MSI Wind Mini notebook

So, what do you need to know about MSI's effort, the Wind? Much like the HP 2133 Mini-Note it weighs a little more than an Eee PC, at around 1.3kg. In turn that makes it just a smidgen heavier than a Sony TZ, which typically weighs around 1.2kg. In any case it's perfectly portable and unlike the HP Mini-Note or the Asus Eee PC 900, the first edition of the Wind will come equipped with a comparatively large 10in screen. However, despite its screen being significantly larger, it surprisingly doesn't have a resolution to match, with the screen running at 1,024 x 600.


This will no doubt disappoint those who want to watch high resolution video - of which there are many - but there is some crazy kind of logic to this move. Though it may appear wasteful to have such a large screen at a comparatively low resolution, it's a combination that makes the Wind very usable. Text is large and sharp, icons well defined and it's a scale that arguably suits more people than it disappoints.


Naturally enough, it's going to be a cheap machine. On launch the Wind will come loaded with Windows XP - a Linux version will follow at a later date - and will be retailing for a very palatable £329. This will net you 1GB of RAM, an 80GB standard mechanical hard drive and all the usual bit pieces like wireless, wired networking and even Bluetooth as well. Unfortunately we still can't officially confirm the CPU inside the Wind, but the consensus in the rumour mill has it using a certain new Intel CPU that begins with an ‘A', ends with an ‘m' and has ‘to' in the middle.
And, from our brief time with the machine, we found the Wind to be a nippy little thing. Programs loaded efficiently and were responsive to use, something that can't be said of the HP Mini-Note and its lackadaisical 1.2GHz Via CPU.

That's enough with the introductions, though, so let's take a much closer look at the MSI Wind has to offer...

Though not quite as accomplished as the HP Mini-Note, the keyboard on the Wind is nonetheless very good and a definite improvement over the Eee PC. Keys have a nice crisp response to them and most of the important elements of the layout are very good, though the Fn seems to have been directed to an incorrect location!

If you look closely at each bottom corner you'll see the two integrated speakers. They're not really up to much but then we weren't expecting anything special and these will do just fine for Windows' various chimes. Meanwhile, the battery you see at the back is the standard 3-cell that'll ship with the machine, though there's a 6-cell available separately as well.

Status lights for pretty much everything are on the front edge. Here you can also see the Page Up/Down, Home and End keys have been mapped to the cursor keys, which themselves are quite intelligently placed and shouldn't get in the way.There's a 1.3 Megapixel, with its own microphone, set into the bezel. Here you can also see the new MSI logo that'll be seen on all its new notebooks.

Here we see one of the Wind's most important features. Can't you see it yet? No? That's because it's the F10 key. Nothing exciting about that, of course, however it activates a feature unique to the Wind: hardware over and under-clocking. This, at the touch of a button, will either overclock or underclock the CPU, providing you with extra performance or improved battery life. Indeed, it's something MSI seems particularly keen on and here we can see it becoming a very useful feature.


On the left edge you'll find one USB port, a memory card reader, microphone and headphone jacks, a D-SUB (VGA) video output and an Ethernet port for wired networking.

And, on the right, there are a further two USB ports for a total of three, a lock slot and power input, with the rest of the space taken up by an air vent.

Side-by-side the Wind is perhaps slightly thinner than the Mini-Note.

Likewise, this shot shows the extra depth of the Wind as well.


Overall, though the Wind lacks the classiness of the Mini-Note's metallic finish and gloss black bezel, it's a good looking machine that shares a very similar visual style with the Eee PC - albeit in a slightly larger chassis. Either way it looks as though MSI has put together a very commendable effort and with Acer and Dell due to officially announce their efforts shortly, the Eee PC will have plenty more competitors to worry about.






Specifications

1.6GHz Intel Atom Processor
10" WSVGA (1024 x 600) LCD
Windows XP Home Operating System
Intel GMA 950 Integrated Graphics
1GB 667MHz DDR2 Memory
80GB 2.5" SATA Hard Drive
Wireless: 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0
3-Cell 11.1v 2200mAh Battery
Size: WxDxH 10.2" x 7" x 1.3"
Weight: 2lbs 8.6oz

Build and Design

The MSI Wind really has a great look and feel to it. The soft rounded edges coupled with the glossy texture make it easy and comfortable to grip onto, while also giving the mini notebook a very professional look. Another great aspect of the Wind is nothing appears "look at me" flashy, making it very appealing to business professionals, as well as children and teenagers alike. No chrome is found anywhere, and all the labeling and branding is a light grey which really goes well with the pearl white finish.


