Intel Atom 1.6 GHz / 1GB RAM / 160GB Hard Drive / 1.3 Webcam / 802.11G / 4-in-1 Card Reader / 6-Cell Battery / Windows XP Home / 2.6 lbs / Sleeve 10.2 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Built-in 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Ports – 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.6 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars good price/performance
the product was delivered quite fast. It’s good to work with because it’s not so heavy and the battery life of 4h is good. The only disadvantage are the touchpad buttons. they look anf feel very cheap, and I quess they will break soon if I don’t use a mouse. But altogether it’s worth the price.

5 Stars Great little netbook!
My main computer is a Toshiba Satellite laptop with a 17″ screen, and it is a pain (literally) to carry everywhere. So after much research, I decided to buy the MSI Wind U123 (in red). After a few days of using it, I can say that I am pleased with my decision so far. MSI may be a lesser known brand, but they make great little netbooks.

Immediate improvements: The first thing I did was upgrade the memory to 2gb (Crucial Technology CT25664AC800 2GB 200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-6400 Memory Module). [A word on the memory upgrade... I have heard mixed things as to whether the upgrade voids the warranty. I would suggest contacting MSI if this is a concern for you.] I also upgraded the touchpad drivers to allow for a scroll zone on the right side of the touchpad[...]. That makes it MUCH better.

The Wind did not come with a lot of bloatware, which saved me a lot of time. I have installed a variety of apps on it, including Open Office, iTunes and SPSS. It does not seem to have any trouble streaming video from Hulu or streaming music over the network from my primary computer. But as a grad student, I was most concerned about how well it would handle SPSS, the statistical analysis software I use most often. It is noticeably slower than other computers I’ve used, but only when running more complicated analyses. That said, it was still much quicker than I had expected.

Downsides: I haven’t really noticed anything so far… The previous reviewer commented on the touchpad buttons. I’m not sure that they feel cheap as much as they feel stiff. You have to push pretty hard to get them to click. I’m wondering if that will loosen up with use. Otherwise, I may opt to use a mouse. But all in all, that’s not enough to make me take away a star.

Buy/More Info

The Wind, an acronym for “Wi-Fi Network Device,” features a speedy and energy-efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor to provide longer operation hours and better mobile lifestyle. This notebook, or “netbook” is lightweight and ultra-portable, measuring about 7 inches wide by 10.23 inches long, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. Being small doesn’t mean ultra-small keyboard, the Wind features an ergonomically designed keyboard that is only 20% smaller than a full sized notebook keyboard, with keys spaced a comfortable 0.68 inches apart. The Wind comes equipped with a 10″ backlit LED screen that provides superior color quality and brightness giving you better comfort while reading reports, watching online videos and viewing photos. In addition, the 1024 x 600 screen resolution can fully display web pages, which makes it ideal for Internet browsing. With the 802.11b/g/n wireless built-in, you can enjoy the convenience of accessing the Internet anywhere and video chat with family and friends with the built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and microphone. With the Wind notebook weighting less than 3 pounds, makes it a great second computer to use at school, work and to take on vacations. 10 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Facial Recognition Software for Security Built-in 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.3 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars MSI U120 wind
Seems to be a very nice little computer. I use it mostly for email and web surfing and it is fine for that. Note that the 1G memory is not expandable. The keyboard is large enough that it doesn’t feel cramped. The speakers are terrible, so if you want to listen to music (or anything else) plan to use earphones. It is a little difficult to open the lid, and when fully open the computer tends to be top-heavy – it’s easy to tip backward – a minor inconvenience, IMO.

4 Stars Great Value
Very happy with the size, style, and performance of the Wind. For the price, I believe it is the best deal out there.

Positives- Great display, Good spacing on the keyboard, very lightweight, seems to have 5 hours of battery life, comes with sleeve case, has attractive design, very fast boot up, comes with XP not Vista, built in camera with face recognition software (pretty cool)

Negatives- mousepad could be better (click tabs not the best and pad not the most responsive, tends to fall backward if not sat on level surface with screen in back position, can’t upgrade ram but don’t think you really need it anyway

Overall a great computer, have gotten many complements on it. If you’re looking for a cheap netbook that doesn’t seem cheap, this is it. Have and would recommend to friends.

2 Stars Bad battery and hard to set up wireless connections.
Bought this item to replace our Dell 700 (as a travel computer) and was very disappointed. It took us a long time to connect to our wireless at our own house. Then we brought it with us along with the Dell 700 to Europe for a three week trip. (the Dell was brought with us a gift to someone else). The battery worked for 5 days after that it was dead and refused to take a charge. It was almost impossible to get the wireless to work, while our old Dell was up and running in no time. Maybe we just got a bad unit, but it’s going back to Amazon for a refund.

4 Stars Sorta Good, Sorta Bad
Fan is making some loud noises, I guess this is common. Only solution is to return or void warranty to fix.

3g is suppose to be built in, I can’t seem to get it working.

