Customer Reviews

MSI U210-008US 12.1-Inch Black Netbook - 5 Hour Battery Life

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great laptop, a big enough screen to use in the real world, and plenty of horsepower. I can play HD video without missing a beat. light as a feather, can comfortably be used on a lap, imagine that, a laptop that is usable on the lap!

The downside is the software load, a whirlwind of crap ware, and the most outrageous part is that they want you to burn your own restore DVD. this device has no optical drive and they couldn't even provide a "bootable thumb drive" restore option? and furthermore, I want a clean OS, or at least the tools to install it.

I installed Windows 7 ultimate 32bit using my student volume licensing edition, with a clean install of Win 7, this thing boots un under 20 sec and is incredibly responsive.

Much as I ont care for the software load, it is a more than fair trade off for this kind of a laptop at this price. This device absolutely keeps up with $2000 ultraportable business laptops. I am already planning to buy one of these for a family member as a holiday gift. Hope that is enough of an endorsement.

If you are a college student, I recommend grabbing one of these as an accompaniment to a powerful desktop with a 22 inch display, both can be had for under $1000 today, no need to tote a 6 LB laptop around campus.

I purchased the MSI U210 notebook in white on 12/13/2009. I considered purchasing the MSI L2100, which has the exact same hardware, but comes with Windows 7 pre-installed instead of Windows Vista. The L2100 is only available in black however, and after checking it out at the local Fry's I decided to order the white U210 from Amazon and upgrade it to Windows 7 later with the free upgrade program.

This is my first netbook size computer, and so far I have been extremely happy with the U210. It has become my main computer out of three including an older full-size Dell laptop and desktop.

Some pros/cons:

Performance - I was surprised how fast this computer is. For web browsing, using MS office, and watching downloaded .avi files it performs extremely well. As others have mentioned however, while streaming videos from YouTube and Hulu are very smooth when viewed in a window, there is a lot of stuttering in full-screen. I have ordered the Broadcom HD decoder card (~$20 from Ebay) that others have mentioned and will update this review when I have a chance to install and test it out. The WiFi range is excellent. I also think the sound quality is more than acceptable from a computer this size. The screen is beautiful and the webcam performs well. Another pro is that the computer stays pretty cool and is not uncomfortable when used on your lap. The computer also runs Vista very well, and as my first experience with this OS, I have had no problems.
UPDATE: I bought and installed the Broadcom HD decoder card in 5 minutes. It goes into the empty mini PCI slot. It seems to -have improved YouTube HD and the HDMI output is now very smooth (I never tested HDMI before the decoder card), however, I still cannot watch Hulu in high-res (480p) at full-screen without significant stuttering.

No Bluetooth - My U210 did not come with an internal Bluetooth antenna, even though it has a Bluetooth light, Bluetooth software loaded on the system, and "Bluetooth RFCOMM" listed in device manager. I suspect this is why some reviewers have stated that their U210 included Bluetooth, but mine did not and I would not expect other U210's from Amazon to include it. Apparently an internal Bluetooth antenna can be purchased from Ebay and plugged into the U210's motherboard for about $20.

Appearance and build quality - I like the white color and overall the computer looks very nice. As others have noted, the keyboard does have a small bulge centered over the letter "K" key. Other notebooks/netbooks I have seen do appear to have a more solid feel, but I'm guessing that the "flimsier" feel of the U210 is what helps to keep it's weight down, and there is no indication to me that my U210 won't last several years.

Windows 7 upgrade from MSI - I followed the instructions and ordered the upgrade the day I received my U210, but have not received anything from MSI yet. UPDATE: I received the upgrade DVD from Microsoft exactly 1 month after submitting the request to MSI, doing all the steps as fast as possible. It took MSI about 3 weeks to send the coupon, and Microsoft was very fast, sending the DVD to my house within a week. Windows 7 is running smooth.

Overall the U210 is a great small notebook and I'm very happy with it.