Build quality is excellent, and reminds me very much of the HP Mini-Note. Fit and finish is top notch with smooth and tight plastic seams, beveled edges, recessed hinges, and plenty of touches here and there that make you feel as if you are getting every penny's worth of notebook from MSI. The quality of the plastics used is top notch, and most thick enough to prevent flex even under a firm grip. The LCD cover and palmrest show no flex under heavy pressure, but the bottom panel is thin in a few spots and easy to bend. Not a deal breaker by any means, but I'm just saying it might not hold up well to being run over by a car.

Display

The Wind has a LED backlit matte textured LCD. It is very bright and easy to read, and rates very well to others screens I have used. Colors are vibrant and contrast is excellent. On the flip side, the screen does have the infamous sparkly texture to it giving solid colors a dirty look, and on high backlight settings you can see some backlight bleed and almost make out each individual LED. None of those drawbacks would be enough to make me not buy one, but it might be enough for someone to give it a second thought it they were more on the obsessive side of things.

Viewing angles are just how I like them, wide in both vertical and horizontal planes. I have always found it kinda funny that "cheap and affordable" subnotebooks can always manage to beat out multimedia powerhouses in this screen aspect. With some screens inverting colors or going distorted with minimal vertical movement, the MSI Wind's LCD keeps colors true until much steeper angles. I could say you could probably go 45-50 degrees above or below the screen before you might want to reconsider your seating position. Horizontal viewing angles were not as good as the vertical, with the screen appearing much darker in side viewing positions. The colors didn't exactly invert, but screen was dark enough to become unwatchable for secondary viewing buddies who you might be sharing a movie with.

Sunlight readability for those who might adventure into the wilderness on occasion is fairly good. At full brightness the screen should still be readable. Below is a comparison between the MSI Wind, Lenovo T60, and Dell D630. The Wind is a good deal brighter than the other two notebooks.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The MSI Wind really shines with its keyboard, and taking up almost every inch of space side to side to have the largest possible keys on such a small device. The keyboard takes all but 2-3mm of space going side to side, and is really great to type on even with large hands. The only big flaw I can find with the keyboard is the super narrow ",", ".", and "/" keys which are 2/3 the width of standard letter keys. This threw me off at first trying to type in websites, and hitting the "/" key instead of a period. Once you got used to the layout it wasn't as much of a problem, but come on, why ruin such a good thing? The shift keys on both sides should have been reduced in size by half and still been perfectly fine, and you wouldn't have to have 2/3 size symbol keys.

Ports and Features

The MSI Wind has a laundry list of features, including everything you would expect to find on a full-size notebook. Key features include 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth 2.0, Webcam, and a card reader, with USB, VGA, LAN, and audio making notable appearances. While Firewire would have been nice to see, it was understandable to be missing, with an already crowded port selection on each side.

Audio

Speaker quality on the Wind makes most full-size notebooks sound like full surround sound systems. They work well enough if you have to watch a YouTube clip or listen to system sounds, but it doesn't have any purpose beyond that. Volume levels can't get high enough, and you are missing all midrange without even a hint of bass. The headphone jack provides a great alternative though and comes highly recommended.

Battery Life

Currently only the 3-cell battery version of the MSI Wind is shipping, and I would barely call the Wind travel friendly because of it. At lowest screen brightness and the processor locked in ECO mode, the Wind almost broke 3 hours with wireless enabled but no activity taking place. When you turned the backlight brightness up to reasonable levels which range between 60-70% and leave the processor in the normal mode, battery life plummeted to 2 hours and 6 minutes under "normal" conditions. This includes heavy web browsing, installing a small application, and viewing images off of a memory card. For something a business user might want to take with him or her on the road, this is unacceptable, even compared with gaming notebooks.

When the 6-cell battery starts shipping as a standard item, my harsh opinion would change as you might be able to break 4-5 hours depending on usage since the battery is twice the size. This is basically the only option for road warriors, besides packing an AC adapter and extension cord at all times to gain outlet access.


Conclusion

The MSI Wind is one of the best subnotebooks I have seen come out of the mini notebook storm that has hit us the past few months. It offers a 10" widescreen, 2.5" SATA hard drive, Intel Atom processor, and WIFI with Bluetooth for well under what some of the other mainstream competition charge. All all of this seems to come with a small caveat right now: horrible battery life. MSI is only selling the 3-cell version of the Wind, which averages just a hair over 2 hours of mobile use. This is unacceptable for a travel companion device. Good news is sometime in the future a configuration will be sold with the extended battery, and early adopters will need to wait for a 6-cell accessory battery.

Pros

No heat to ignite pants or palms
Super bright LED backlit screen
Near perfect keyboard
Storage device offers an easy route of upgrade
Cons

Battery life is abysmal with the 3-cell
Limited supply at release, hard to acquire