5 Stars The System that turns heads!
I am so proud of my new MSI Wind U120-024US (Black & Whie 2-toned color) model! I have see some complaints from others of a loud fan. Not on my unit. It sounds normal and when I use headphones for music and movies, the fan is unnoticeable. Some said it lacked a user-manual. Well, I’m all for saving trees and I hope a lot of us are. The walk-through on the 1st system boot up was easy & straigtforward. Then the User Manual had an icon right on the desktop. So those who had to visit the MSI website were just wasting time. However, I found the cam turn-on & set up confusing. But when I clicked the “help” button, the site it launched me to was helpful on the first try. The keyboard is comfortable, and everything works great as expected.

The faults I find on this system are common among most netbooks. Namely: the right and left mouse click buttons require a lot of pressure and don’t always respond right. That’s why I usually use a portable mouse. It ships with XP and 1 GB of memory (max) which is adequate for the uses it was made for.

I love this machine and recommend it to everyone shopping for a netbook!

Buy/More Info

Intel Atom 1.6 GHz / 1GB RAM / 160GB Hard Drive / 1.3 Webcam / 802.11GN / 4-in-1 Card Reader / 6-Cell Battery / Windows XP Home / 2.6 lbs / Sleeve 10.2 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Built-in 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Ports – 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.6 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars MSI wind U123
If you want a net book with a 6-cell battery, this is for you! By the way, the batter does not really project out like other models, this one is compact, and well made. Run time is fantastic and it’s a great deal!

5 Stars MSI Wind U123 A Very Nice Little Computer
I wanted an easily portable, light computer and decided on a netbook. The next step was which one? After reading many reviews I decided to buy the MSI Wind U123 and I wasn’t disappointed. The keyboard was big enough to do word processing and the CPU was far more responsive than I had imagined. Even the battery life surprised me. The machine came with a six cell battery that has lasted me through about 4?hours of use. I use the machine mostly to browse the Internet and do word processing, but I also watch videos with it, and they are very smooth. The only exception is wireless streaming video, but that is because the wireless is a bottleneck.

This netbook has a card reader, USB connections, and other necessary connections. The screen takes a little getting used to because you don’t quite see an entire page, but you will get used to that. For the price of about $350 you are getting quite a competent computer that is about as powerful as laptops of a few years ago, but much easier to handle and with considerably more battery life. My machine came with Windows XP.

Ken

Webmaster

About Facts Net

4 Stars runs great with UBUNTU 9.04
This is a nice choice if you are traveling a lot. Battery life is long lasting and the performance under WINDOWS XP SP3 is good enough for web and office use. Entertainment (audio and video) during long flights and in waiting areas of airports is possible but due to the weak audio performance a little bit difficult, even with earphones. It is much faster with UBUNTU 9.04 but not stronger in audio output, so you can only solve the audio problems with an amplified headset. UBUNTU runs without problems and after a short time of learning I switched completely to this LINUX operating system, it comes with all the office and multimedia software you need for the netbook and it’s FOR FREE. The MSI Wind U123 is upgradeable in RAM and you can change the hard drive to a bigger one! MSI support told me, that the upgrade doesn’t void the warranty, only the use of wrong parts and the causes of that does it. So, if you want to upgrade the netbook with memory or disk space to get better performance, no problem! Please, if you buy this product, don’t think that it is a substitute for a high end PC! You will be happy with it, for sure, if you don’t like to carry a much heavier notebook with less battery life. The MSI Wind netbook is easy to handle and carry, so it is always there to use it.

3 Stars good but not great
I am traveling around the world with this netbook and overall i’d say it’s a good product but not great. Love the screen, size, weight, and speed of it, however the keyboard while ok has two faults i have issues with. 1 the period key is to small and scrunched so when typing almost everytime you need it you’ll hit another key. 2. while typing the cursor has a tendency to jump around to other sections of a paragraph and if you are not paying attention will delete something you have already typed. if i didn’t have these issues i’d rate it an A+

5 Stars MSI Wind
Received my netbook ahead of promised date. I’m a very satisfied Amazon customer and will continue using for purchases. Never had a problem. Merchants deliver quality products. As far as the Wind – great little machine. Added Ubuntu and I’ve been off to the races ever since.

Buy/More Info

The Wind, an acronym for Wi-Fi Network Device,” features a speedy and energy-efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor to provide longer operation hours and better mobile lifestyle. This notebook is lightweight and ultra-portable, measuring about 7 inches wide by 10.23 inches long, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. Being small doesn’t mean ultra-small keyboard, the Wind features an ergonomically designed keyboard that is only 20% smaller than a full sized notebook keyboard, with keys spaced a comfortable 0.68 inches apart. The Wind comes equipped with a 10″ backlit LED screen that provides superior color quality and brightness giving you better comfort while reading reports, watching online videos and viewing photos. In addition, the 1024 x 600 screen resolution can fully display web pages, which makes it ideal for Internet browsing. With the 802.11b/g/n wireless built-in, you can enjoy the convenience of accessing the Internet anywhere and video chat with family and friends with the built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and microphone. Another wireless feature that comes with the Wind is Bluetooth, this enables you to wireless connect to headphones, or other Bluetooth devices making it more convenient by not carrying around a bunch of tangled cords. With the Wind notebook weighting less than 3 pounds, makes it a great second computer to use at school, work and to take on vacations. 10 Widescreen (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Two internal Speakers Built-in 802.11b/g/n Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN Integrated Bluetooth 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Ports – 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.6 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Cute litte web surfer
I bought this specifically for web browsing. Mostly use it to check my fav websites while watching evening tv, uploading/dowloading pictures and to and from work on the bus.