I decided on the MSI U210 because it was the best for the price. I made a dual boot with Vista and XP and it performs well with both operating systems. Contrary to what it says though you only get about 2.5 to 3 hours battery life. This isn't really a problem for me but I do have two major complaints. First there is a noticeable bulge in the right half of the keyboard which causes flexing when typing. The second is the wifi card sucks. I downloaded the latest drivers for both XP and Vista but that didn't help. I have to be within 15ft to get connected. I read somewhere that the wifi is powerful but my experience is the opposite. Maybe I got a bad unit and you may not have the same problems that I got, but I am very disappointed. I also know that there are no problems with the wifi on the Dell or Acer machines so you may want give those some thought. If you really want to get this netbook then wait until next year. Hopefully by then any bugs should be corrected.

This net book was purchased to alleviate the issues I had with my Mac Book Pro. Namely size and portability. This machine manages to satiate all of my needs. Light weight, long battery, low heat, while maintaining power and function.

My only qualms are the feel of the keyboard and the actual HD abilities of this machine.

I can just palm a basketball so my hands are closer to large than small, but I manage to type without much issue. Though, I do notice the the keyboard tends to feel a bit cheap, specifically on the right hand side (J through " area). It sort of sags in, feels soft. My other problem is the HD playback. It can playback dvd quality video no problem, but it will not play a 720 quality video without some skipping. Audio stays in sync, but it appears to skip some frames during playback. I tried a few different files and through the HDMI out, but always lagged. Non the less, not really an issue.

Poor HD playback is the only reason I didn't give a 5. Excellent NON HD media net book.

Pros:
lightweight
cool
long battery, not quite 5hrs though
solid performance
hard drive space

Cons:
Saggy keyboard
Poor HD playback

This is an excellent Netbook. I also have a Dell mini 10 and this one is far more powerfull. Installed Win 7 which works great.
Things to note. This does not have 2 memory slots as advertised by Amazon - it only has one. I upgraded to 4 GB with no problems. There are reviews that HD video does not work; I hooked up a bluray player via usb and the video does stutter, but I have ordered a BroadCom BCM70010 BCM70012 HD Decoder Mini PCIe card for $25, which should correct this, if so, well worth it. Also note that this netbook does not come with bluetooth installed but also can be added for around $25. Agree with other reviews about the pros of this netbook, just wanted to add a few extra comments that may help you in your decision in reviewing this product.

First of all, this netbook is the best i ever had. I have tried a lots of Asus models, Acer, Hp, and Toshiba. I selling them in Russia. MSI made a very nice one model. It is very stable, fast and beautiful. I had black one. Looks like expensive business notebook. I like new AMD CPU, very fast, HDMI port is good addition too. But I had some troubles with its WI-fi adapter. My Linksys router wont work with it. I spent a day, trying to connect them together, changing channels, security settings and frequencies. It is not a router problem, because another two net books from Asus (Also witn Wi-Fi N) were connected without one problem.

I did my research on netbooks because this was my first one to purchase. What I was looking for was something small enough to fit on that small airplane tray table you get in coach, has a screen big enough that won't make me go blind after a few hours of use, and that has keys that were big enough to use without needing to grow out fingernails to enable a clean stroke on the keys. I only needed the netbook for doing work projects using office suite software. I did not need it for watching movies, using voip, or playing games so this review is only written with what my needs were. I decided on this MSI U210 due to the screen size (12in), large keyboard, and connectivity. I was not disappointed.

Pros:
>Comparative setup and features of other netbooks
>Screen- Larger screen (12in compared to 11in of other netbooks). Supports a second monitor through either a monitor port or a HDMI port.
>90%+ keyboard size as compared to 80%+ in others (that extra room makes alot of difference)
>Connectivity- bluetooth, wireless AND hard LAN connections
>Storage- 2 hard drives (1 50GB primary 1 200GB secondary). Now I don't have to move my docs, pics, music, etc when I want to upgrade or replace the primary HD.
>SD Card Reader- works with Readyboost to add more RAM
>Heat- Fans blow out sideways, not down and doesn't get hot sitting on your lap even after hours running. The fan is also very quiet.
RAM- 2GB. Plenty for what I need it for and it is more than what you get with some other netbooks plus you can use Readyboost to give it an extra umphff when needed.
>Casing- the layout of the keys, overall size and weight are great. The battery pack does make the netbook sit at a slight 1 inch incline that some people do not like but I like it because it makes typing more ergonomic and the incline is great when you have to type on your lap.
>Multimedia- Though not what I bought it for, I tested the netbook with YouTube and CD/DVD playback. It has 720p HD and works great for Youtube and other online streaming media. CD's played well and DVD's looked as good as they do on my primary home laptop. Of course your experience will differ depending on your ISP and type of external CD/DVD drive you buy.
>VOIP- again, not what I bought it for but does work great with SKYPE. The built-in web cam works good with Skype as well. Tested it with the wireless and LAN port but not tethering with any phones or other devices.

