10" Msi Netbook Barebone

by ZaReason

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.1 x 1.5 inches ; 2.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B003CT0ZNI
• Item model number: 9S7N01441262
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 17, 2010

Product Description

MSI Netbook Barebone - 10" WSVGA, 1024 x 600 (LED-Backlit). Intel Atom N450/ 1.66Ghz ;2GB DR2 160GB SATA; b/g/N, 6 cell, 3sUSB, webcam, 87 keys. Support Window 7 Starter/ Window XP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works straight out of the box, as advertised!, June 26, 2010

By 

Ian S. (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 10" Msi Netbook Barebone (Tools & Home Improvement)

If you read this review, I assume you know what Linux (and Ubuntu) is. I have worked for many years with a Linux desktop, but never as an administrator. I was therefore looking for the Linux experience, but without the hassle of installing the operating system myself.

If you look for Linux netbooks on the Internet, chances are you will stumble upon, not merchants trying to sell their wares, but articles written a few years back and bravely predicting a fews things: That Linux would soon conquer the netbook market, that netbook prices would go down dramatically, and that solid state drives would replace hard drives. Guess what, none of this happened. Hard drives are ubiquitous, prices have, if anything, gone up thanks to feature inflation (multimedia), and Linux netbooks are pretty hard to find.

At the time of writing (June 2010), there seems to be only a handful of merchants selling Linux netbooks. Among them are Dell and HP, if you manage to navigate their website. They have made Linux netbooks particularly hard to find, because many people would choose Linux as the cheaper option, and return the netbook as soon as they found out it was not Windows. At any rate, their netbooks were either non-customizable (no 6-cell battery, no memory extension) or, if customizable, too expensive.

Enter Zareason. From the outside the Teo netbook looks beautiful. The keyboard is one of the best I have tried, and I did try quite a few. A good keyboard was essential for me, and I'm definitely satisfied. I have not thoroughly measured battery life, but you can obviously carry the Teo around for the day without running out of battery. The charger is compact, in case you need to carry it too. The screen is a beautiful matte, much better than glossy for outdoor use. And last but not least, the Teo runs silently.

I got the Netbook Remix version of Ubuntu, and it works like a charm, straight out of the box. The netbook boots comfortably under one minute. I set up wifi easily, once I figured you had to activate it using the Fn+F11 combination. If need be, there seems to be an active community out there to help you out with any installation or configuration problems. And if you really can't figure it out, Zareason will help you. I asked them a question before buying, and they answered within a day, always a good sign (check their website for contact information).

The netbook is not as cheap as some Windows netbooks. However, it feels extremely well built, and has all the features you could be looking for. Obviously Zareason doesn't have the economies of scale that mainstream constructors enjoy, and getting such a netbook out at this price is quite a feat. If you are in the market for a Linux netbook guaranteed to work out of the box, I strongly recommend the Teo. You won't be disappointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Constructed, Lightweight, Easy to Use Netbook, September 10, 2010

By 

Lawrence H. Bulk "Lawrence H. Bulk" (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 10" Msi Netbook Barebone (Tools & Home Improvement)

Right off the bat, I'd like to say that, in my opinion, this is the very best netbook currently on the market both in terms of its design and in its quality of construction. It operates with any of your choice of various Linux distributions (which you choose at the time of ordering or can change at any time at your convenience).

I choose to use Ubuntu Linux for its ease of use, for its freedom from most common malware, and for its flexibility. The fact that the entire operating system and all of the programs associated with it are completely free of charge is a bonus.

You know, of course, that Linux computers are completely immune to common Windows malware; no "security suites" or any other type of "virus or spyware protection" is needed with a Linux computer. (Common sense, however, must ALWAYS be employed; do NOT ever enter personal information on ANY unknown or suspect site! As a matter of fact, don't give out personal information ANYWHERE except where absolutely necessary and required by law.)

I own an Asus Eee PC 1000/Linux which is no longer being manufactured; it came with a proprietary Linux version which is no longer being supported. (It also came with a solid-state drive, two of them in fact, one of approximately 8 GB and the other of approximately 32 GB.)

I wanted a Linux netbook with a larger hard drive. I did NOT want a Dell or HP computer (I've heard too many "horror stories" about those companies and I'm sure you have too). Nor did I want a netbook on which I'd have to install Ubuntu myself (though that is certainly no problem): I wanted to make certain that every included piece of hardware would function properly with Linux. (Note: I have recently converted my older Asus netbook, which, as I said, came with a Linux installation, to Ubuntu Linux.) Researching my desires, I found this ZaReason Teo Netbook 10 WSVGA 1024X600 (LED-BACKLIT),INTEL ATOM N450/1.66GHZ,DDR2 2GB,160GB SATA,802 and, seeing that it had everything I wanted, I bought it directly from ZaReason.

