetooth device and always have a wall power connection close).

This is the ONLY 10" screen netbook below $420 as for now. So, I happily paid $350 for the extra inch over 8.9" models with the same price and more battery life. Extra inch makes quite a difference.

Great build quality. Nice top glossy bright finish. I highly recommend this product. MSI has done a great job this time packing a lot of features within the right price spot.

UPDATE: Running CPU full throttle unplugged will reduce battery life sharply (to around 1.5 hours). This will happen if you run a Windows game unplugged in full screen mode. Under any other circumstances the netbook will automatically switch to power save mode to extend battery life properly. Not a con, but a warning for other buyers. Still five stars for me. I use it for support purposes, not gaming, and anyway I can always find a plug. By the way, performance is good for 2D gaming on old or light titles.

I bought one of these units after reading all sorts of glowing reviews from various magazines and amazon reviewers. My only conclusion is that these people either got a different unit than the one I received (actually two since I returned it and the vendor shipped me another to try which was exactly the same) or they are clueless twits. The unit seemed nicely constructed and the keyboard seemed fine to me. I loved the size and weight, and the 2-3 hour 3-cell battery was fine. I was mystified by all the software on it both in the drive and on the desktop for which there was no info on what it was. In fact, no info or instructions of any sort came with it other than a brief startup guide. But that display, which was matte (which I like) was bad news. It had a very bright annoying color to it. Everything on all websites was blueish tinged and washed out. I compared it with my ancient sony vaio and found that the colors were off on the Wind. Even on the washed out looking MSI homepage. Ugh! The top bar of the IE browser was a faded light blue instead of dark blue and the lettering was blueish white instead of being white. On sites like FT or Moneyandmarkets which have a light brown background on a good laptop show up as blueish grey on the wind. I tried adjusting the brightness but it didn't change the poor contrast or colors and only made it get so bright that I could light up my desk - which was not useful. I also noticed that after about 20-30 minutes of use I was bleary eyed and couldn't see anything right for hours afterward. Someone else on one of the review sites also mentioned this so my unit obviously isn't the only one like this. After reading some articles on the health risks of blue-white LED's I am now worried about eyesight problems from these backlit units. I then tried contacting MSI both on their website (where I got inane answers) and at their US service number. No service there either. When I was at Circuit City yesterday I saw the same Wind unit being sold as an Averatec and it too had the same lousy display where everything was blue-ish grey. I also checked out the Acer and it not only had a dreaded glossy display (really dumb - I mean who wants to see lights and people walking behind one and one's own face in the display screen?) but lousy colors too. However the HP 1035 had a beautiful crisp display with correct colors and contrast and I would have bought it except for its crappy glossy screen. I can't believe MSI is shipping these things and that people are buying them. My only hope now is for the Lenovo or Samsung.

Great little machine. Biggest annoyance: swapped location of Fn and Ctrl keys on the lower left... Nice and light - battery power only about 2 hours; May or may not be problematic for individuals. Great for surfing and email while traveling - wouldn't want to do photo editing or heavy-duty spreadsheet work for any length of time but plenty of power to handle it. No complaints.

Keeping in mind that this lacks any real 3d acceleration, and that the cpu is only about 1.6ghz If you have realistic expectations for this machine, you won't be disappointed.

My primary uses for this have been general web browsing, mail, instant messaging, and programming, as well as occasional hobbyist musician projects. Oh, and of course for writing this review, right now.

I have the system booting Windows XP, OSX Leopard, and Linux. This review will apply to any of the three, overall, though Linux and XP are my primary use of it.

The screen size, for most text related tasks at least, is fine. While reading documents or chatting, you won't notice the size at all. Watching videos or playing games is the only time the small screen size can become more apparent. The drivers provide for you to rotate the screen 90 degrees, to hold the Wind as though it were a book, which is very comfortable, especially when reading larger pdf's. I tested comics out of curiosity (the screen size is quite similar,) and found that to also be exceptionally comfortable and natural feeling. Despite the size, the resolution is high (relative to the size, that is) making the screen crisp, clean, and easy to read.