Cons:
>Processor- Even though the AMD MV40 is comparable to the Atom N270 I would have liked to have something more closer to the N280 in my netbook.
>Battery- The claim is 5 hrs battery life. I am testing the battery power now as I type this. I had a full charge and all I have done is transfer 2gb of music from a USB onto the HD, poked around the Control Panel a few minutes and the rest of the time it has been running unplugged on battery and Idle for about 2 1/2 hours on "High Performance" power settings. The current battery power is now at 48%. I have not tested it actually running a database file or designing a powerpoint presentation but I would assume this would chew some serious battery power on "High Performance". There are 2 other lower power settings so I guess when I am actually doing heavy work I will need to turn down the power settings. Might need to invest in an extra battery for long haul trips.
>CD/DVD- the netbook does not come with one so I had to buy a $50 CD/DVD external drive. That brings the total cost of my netbook to $500! You could use a USB to install an OS or other software if you know how to and that will save you from having to buy an external CD/DVD drive. Using the DVD player takes a chunk out of your battery power so be warned. It is same for any other netbook.
>OS- unfortunately my netbook came with VISTA. I get the "free" Win7 upgrade but I have found that the process for getting that upgrade through the mail is a tedious and time consuming process. There are many steps you need to take to actually get the upgrade disk in your hands and you'll really need patience and strong desire to have Win7 to allow the process to take its course. I would recommend getting this netbook WITH Win7 already installed. I am sure that once I change OS my battery power might improve as well.
>Crapware- yes, it is packed with all the crapware you'd normally get when installing VISTA plus all the MSI crapware that they feel you need to operate the netbook. This is easily fixed by deleting all this stuff but who likes HAVING to to that in the first place? I will replace everything with my favorite software later.
>Touchpad- not a biggie for me but there are those that hate the fact that there is no scroll bar on the touchpad.

Overall I love this netbook. For the price I paid I think I got a good deal. This netbook was in the top 20 rankings of several web review sites as of 10/09 when I bought it. It should hold me off until the next gen netbooks start hitting the shelves.

After much research, I finally decided on the MSi U-210. This is by far the best netbook on the market. It runs Windows Vista and has a fast AMD processor. Multiple tasks and video is no problem for this baby. Most of the netbooks on the market are using the Atom processor which is slow. Also includes ATi Radeon graphics for fast smooth video. You also get the new Windows 7 upgrade for free when it is released. The key board is large and touch pad is awesome. The few less than perfect reviews are not warranted as if you read the description on Amazon or MSi's website it clearly states no optical drive. I recommend picking up a portable slim DVD/CD-R drive so you have it when you want it. This netbook is extremely light. I have gotten 4+ hours on the battery using the power saver mode. Reading the manual helps understand the FN controls as you need to use FN + F8 to tun on Wi-Fi. The unit is very quite and the HD display is awesome. Sound is above average for a netbook. I even called tech support to see how fast I could get a live person I could understand. It only took 5 minutes. I cannnot find any cons with this superior netbook. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

Let me start off by saying that I did quite a bit of research before deciding on this little guy.

The main requirements I had when browsing were
(1.) It had to have a usable keyboard/touch-pad without requiring too much readjustment. I've use too many netbooks where the keyboard, while usable, drove me almost crazy with the amount of types I'd eventually amass just typically typing as I do on an average keyboard.

(2.)Decent battery life. I've owned several laptops, but half the point of these "netbooks" is battery life isn't it?

(3.)Screen Real Estate(Screen Size). It was a must that it struck a good balance between portability and the proper screen size for my multimedia/web browsing needs.

(4.) Not frustratingly slow. Being a bit spoiled by my 24" screen and desktop, I always have always had a few windows of this and that open and while I knew pretty much the whole point of these low priced netbooks was portability and battery life at the price of performance, a guy can dream right?


I am glad to say that the MSI U210-006US 12.1-Inch White Netbook - 5 Hour Battery Life fit all of those requirements and then some.