4 Stars MSI Wind U100 – decent little machine
First thing that I found when I opened the package is the itty bitty laptop and the additional memory that I ordered. I STRONGLY recommend spending the extra 15 to 20 bucks to get the extra memory – it makes a massive difference in the performance of any machine.

The issue I had with the memory is that the laptot doesn’t seem to have any place to install it. The documentation doesn’t show where it goes. I found a video on Youtube showing how and where to install it. The apparent terrible thing about upgrading the memory is that it requires removing the back cover. One of the screws is covered by a security tape that says “warranty is void if tampered”.

I contacted tech support. It took two calls. Both times they answered within 5 minutes. The first call, oops, they dropped the phone and accidentally hung up on me. I got the same tech that did this on the second call. The tech support agent said that it is alright to remove the sticker to get to the screw. They have reviewed their policy and it will not void the warranty. They have stopped placing the sticker on new systems. With the cover off, I removed the sticker altogether and got the residue off with goo gone.

The tech support agent said that nothing else is user or locally serviceable. Not even the hard drive.

Next, I backed up the hard drive as delivered using Norton Ghost.

I then replaced the operating system by installing Windows Vista Ultimate to test the capability. It ran just fine. The Vista Performance rating gave it a 1 for the graphics card – or lack of.

I installed XP Pro. Office 2007 Ultimate. Joined the laptot to the domain. It is truly not a desktop replacement, but my wife likes it a lot!

I don’t know why they don’t offer XP Professional as an option for these machines. XP home is simply a broken version.

I wonder what OS these laptot manufacturers will begin shipping when Microsoft finally discontinues XP.

5 Stars great – love it!
I love this laptop! It has everything I need to surf the web and the battery has a long life. I’m especially impressed withthe keyboard, which is large for such a small computer. The heart design is very subtle.

5 Stars Great little machine!!
Originally leaning towards an HP mini I decided to go with this little one after discovering all its great features and tons of great reviews. It’s light, fast, has a great screen, the keyboard rocks, I have no problem with the mouse bar and I just love it! I drag it all over the place with me, it into the kitchen rather than printing a recipe and it worked like a charm, into the family room to surf, outside to work, everywhere – battery lasts forever and it doesn’t get hot like my Thinkpad I use for work.

5 Stars Portable Wind Netbook from MSI
Excellent product very happy with it, bought it for my wife, delighted with the product

Buy/More Info

The Wind, an acronym for “Wi-Fi Network Device,” features a speedy and energy-efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor to provide longer operation hours and better mobile lifestyle. This notebook, or “netbook” is lightweight and ultra-portable, measuring about 7 inches wide by 10.23 inches long, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. Being small doesn’t mean ultra-small keyboard, the Wind features an ergonomically designed keyboard that is only 20% smaller than a full sized notebook keyboard, with keys spaced a comfortable 0.68 inches apart. The Wind comes equipped with a 10″ backlit LED screen that provides superior color quality and brightness giving you better comfort while reading reports, watching online videos and viewing photos. In addition, the 1024 x 600 screen resolution can fully display web pages, which makes it ideal for Internet browsing. With the 802.11b/g/n wireless built-in, you can enjoy the convenience of accessing the Internet anywhere and video chat with family and friends with the built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and microphone. With the Wind notebook weighting less than 3 pounds, makes it a great second computer to use at school, work and to take on vacations. 10 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Built-in 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.3 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Review of MSI Wind Netbook
I ordered the MSI Wind because of recommendations from Leo Laporte on TWIT. I sold my Dell Laptop with Vista installed. MSI come with XP installed because Vista is too much of a hog to run in a netbook. I loaded the new Windows 7 into it and it runs great. The MSI Wind Netbook is a good choice for a small computer

5 Stars A small wonder
This little netbook has every thing I want. Hook it up with regular size keyboard, mouse, stereo receiver system, external DVD burner and a 19″ monitor running on AC, it becomes a very useful desktop. It even shares a same xD card with my Fuji camera via the 4-in-1 card reader. It gets every function of FFD drive and more. The built-in 10″ LCD is bright and vivid if one does not mind its small size. The built-in webcam works well with internet phone; Skype. The steaming video is smooth and the audio is clear throughout the call. 24% over clock is stable, but I don’t have a need for that at the moment. CPU and hard drive are running cool, and I can barely hear the fan noise. Bought it from J&R with free shipping and tax at a bargain price. J&R’s online specification of this netbook mis-states the hard drive size as 120 MB instead of 160 MB. I cannot open the back cover of the netbook myself without voiding the warranty. This is the only con I can think of.

5 Stars I’m Stoked !!!!
I haven’t had a new computer in 9 years, so I bought a regular laptop to replace the old one and I bought this NETBOOK so I could be more mobile.