The wireless networking on it has worked well for me, though I'm usually within two rooms (30' or so at most) of my access point. The access point itself has a strong antenna, but the Wind too seems to be strong at it's end, maintaining 4-5 bars of signal strength and solid links. No complaints here, but worth noting that the wifi card being used can be upgraded if you don't mind opening up the laptop. Could be useful in the future to replace with an N card, but currently the speed of G is fine.

For the general purpose tasks, it works quite well. Even with the stock 1gb of memory, a web browser with 20 or so tabs, along with a few misc. programs running in the background is no problem, and performance is snappy. Flash video usually plays very well, from most sites such as hulu or youtube.

If you attempt to use it for anything like video conferencing, the webcam is adequate though nothing special, featuring a clear picture and quick automatic adjustment, but the usual webcam fault of poor low light performance. The microphone is too weak to use for most tasks, so an external headset mic would be preferable if this is a common need of yours.

The internal speakers sound poor and tinny, which can only be slightly rectified by the sound driver's EQ in windows. The headphone jack puts out a clear signal though, and will sound quite good when paired with good headphones or speakers. The internal speakers will still do well in a pinch, despite their flaws.

As an avid typist with fairly large hands, the keyboard was a worry before I bought it, but I found that I quickly became used to it and found I have no trouble typing at full speed on it after the first day or two of getting used to it. Additionally, I find that I am able to switch back to a normal sized keyboard with minimal effort or odd sensation. While the tiny keyboard has a few quirks such as the small ",./" keys, one quickly adapts. As a programmer who uses vim as his primary text editor, I am very picky about fast and versatile keyboards. I find this one adequate in all ways, and even exceptional, if you consider the small size they had to pack it into.

For high end multimedia, it shows the limits of it's processor, but gracefully so. With tweaking you can make it play 720p videos with h264 encoding, at full framerates, though it takes a bit of persistence, as well as some trial and error. Anything at a lower resolution hd, or just sd content though, should play with no trouble. While not ideal, I found the onboard sound good "enough" for minor guitar recording, and the cpu more than capable of running large audio effect stacks with low delay times. I've also had good experiences running software synthesizers and looping/tracking synth software on it, making it a nice tiny mobile audio station for getting your ideas out.

Finally for gaming, I suggest you do a bit of searching, as there are some wikis around listing games that run well on the Wind. Many games a few years old, including some 3d ones, will run perfectly well on it. I wouldn't suggest it as a gaming station, but having a few games on there to pass the time can be a perk, so it is worth looking into.

I've had no problems with heat. The laptop gets warm to mildly hot, but never too hot for my lap. It's nowhere near as hot as a normal laptop computer. At it's hottest, the heat could be a mild annoyance but never actually uncomfortable. If you're touchy, an aftermarket cooler should sort it out, but most people will be fine with it as is.

Battery life is around 2.5 hours, enough for my use, though I will be needing to purchase a car adapter for it. For those who need to run untethered longer, the 6 or 9 cell batteries can be found for reasonable prices later on.

This particular model of the Wind does lack bluetooth, however it's cheap enough to find a good usb bluetooth dongle if you don't mind it being external. As I don't use bluetooth devices with the Wind constantly, this isn't an issue in my case.

My only real minor complaint overall is that the device lacks a tv output, which would seem like a nice compliment to such a portable device. VGA->Composite or VGA->Svid adapters won't work either, the video card doesn't support it. This is mostly just a personal complaint though, and probably doesn't apply to most users.

To summarize, if you keep in mind the limitations of this machine and keep your working environment lightweight, you can really make the most of this and have a fast portable workstation, capable of doing most of the tasks you need.

I bought this unit for my wife at Christmas. It was big hit with her. As other reviews state, know what you are buying. The main purpose was to use it to connect to iFit on the net while using the treadmill and surfing the internet while relaxing. It works great for both. I have some programs such as MS Office and music on it. To date I have not had one problem with it. I like that is comes with Windows XP, wired & wireless networking, and a decent webcam, and plenty of ports. You cannot beat the performance and features you get for the price, for around $350 you can't find a better portable computer.

My first Netbook, it goes everywhere with me. MSI makes a great computer for the money. Add the extra ram, it will make a big difference. This little guy is durable.