MSI announced a handful of new 10 inch netbooks with Intel Atom N450 processors in January. The MSI Wind U160 is probably the most attractive of the bunch. I got a chance to play with one for a few minutes at CES, but Johannes at NewGadgets.de did me one better and he got MSI to send him a pre-production model. You can check out his unboxing video (in English) after the break.
The laptop has a glossy lid, a chiclet-style keyboard, and a textured touchpad with a single mouse button that makes the Wind U150 look an awful lot like the Asus Eee PC 1005PE.
The computer ships with Windows 7 Starter Edition, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM, GMA 3150 graphics, and a choice of a 3 or 6 cell battery. There’s also a SIM card slot, indicating that the Wind U160 may be available with a 3G modem.
The 6 cell battery does stick out like a sore thumb at the back of the netbook. One thing that sets the Wind U160 apart from other MSI netbooks is that it has a two-tone color scheme. The lid, keyboard, and base of this particular unit, for instance, are black. But the battery and the area where the keyboard meets the lid are a metallic gray color. I’m not really sure how I feel about this particular color combo, but the models I saw at CES had more of a gold and chrome color combo, which looked a bit better.
You can check out Johannes’s unboxing video and a few hands-on photos I shot at CES after the break.
I actually like the look of this netbook. I originally had the hp model then switched to samsung nc10. I think I might consider exchanging for one of msi’s models such as this one.
What is the use of manufacturer’s coming out with so many models to the extent that it confuses consumers big time?
Justification that each model caters to different segments of the population is plain bull.
Now, MSI is doing what Asus does, come out with so many models and variants but in actual fact it is merely the same thing.
Don’t the manufacturers know that people are not interested in 3 cell batteries? Those who do buy actually buy them by accident and later regret their purchase. Those who do buy 3 cell units most likely are amateurs who were not really informed properly during their purchase.
Now, Smasung also have started emulating Asus and MSI. They have come out with so many models that everyone has lost track. It used to be easy those days, either the NC10 or N110. Now, its countless of machines.
Things like this will drive prospective netbook buyers to Apple Ipad. They know its one name and one product. No confusion.