WOW, I just love all the new technology and this little computer has it all. I just recently started using WIFI and I just love it..I can also do some SKYPE-ING with friends in Bangkok and all over the world !! Is technology fabulous or what?

It has plenty of juice for my needs and I can run my astrological software easily and the few other software programs I use. There is plenty of space for all my needs and the screen is crystal clear…It is light as a feather and I can carry it around with me everywhere.

I can’t imagine a better system or a better buy. I highly recommend it for all your mobile needs…

5 Stars Best price and high quality
This is a great little netbook. I would recommend to all. I ended up using this for more than just checking email. If you are running high graphics programs or the like, get the ram upgrade (just like any other computer).

3 Stars Good laptop, back touchpad scrolling
Over all I like the build quality and the value I get for the price.

The biggest thing I disliked, and no one has mentioned here is the touch pad scrolling. MSI didn’t want to license the right side scroll on the touchpad from Synaptics, so they chose a different touchpad vendor, who implements the scrolling differently, by assigning two areas on top right and bottom right corners to scroll up and down. These two areas are basically like two buttons, you don’t actually drag your finger on the touchpad, you just touch the scroll areas to scroll, and hold it for continuous (kinda choppy) scroll. It’s no where near as intuitive, predictable, and responsive as Synaptics touchpad’s side scroll, where one can control the scroll speed/amount pretty accurately by varying the scrolling gesture. I ended up using arrows more often, and having to move back and forth between the touchpad and the arrow keys, while not a big inconvenience, is definitely much more tedious.

Given the small screen and especially the small height of a netbook screen, scrolling up/down is needed a lot, I think MSI really made a bad cost saving choice here. There is also no horizontal scroll on the MSI touch pad, but it’s not a big deal for me.

Buy/More Info

The Wind, an acronym for Wi-Fi Network Device,” features a speedy and energy-efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor to provide longer operation hours and better mobile lifestyle. This notebook is lightweight and ultra-portable, measuring about 7 inches wide by 10.23 inches long, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. Being small doesn’t mean ultra-small keyboard, the Wind features an ergonomically designed keyboard that is only 20% smaller than a full sized notebook keyboard, with keys spaced a comfortable 0.68 inches apart. The Wind comes equipped with a 10″ backlit LED screen that provides superior color quality and brightness giving you better comfort while reading reports, watching online videos and viewing photos. In addition, the 1024 x 600 screen resolution can fully display web pages, which makes it ideal for Internet browsing. With the 802.11b/g/n wireless built-in, you can enjoy the convenience of accessing the Internet anywhere and video chat with family and friends with the built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and microphone. Another wireless feature that comes with the Wind is Bluetooth, this enables you to wireless connect to headphones, or other Bluetooth devices making it more convenient by not carrying around a bunch of tangled cords. With the Wind notebook weighting less than 3 pounds, makes it a great second computer to use at school, work and to take on vacations. 10 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Built-in 802.11b/g/n Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN Integrated Bluetooth 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.6 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great Netbook
Hadn’t thought about something this small until a friend bought one. Decided this was what we needed to save our marriage (wife was always on my laptop). So, she now has this “cute laptop” (her words, not mine).

Haven’t really found any negatives to it. Added a Logitech TrackMan Wheel for her to use. Plan to add Office 2003 to it so it can be more versatile. And the best part is it doesn’t run on Vista!!

We recently took an 8 hour trip and it kept her and another friend occupied playing Spider Solitaire on it (significantly reducing the number of driver corrections need). Plan on loading a GPS program on it eliminating the need for a separate system in the car.

5 Stars Best bet!
I am not a computer Maven but have just loved this little computer. My daughter is very computer savy and I have to fight her off to get my MSI wind from her. Her laptop is loaded and very heavy so she loves to grab mine to catch up on e-mails, facebook and shopping. This is perfect for the casual computer person. The extra ram is really nice, it is a tad slow with just 1GM of Ram but nothing you can’t live with.

I have chubby fingers and don’t really have a problem with the keyboard, very user friendly. I also have bifocals and like the smaller screen. 8 inches would be too small but 10 is great.

I chose this one because it was upgradeable. It does have the sticker over the screw you need to use to add the RAM so it cancels the warrantee. But worth it to me . Not a minutes problem with this computer at all. LOVE IT!!

4 Stars Save the Wind, Dump the XP
An impressively well built device. Being a fan of the Panasonic ToughBook approach to notebooks I was surprised and favorably taken by the QC claimed to have gone into the manufacturing process. Time will tell.

LED backlit LCD screen is marvelously sharp, even for astigmatic eyes like mine.

Keyboard is solid, well thought out. Only problem I have is the Home and End keys seem to need something extra to get them to work, haven’t figured that out yet. Otherwise, you will not fatfinger too much once you get the hang. F and J key guides could have been a bit more pronounced, however. Which reminds me, most of the detailed instruction guides are not included in the box. Gotta go online and beyond the PDF file to really get the whole story.

