MSI has released a whole bunch of new photos that show off its new Wind ultra-portable that will compete with the Asus Eee PC and HP Mini-Note 2133. If its looks are anything to go by, MSI will have a big hit on its hands with this Intel Atom-powered laptop -- prices will start from around £200. The Wind will be available in the UK some time in June. See the full set of photos after the cut.

It's been part of 3's service for some time but now Skype Mobile has broken out and become available for all users.

Still in beta version, the Java software can be downloaded for use on one of around fifty handsets. Only Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Samsung models are supported but others are promised.

It works in much the same way the PC version does, giving access to contacts as well as Skype In and Out, potentially reducing the cost of international calls significantly.

Course, unless you're on an unlimited plan, there will be the charge for the data. The Skype webpage has this useful calculation: "A person with 20 contacts, who’s online for 1 hour, IMs for 10 minutes and has a 20 minute call each day will use about 1MB of data per month." It also sagely points out: 'We don’t recommend you use Skype for your mobile when you’re travelling abroad. Your operator may charge you all sorts of additional roaming costs."

We wonder how long it takes for the first user to open their mobile bill and discover those 'free' calls they made from Australia actually cost them a couple of grand.

[Skype Mobile]

Yet more from Toshiba, which has taken the wraps off four new models, including what it says is the first UK laptop to come loaded with a 128GB SSD. The Portégé R500-12S follows the same super lightweight mould as the R500-126 but doubles the SSD capacity on board. It combines it with an ultra-low voltage Core2 Duo U7700, 2GB of RAM and and a 12in LED backlit TFT screen.

We'd been hearing that sales were brisk of the cut price 8GB iPhone following last week's £100 price slash but now it seems the handset could actually be selling out sooner than some had expected. Carphone Warehouse's website lists the phone as 'out of stock' but more telling is an email sent to members of the affiliate network, Tradedoubler.

That's according to Toshiba President, Shozo Saito, who's promised that within three years 25% of new laptops will use solid state drives. Of course, that'll require a big leap in capacity and a significant dip in price. Well, check and check. Old Saito's not only revealed that Toshiba will soon be launching a 512GB SSD, but he also believes that prices will fall by 40-50% every twelve months. By our calculations that could see a £2000 128GB SSD coming in at under £250 by 2011. Should give us just enough time to save up.

[PCLaunches ]

Never judge a MacBook by its cover, they say - clearly not a mantra that the folks at serial accessory maker Brighton Net live by. They've just crafted this 'faux leather' (Mmm) Bookshell covering to protect Apple's baby laptop from harm. It also serves the handy purpose of transforming the white plastic lid into shades of either bright red or alluringly expensive black. Brighton Net describes the feel as 'suede-like'. If that sounds appealing then look out for them appearing at its online distributor Bridgewell.

[Brighton Net]

No sooner did we have word that Asus would be launching a 10in Eee PC, than French rival Medion dropped news of this Gallic competitor, the Akoya Mini E1210. Based on the same Intel Atom chip,  running at 1.6MHz or 1.8Mhz, it'll have a minimum 1GB RAM but will shun SSD storage in favour of a mini 1.8in hard drive. It's the same sort of drive that goes into the iPod and although Medion hasn't mentioned any configurations, they could in theory go up to 100GB.

It's a tough life being a portable hard drive. Constantly holding on to precious data, all the while knowing that the slightest knock could send your drive head scattering all over your fragile platter. For this very reason, LaCie has brought out its Rugged Hard Disk, which has just added a giant 500GB model.

It's a hard drive that means business from its shock resistant rubber orange outer to its protective aluminium shell. Inside shock absorbing rubber bumpers keep things extra steady. If that sound like the sort of protection  your data needs, it can be yours for £219, or from £79.90 in smaller capacities.

 [LaCie]

Articles that show the ‘unboxing’ of a product can be pretty tedious and we don’t usually feature them here at Mobile Computer. We’ll make an exception for this clever Apple iPhone unboxing photo gallery by Flickr user ntr23, though – check out the Flickr set for the full set of photos.

[Flickr]

DigiTimes over in Taiwan is reporting that Asus president Jerry Shen has announced plans to release a 10in Asus Eee. Following on from the just-released Eee PC 900 (pictured) it's promised later this year.

While the 900's 8.9in screen fitted neatly into the same shell as the original 700, a 10in display would require a whole new form factor. That's already prompted Eee fans to start hoping for an improved, larger keyboard and perhaps a few other goodies squeezed inside.

Meanwhile there's more in the article about Eee shortages. It states that problems getting enough batteries has meant that Asus has only been able to meet 40% of demand in Europe - but says "a complete recovery" is expected by July.