The keyboard was amazingly easy to use and surprisingly, required very little readjustment. I think MSI did an amazing job designing the overall body of the netbook, while giving the keyboard just enough room to make it feel pretty much like an average sized one. The touchpad works like it should and *it has an off/on toggle. It is also flat and flush with the bottom of the netbook and it has a tactile feel and is not at all like those terrible slippery glossy ones that started popping up in laptop/netbooks.
*The touchpad also does not have a side-scroll, but that can be remedied with a different driver from synaptic(Do a google search on synaptic drivers).

The screen is the perfect size. I sat it next to my 24" Benq monitor and the u210 screen really stood out with its brightness and color reproduction.

As for the battery, I'd say I get just around 3.5-4 hours of use on average with probably 70% web browsing and 30% watching videos([...]). After uninstalling some of more useless stuff and disabling some of system services that I know I'd never use, I consistently got around 4-4.5 hours on the system.

In terms of speed, it more than surpassed my expectations both for a netbook and the price range. I am able switch between a few google chrome windows and whatever small programs I'm running without any real bothersome slowdown.

Something of note also while I was doing my research about this netbook, I found out it apparently is an admirable performer when it comes to overclocking(I made a funny face too when I was first reading about it). The idea of overclocking has always made me a bit uneasy and even more so with portables that have limited heat dispersion. But luckily, the process was fairly straight-forward as I read it on the forums at [...] and I managed to get a boost in battery life as well as cpu performance.

*On a side note, I noticed when comparing the specs both on amazon and other vendors of this netbook that the gpu would be the AMD Radeon X1250 yet the product I received from amazon, to my delight, was the slightly more powerful AMD Radeon X1270. I also have bluetooth on this unit which again was not even listed. :)

Overall I give this netbook top marks. It fulfilled all of my requirements and does so at a very affordable price. When comparing this with the other netbooks I was looking at, the HP Mini 311, Acer Aspire 1410, and the ASUS Eee PC 1101HA the u210 ended up being the best of all my requirements without compromising too much in battery life. If you are in the market for a netbook and would prefer something a little bit zippier than the 90% of all the other netbooks equipped with an atom processor and don't mind sacrificing a bit of battery life, the u210 is a definite buy.

Edit:
I've been using the u210 almost daily for a solid month now and I am still very impressed. I just thought I'd inform anyone still on edge about this unit. Contrary to what some other reviewers have stated, I found the wifi chip in this to be very effective, much stronger and more reliable than the other three laptops(Dell, Toshiba, ABS) being used by my family members(intel chips and a broadcom). The u210 has consistently been able to obtain a relatively strong reliable signal where my other laptops failed.

This netbook also works pretty well with Vista, though they do offer you a "free" upgrade to Windows 7 provided you pay the $10 shipping... which then puts you through a few loops. You register and pay $10 shipping for your Win7 code and wait a good deal of time for that to arrive, and then register again at Microsoft's website only to have to fill in more info and then enter a code given by them back into their site and finally wait for your Windows upgrade CD to arrive. They even have a cute flow chart for it on their website.
*I paid my shipping fees about three weeks ago and have yet to get my upgrade form.

Something of note too was the RAM situation. This unit only has 1 upgrade slot and not 2 like Amazon has listed, and to be able to access that, you have to break the little flimsy sticker that voids your warranty...

The good: light (3.1 lb), easy to carry; solid, full-size keyboard; fast processor for the class; upgradable to Windows 7 (waiting for the free disk); 2GB memory; runs HD video; excellent WiFi (as opposed to other reviews, using a 6 year old Airlink wifi at about 50 ft. away, through 4 walls, the Speakeasy internet test showed a speed of 1453kbps up/243 down); 12.1 inch screen is large for a netbook, sharp, high resolution and bright; lots of connectors, including HDMI; six-cell battery bulges out in the back bottom, tilting the key board for easier typing; built-in webcam.

The poor: less than a 4-hour battery life; shiny screen reflects lights behind you, poor off-axis viewing; glossy black case shows finger prints; keyboard character markings are gray on black, hard to see in low light situations; the usual low quality speakers, but loud enough; no DVD drive, but I was able to load Office via a jump drive.

Summary: A very good choice for someone wanting a very portable netbook, but willing to pay a little extra for a larger screen and a faster processor running Windows 7.