Basic info: If you have to run XP Home in this then it will initially go online and start updating to sp3 and forward. Once that’s done with, most of the spiffy quickness you noticed out of the box summarily be lost. XP will suck up the resources of only 1 gig’s worth of RAM. Even after I inserted another gig the Intel Atom strains a bit. And that’s after optimizing XP to some degree.

So, gotta add another gig of RAM, or switch to Ubuntu. Or both. Otherwise, be content with a convenient and pretty damn good little unit hobbled with a piggy OS.

1 Star MSI NETBOOK RETURNED
I RETURNED THE MSI NETBOOK BECAUSE I COULD NOT LINK IT TO MY DSL WIRELESS MODEM. I FOUND THAT THE DOCUMENTATION SUPPLIED WITH THE MSI NETBOOK WERE SO GENERAL THAT THEY WAS NO HELP. WEB SUPPORT FOR THE MSI NETBOOK WAS UNRESPONSIVE. I THEREFOR, RETURNED THE MACHINE. AMAZON MADE THE RETURN VERY EASY.

4 Stars Good value, excellent functionality….some nitpicks
I’ve had high regard for MSI’s motherboards in home-built PC builds for many years. With many options in the current netbook market, quality of the motherboard is an obvious key ingredient in the longterm overall quality of a netbook.

While shopping, I considered the cheaper Linux/SSD netbook offerings. In the end, a houseful of Windows machines drove me to the familiarity of XP and the generous 160 GB capacity of this machine’s standard 2.5″ magnetic hard drive.

First: others have commented about the keyboard. It’s about 80% the size of the one on most laptops. If you have big fingers or marginal touch typing skills…well, then prepare for some typos. This is not a negative; it’s a simple fact of life with a small form factor such as this. My only two issues with the keyboard ergonomics are these:

(1) the period , comma and question mark keys are half the size of the other keys, which takes some getting used to in an already crowded keyboard space.

(2) the “Page Down” key requires use of the “Fn” key…also takes some getting used to if you use it a lot (and I do).

The rest of the following are forgivable in view of the obvious bang for the buck on this machine, but worth being aware of:

-The MSI Wind U100has a built-in web cam, but the bundled software isn not very robust. You can save .jpg files easily enough, but (as my machine shipped) the included Windows Movie Maker locked up each time I attempted to capture moving video. MSI should have included better software for webcam video capture.

Not related to the machine itself is the difficult navigation on MSI’s support sites. Bad English, complex navigation, and the requirement to both identify the machine serial number AND mail in a form to begin warranty coverage is simply uncalled for. On the other hand, there is an active community of MSI Wind users in web forums hosted by MSI. Lots of hard core geeks running multiple operating systems and helping each other with warranty-voiding overclocking mods on their machines:-)

I added additional 1 GB RAM chip to this machine on arrival. Very easy upgrade (loosen nine screws, snap off the bottom cover, insert the RAM). It was immediately recognized at the next start up)…it’s very snappy. The shortcomings in the web site navigation above were mitigated by a rapid response (approximately 24 hours) to a web request I made. I confessed to to adding the RAM and removing the “do not tamper” screw cover sticker. They said: “Replacement of sticker is not necessary warranty will not be affected you can completely remove it if you do not like how it looks.”. Aren’t they nice!

The included .pdf user guide isn’t very useful; it’s mostly warnings and explanations of the LEDs and connectors.

When I bought this netbook, I also purchased an 8X DVDrw Ext USB Drive Red (mostly to be able to load software from CD or DVD sources).

This machine is light, fast and very capable with long battery life. The important hardware (processor, memory and hard drive) is robust. The minor issues above keep this from being a “5″…but buy with confidence once you are aware of them.

Buy/More Info

At less than 3 pounds, this notebook is perfect for any lifestyle – indoors or out. The Wind, an acronym for “Wi-Fi Network Device,” features a speedy and energy-efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor to provide longer operation hours and better mobile lifestyle. This notebook, or Netbook is lightweight and ultra-portable, measuring about 7 inches wide by 10.23 inches long, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. Being small doesn’t mean ultra-small keyboard, the Wind features an ergonomically designed keyboard that is only 20% smaller than a full sized notebook keyboard, with keys spaced a comfortable 0.68 inches apart. The Wind comes equipped with a 10″ backlit LED screen that provides superior color quality and brightness giving you better comfort while reading reports, watching online videos and viewing photos. In addition, the 1024 x 600 screen resolution can fully display web pages, which makes it ideal for Internet browsing. With the 802.11b/g/n wireless built-in, you can enjoy the convenience of accessing the Internet anywhere and video chat with family and friends with the built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and microphone. With the Wind notebook weighting less than 3 pounds, makes it a great second computer to use at school, work and to take on vacations. 10 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Built-in 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.3 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A small wonder
This little netbook has every thing I want. Hook it up with regular size keyboard, mouse, stereo receiver system, external DVD burner and a 19″ monitor running on AC, it becomes a very useful desktop. It even shares a same xD card with my Fuji camera via the 4-in-1 card reader. It gets every function of FFD drive and more. The built-in 10″ LCD is bright and vivid if one does not mind its small size. The built-in webcam works well with internet phone; Skype. The steaming video is smooth and the audio is clear throughout the call. 24% over clock is stable, but I don’t have a need for that at the moment. CPU and hard drive are running cool, and I can barely hear the fan noise. Bought it from J&R with free shipping and tax at a bargain price. J&R’s online specification of this netbook mis-states the hard drive size as 120 MB instead of 160 MB. I cannot open the back cover of the netbook myself without voiding the warranty. This is the only con I can think of.