I spoke with several of the owners and employees there prior to the purchase and not only were they all knowledgeable, they were very patient with me and my questions. (I told them that there was one particular requirement I had before I would purchase the computer - I wanted to make certain that they could set up dial-up internet service on a Ubuntu machine so I could use my 56K USB Modem Windows Mac Linux with it. I mailed them my modem and they did indeed get it to work.)

I have had the unit now for about two months. I have found it to be fast, flexible, and reliable. Obviously, as a netbook with an Intel Atom processor, it is not going to do everything which a desktop-replacement notebook computer will do. However, for casual use at home or, and especially, for use when traveling, this netbook can't be beat. It comes standard with 1 GB RAM memory but for a very small amount, you can upgrade that to 2 GB (which I did). Its Intel Atom N450 processor is one of the latest such and, with any Linux distribution and 1 or 2 GB of RAM, your speed will be 'smoking!' It can handle wired ethernet, wireless LAN (b/g/n) and it has three USB 2.0 ports. It also has the usual microphone and headphone jacks.

And you won't believe how fast it boots and how fast it shuts down!

I ordered mine with the standard Ubuntu installation; I had previously tried the netbook remix on another computer and I didn't care for it as much as I do the regular installation. Mr. Earl Malmrose of ZaReason told me that the speed differential between the two was only in microseconds, the netbook remix being slightly the faster. I certainly don't see any difference myself. You can, if you wish, order it with any one of your choice of six operating systems or even no operating system at all (thus you could conceivably install Windows 7 onto this machine if that were your desire).

This netbook comes standard with a 160 GB hard drive which is what I got; you can also order it with an optional 500 GB(!) hard drive or a 40 GB SSD. Both options are quite reasonably priced. There are a number of other options available for it and ALL are likewise reasonably priced.

We recently drove across the country and this little netbook was our constant companion. Never once did it even hiccup (though, frankly, with Ubuntu installed on this obviously superb machine, we expected no less).

The only problem we had on our trip was that internet access in the hotels at which we stayed was variable - from fairly fast to non-existent (they had lots of excuses, though).

So now we have purchased a Virgin Mobile MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot. With this unit, we can pay for just the period for which we need mobile internet access and then not pay until we need to use it again. We have already tried it in our car and it works beautifully with this Teo netbook. (How I wish we had had it on our cross-country trip! Did you know that you can get a Virgin Mobile [Sprint] cell phone signal even in the middle of the Mojave desert? Amazing!)

Obviously for Windows or Mac users, there will be a learning curve in order to get the maximum use and familiarity with Ubuntu. But I can tell you that, for the most part, it is quite easy (my wife and I are both in our 60s and are not computer geeks) and, with this netbook, you would be up and running very quickly.

It is finished in a dull black which does not show fingerprints easily (and can be cleaned with just a damp cloth); it has a matte screen (as opposed to the more common glossy screen) and that makes it very easy to see in a car or outdoors as well as indoors. The keyboard is superb - and this is really not to be expected on a netbook. You will hardly notice a difference between this keyboard and one on a much larger machine. The computer weighs less than three pounds yet is constructed better, more solidly, than any other netbook I have seen.

If there is any nit to pick it is this: the speakers could (and should) be improved. My unit sounds like a portable AM transistor radio (though much louder of course). Plugging in portable external speakers such as Sonic Impact 5009G Gen3 Portable Speakers, which we always take with us, or good headphones makes all the difference.

Using our unit with the screen brightness set to 100% all of the time, we got over five hours on the battery; we didn't let the battery run all the way down so I do not know exactly how much time we could have achieved (and this was with the internet on).

The basic price for this computer is higher than most 'mass-market' netbooks - but, in this case, you DO get what you pay for, certainly in terms of quality of construction. Its high quality is immediately evident and, compared to those 'mass-market' ones, it is worth every extra penny. Fortunately, as I indicated previously, the large number of options and upgrades available for it (many of which cannot be had at any price on lesser netbooks) are quite reasonably priced. But even in its 'standard' form, you will get a fast, reliable computer made to a very high standard.

All in all, considering the way we were treated by the people at ZaReason, considering that obvious high quality of construction of the netbook, and considering the usage we have now gotten during the two months we have owned this computer, I give it my highest recommendation.

If you are currently in the market for a netbook (perhaps as a second or a travel computer or even a primary computer if you do not do too much intensive work on a computer), in my opinion you can do no better than this one.

==================================================================================================================================

Update: September 29, 2010

Godfrey Daniel! It appears that after only a short production life this netbook has been discontinued by its OEM. This is a shame in my opinion. I understand that ZaReason is looking for a replacement source and I hope that they are successful in finding one of comparable quality.

Ours accompanied us across the country and back as well as on another vacation from which we just returned. Its very high quality of performance and construction was quite apparent; it was in use in our car for many hours in addition to being used in hotel rooms and relatives' houses.

I'm glad I got mine when I did.