Articles tagged with: wind u100

Netbook reviews get easier with each new model. With manufacturers all playing copycat when it comes to specifications, there isn’t much to say beyond commenting on what a new netbook looks like and how long it lasts on battery power.

That’s certainly the case with the LG X110. Not only does it have the same specification as every other netbook we’ve seen, it’s actually just a rebadged MSI Wind U100. But hold on a minute – there is one subtle difference in the shape of a SIM card slot tucked behind the battery. Yes, this is only the second netbook to be launched in the UK with a built-in 3G modem – here’s our first impressions video.

Due out by the end of the year, this is the first official shot of MSI's Wind U100 follow-up, the Wind U120.

It's still a tad 'chunky' but a good deal more edgy than its cutesy netbook predecessor. It keeps the 10in screen but gets a 120GB hard drive to match its name - or an optional 20 or 40GB SSD. The rest of the key specs stay the same as the U100, making it more of a slight reworking than the 'Wind 2' that some had predicted.

It'll be out in the US by December for under $600, making it a smidgen more expensive than the old model.

[via Fudzilla]

Now you can pick up a MSI Wind Advent 4211 Medion Akoya Mini E1210 with your spuds. Aldi's offering the UMPC rebadge job, which is actually a carbon copy of PC World's Advent 4211 Netbook.

It has the exact same 1.6GHz (or "16 GB" as Aldi interestingly describes it) Intel Atom N270 processor, 10.2in screen, 1GB RAM and 80Gb hard drive as the Advent 4211 (and, of course, the MSI Wind U100). It also comes loaded with identical Windows XP Home. Even the price is the same: £279.99.

But there is one teeny difference, as well as PC World's black and silver, you'll also be able to put a white Akoya in your trolley.

It'll be in Aldi stores from 10am on Sunday - and no doubt sold-out by 10.01am if Aldi's usual specials are anything to go by.

[Aldi]

There's new Wind blowing - in the shape of fresh updates to MSI's baby UMPC laptop.

First up is a new Linux variant of the 8.9in U90. The U90X-007UK is identical to the standard 80GB U90 Wind but now runs SUSE Linux. It'll sell for £269.

The original 10in U100 also gets a refresh with the U100-054UK, a Windows XP Wind in a new shade: pink. It gets a new price too, now cut-down to £319.

If the lower price doesn't grab you then the current U100 range will also now be available with a larger 100GB hard drive for the old £329 price. Our cup floweth over.

[Press Release]

Car-stereos-to-dishwashers manufacturer LG Electronics is to launch an Atom-powered netbook in the UK.

Keen to mop up some of the spills caused by the giant splash made by the likes of Asus's Eee PC and the MSI Wind, LG has come up with the X110. It is in many ways a classic netbook but one of its big selling points is built in HSDPA (3G) connectivity.

According to Reg Hardware, the X110 is set to launch here in October at a price of £320 (€399/$589). More after the cut.

We've reviewed so many netbooks so far here at Mobile Computer that even we're starting to lose track. So, given that we're forever searching for previous netbook reviews in order to link back in new netbook reviews, we figured you'd benefit from a quick recap of our coverage so far.

So, in an order that started out alphabetical, here's a public service message that shows where you can find all of Mobile Computer's netbook reviews so far:

We’ve had cause to mention the Advent 4211 a few times in the last few weeks, but if you missed our previous coverage, here’s one-sentence recap: the Advent 4211 is essentially the MSI Wind U100 under a different name and with a much lower price.

MSI sells the Advent 4211 to Dixons Sales Group under an OEM arrangement and it does something similar with Medion and the Akoya Mini E1210 in Germany. The price difference, according to MSI, is due to the Advent having a lesser 12-month warranty (the Wind has two years) and less sparkly finish, but we suspect DSG’s more aggressive pricing strategy plays a part, too.

PC World has kindly sent us an Advent 4211 for review – we say ‘kindly’ as we gather that these netbooks are in short supply at the moment and we’re sure PC World would much rather sell any boxes it can get its hands on than ferry them to journalists for review. And to make matters worse, we’re not even going to review the Advent 4211.

Why not? Because we’ve already reviewed it in the guise of the Wind U100 – yes, the Advent 4211 is nothing more than a rebadged MSI Wind netbook. Which is where things get interesting…

An MSI Wind-a-like has turned up on PC World's website sporting an identical chassis and near identical specs. 

Customers are reporting that the only difference between the own-brand Advent 4211 and the MSI Wind is the battery. That and the price - a full £70 cheaper than the Wind U100!

At £279 with Windows XP it could be the bargain 10in UMPC of choice - especially as Asus's competing 10-incher, the Eee PC 1000, is also expected to be well over £300.

We've a full review of the MSI Wind here, and will be getting our hands on the Advent in a few days. Meanwhile click through for the full specs:

As explained in our review, a problem with the way in which some MSI Wind U100 retail units respond to a fully depleted battery means that they need a BIOS update straight from the box. The problem is that BIOS updates need to be run from floppy disk and the MSI Wind, just like the Acer Aspire One and Asus Eee PC, doesn’t have a floppy drive.

An external USB floppy drive is one option, but surely it’s easier to make a bootable USB flash drive and boot the netbook from that, right? Wrong. While netbooks (and most laptops) can be booted from a USB flash drive, the catch is that you still need a bootable DOS floppy to create one...