5 Stars Review of MSI Wind Netbook
I ordered the MSI Wind because of recommendations from Leo Laporte on TWIT. I sold my Dell Laptop with Vista installed. MSI come with XP installed because Vista is too much of a hog to run in a netbook. I loaded the new Windows 7 into it and it runs great. The MSI Wind Netbook is a good choice for a small computer

5 Stars Best price and high quality
This is a great little netbook. I would recommend to all. I ended up using this for more than just checking email. If you are running high graphics programs or the like, get the ram upgrade (just like any other computer).

3 Stars Good laptop, back touchpad scrolling
Over all I like the build quality and the value I get for the price.

The biggest thing I disliked, and no one has mentioned here is the touch pad scrolling. MSI didn’t want to license the right side scroll on the touchpad from Synaptics, so they chose a different touchpad vendor, who implements the scrolling differently, by assigning two areas on top right and bottom right corners to scroll up and down. These two areas are basically like two buttons, you don’t actually drag your finger on the touchpad, you just touch the scroll areas to scroll, and hold it for continuous (kinda choppy) scroll. It’s no where near as intuitive, predictable, and responsive as Synaptics touchpad’s side scroll, where one can control the scroll speed/amount pretty accurately by varying the scrolling gesture. I ended up using arrows more often, and having to move back and forth between the touchpad and the arrow keys, while not a big inconvenience, is definitely much more tedious.

Given the small screen and especially the small height of a netbook screen, scrolling up/down is needed a lot, I think MSI really made a bad cost saving choice here. There is also no horizontal scroll on the MSI touch pad, but it’s not a big deal for me.

5 Stars I’m Stoked !!!!
I haven’t had a new computer in 9 years, so I bought a regular laptop to replace the old one and I bought this NETBOOK so I could be more mobile.

WOW, I just love all the new technology and this little computer has it all. I just recently started using WIFI and I just love it..I can also do some SKYPE-ING with friends in Bangkok and all over the world !! Is technology fabulous or what?

It has plenty of juice for my needs and I can run my astrological software easily and the few other software programs I use. There is plenty of space for all my needs and the screen is crystal clear…It is light as a feather and I can carry it around with me everywhere.

I can’t imagine a better system or a better buy. I highly recommend it for all your mobile needs…

Buy/More Info

The Wind, an acronym for “Wi-Fi Network Device,” features a speedy and energy-efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor to provide longer operation hours and better mobile lifestyle. This notebook, or “netbook” is lightweight and ultra-portable, measuring about 7 inches wide by 10.23 inches long, and weighing just 2.6 pounds. Being small doesn’t mean ultra-small keyboard, the Wind features an ergonomically designed keyboard that is only 20% smaller than a full sized notebook keyboard, with keys spaced a comfortable 0.68 inches apart. The Wind comes equipped with a 10″ backlit LED screen that provides superior color quality and brightness giving you better comfort while reading reports, watching online videos and viewing photos. In addition, the 1024 x 600 screen resolution can fully display web pages, which makes it ideal for Internet browsing. With the 802.11b/g wireless built-in, you can enjoy the convenience of accessing the Internet anywhere and video chat with family and friends with the built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and microphone. With the Wind notebook weighting less than 3 pounds, makes it a great second computer to use at school, work and to take on vacations. 10 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Facial Recognition Software for Security Built-in 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN 4-in-1 Card Reader – SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions – 10.23 (L) x 7.08 (D) x 1.24 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.3 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Sorta Good, Sorta Bad
Fan is making some loud noises, I guess this is common. Only solution is to return or void warranty to fix.

3g is suppose to be built in, I can’t seem to get it working.

4 Stars Great Value
Very happy with the size, style, and performance of the Wind. For the price, I believe it is the best deal out there.

Positives- Great display, Good spacing on the keyboard, very lightweight, seems to have 5 hours of battery life, comes with sleeve case, has attractive design, very fast boot up, comes with XP not Vista, built in camera with face recognition software (pretty cool)

Negatives- mousepad could be better (click tabs not the best and pad not the most responsive, tends to fall backward if not sat on level surface with screen in back position, can’t upgrade ram but don’t think you really need it anyway

Overall a great computer, have gotten many complements on it. If you’re looking for a cheap netbook that doesn’t seem cheap, this is it. Have and would recommend to friends.

2 Stars Bad battery and hard to set up wireless connections.
Bought this item to replace our Dell 700 (as a travel computer) and was very disappointed. It took us a long time to connect to our wireless at our own house. Then we brought it with us along with the Dell 700 to Europe for a three week trip. (the Dell was brought with us a gift to someone else). The battery worked for 5 days after that it was dead and refused to take a charge. It was almost impossible to get the wireless to work, while our old Dell was up and running in no time. Maybe we just got a bad unit, but it’s going back to Amazon for a refund.

4 Stars MSI U120 wind
Seems to be a very nice little computer. I use it mostly for email and web surfing and it is fine for that. Note that the 1G memory is not expandable. The keyboard is large enough that it doesn’t feel cramped. The speakers are terrible, so if you want to listen to music (or anything else) plan to use earphones. It is a little difficult to open the lid, and when fully open the computer tends to be top-heavy – it’s easy to tip backward – a minor inconvenience, IMO.

5 Stars The System that turns heads!
I am so proud of my new MSI Wind U120-024US (Black & Whie 2-toned color) model! I have see some complaints from others of a loud fan. Not on my unit. It sounds normal and when I use headphones for music and movies, the fan is unnoticeable. Some said it lacked a user-manual. Well, I’m all for saving trees and I hope a lot of us are. The walk-through on the 1st system boot up was easy & straigtforward. Then the User Manual had an icon right on the desktop. So those who had to visit the MSI website were just wasting time. However, I found the cam turn-on & set up confusing. But when I clicked the “help” button, the site it launched me to was helpful on the first try. The keyboard is comfortable, and everything works great as expected.

The faults I find on this system are common among most netbooks. Namely: the right and left mouse click buttons require a lot of pressure and don’t always respond right. That’s why I usually use a portable mouse. It ships with XP and 1 GB of memory (max) which is adequate for the uses it was made for.

I love this machine and recommend it to everyone shopping for a netbook!

Buy/More Info

The new S Series netbook is designed to keep pace with your busy lifestyle – possibly even simplify it. At a mere 2.7 pounds and about one inch thin, it’s so light and portable. You can take it wherever your day takes you. Powered by an Intel Atom Processor to offer lower power consumption and reliable performance at an affordable price. Another energy saver is the efficient 10.2″ LED backlit WSVGA screen that’s roomy enough for movie watching, web surfing, or getting a little work done in between. While an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator easily handles your image processing needs whether you’re managing family photos or creating impressive presentations for work. Plus it’s loaded with thoughtful standard features such as 802.11 wireless and Webcamera to make your life a little easier. A winning combination of mobile technology and exceptional engineering at a fantastic price. All at your fingertips. 10.2 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 224MB Shared Video Memory Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera with Microphone WiFi 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100Mbps LAN ExpressCard 34 Slot 4-in-1 Multicard Reader – MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital Connections – 2 x USB 2.0, VGA, Headphone, Microphone, RJ-45 (LAN) Approximate Unit Dimensions – 9.85 (W) x 7.2 (D) x 1.08 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 2.76 Pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Great Netbook – More than meets our needs
Requirements: Netbook has to look good to us, less than 3 pounds, easily upgradeable, nice keyboard, solid feel, relatively fast, XP & good wireless reception anywhere in the house.

Configuration: Upgraded to 2 Gigs of Ram, reduced 2nd partition to about 4 Gigs for recovery purposes (will remove completely after 1 month of testing and imaging the HD) and installed SP3 and latest patches from MS and other vendors. We utilized secunia.com (online) for examining patches for installed software just to ensure that we have a good baseline platform without vulnerabilities that are currently known. Finally, I ran a 48 hour burn-in test to ensure that hardware components worked without any issue.

Selection Process: After reading about the various netbooks, checking specs, typing on various netbooks, we settled on the Lenovo. It certainly looks nice, feels sturdy & operated as advertised. Typical use is 1.5 hours listening to music and checking/responding to emails and doing research on the internet using Firefox or IE. With this type of use, system is not taxed at all and battery life does not become a concern. Wireless connectivity throughout the house (router installed upstairs) is “strong and remains solid.” Pulled 15,000+ songs wirelessly (75 feet to over 120 feet) from our server to the netbook with one disconnect (over 4.5 hours to complete). I decided to install MS Office 2007 just to add business functionality in case we needed to pull down presentations, docs or spreadsheets from our web email. The responsiveness is exceptional for this little sucker:)

Malware Protection: I also wanted to provide it with layered information security protection since we would take the computer anywhere. So installed AVG, Threatfire, Tweak the firewall and hardened the system by removing some unnecessary services. Start-up was trimmed to bare minimum, tweak hard drive settings, memory & other settings to maximize speed and responsiveness of the system.

Overall we are extremely happy with the purchase and upgrade. One minor quirk that that you may experience is the when system standby kicks in sometimes it doesn’t want to “wake up.” Even with that minor quirkiness, I highly recommend this product.

4 Stars Great Laptop, Great Price
I had originally bought the HP MiniNote laptop but returned it because it was too slow, even with an additional 2GB of RAM. I purchased this laptop because I really have been happy with the IBM brand of products, and although Lenovo now owns the computer business, the quality is still superior. If you’re looking for a reliable, yet small PC, go with the Lenovo S10.

5 Stars Why I wound up with the S10 and I’m GLAD!
(I posted this to a forum discussion but felt it might do some good here as well.)

I originally bought the tiny Asus eee PC for a good friend, basically as an “upgraded thumb drive with a screen” capable of web browsing. Needless to say, with Linux, a 4 gb “drive…” wi-fi, web cam and not much else, it was pretty sad and limited – but at the same time, it clearly showed some potential. But let me be perfectly clear: DON’T buy one of these…. It’s basically a quirky toy. I can’t tell you about the newer models.

I decided to pick up an Acer Aspire One for myself and overall, I was extremely pleased. With the familiar XP interface and a 160gb drive, a noticeably better web cam and far better performance via the extra 512 memory even running XP. It felt substantial, the monitor was gorgeous, keyboard far better than the baby Asus, battery life was good – but not great. The only rub came when it was time to upgrade the memory. The Aspire One came with one gb on board with the potential to add only an additional 512 memory chip. Still, every bit helps on the small netbooks.

And there’s when you find the nightmare. The Aspire One is an absolute NIGHTMARE to upgrade memory OR replace a hard drive. It involves removing the keyboard, the mainboard, numerous levels of wires, screws and connectors. There are “how to videos” on YouTube – but they are not for the faint of heart.

While I could have gone on being generally happy with the Acer, I was really disappointed in the absolutely and uncharacteristically WRONGHEADEDNESS (for Acer especially) of this consumer unfriendly design flaw – especially since there is an easy access door on the bottom that only leads to an empty compartment for a possible future LAN card upgrade which many, if not most, users will never use. Then there was a growing amount of consumer complaints concerning overheating, thermal shutdowns, defective fans and more. Two more of my friends has bought Aspires after seeing and playing with my machine and one friend nearly immediately had thermal problems. Not a good average.

The final “temptation” to switch came when Lenovo managed to release it’s S10 model with the 10.2 inch screen earlier than expected. Among the most prominent kudos in almost every review was the absolute EASE OF CONSUMER UPGRADE. One panel on the bottom accesses BOTH your *hard drive and memory slot. You can upgrade *either or both easily in under five minutes. I had the extra half gig in and running with virtually no effort nor silliness and the little extra punch made the already speedy little machine feel even quicker. Definitely worth the time and small price.

The unit feels light but sturdy, much like the Aspire. The monitor is simply spectacular! Bright and crisp!

*Note: Among Lenovo’s more interesting features is a “one button restore” feature which enables the user to restore the hard drive back to the original factory computer configuration with all original programs and drivers intact and ready to go should something turn the drive into an unrecoverable basket case. (Of course this is why God invented ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE and made it so easy to use…)

BE WARNED: IF YOU PHYSICALLY REPLACE YOUR EXISTING HARD DRIVE, LENOVO’S MANUAL SAYS THAT THE ONE BUTTON RESTORE FEATURE WILL NO LONGER WORK. So far, I have not been able to get a clear answer as to whether another drive cloned with Acronis WILL work or not as the restore function seems to depend on files already stored on the original drive and not some physical recognition scheme. I can’t help but believe that a clone, even one of a different sized hard drive SHOULD be recognized, but I’m not going to risk the restore feature just to experiment right now. I’ll just save an identical sized clone drive for down the road.

Strangely – VERY strangely – probably the biggest reason I switched came from the difference in the 10.2 in screen. I’m a newspaper reporter and I frequently have to do photos and graphics modifications on site. You will be absolutely amazed in the jump from 8.9″ to 10.2″. ESPECIALLY when you are doing something that you have ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS DOING on a netbook… RE: Graphics mods and retouching.

So all in all, it’s really close. I’ve had great luck with Acer products over the years, but this time the LENOVO S10 just had a “LITTLE” too much of an extra edge to ignore.

BTW, regardless of which netbook anyone finally decides on, I should share that I was able to find one of the new Total Micro Technologies flat Power Station batteries [...] and these things are nothing short of AMAZING! They generally run over $400 each but I was able to find a gentleman who overstocked for a major project and bought two brand new for $99 each. Long story short: They will power the LENOVO with FULL POWER, NORMAL TO HIGH VOLUME, FULL SCREEN BRIGHTNESS, EXTERNAL USB DRIVE AND DVD for WELL OVER SEVEN CONTINUOUS HOURS. Try a little searching on Amazon or Ebay. It just might pay off for you as well.

Hope this helps! Do remember to check out the ACER, ASUS and LENOVO USER FORUMS – especially under TROUBLESHOOTING and KNOWN ISSUES before you take the final plunge. Good luck!

5 Stars 2 Words. LOVE IT!
Okay, I didn’t buy mine on Amazon and I got the pink one, but everything else is the same and I want people to know how great I think these little netbooks are. At first I thought, “a pink computer? So not my style.” But it’s not oppressively pink, it’s actually really nice and I like it. I don’t know anyone else with a mauve computer, which makes it kind of fun.

I promptly upped my memory from 512MB to 1.5GB (super easy access to install/uninstall memory!), but this netbook ran smoothly with 512 as well, I just use a lot of larger programs for various things, so I always max out any machine with as much memory as it can hold.

The keyboard is great as far as I’m concerned. I’m petite, have small hands so once I got used to it (a couple of days), I found I liked it better than a larger laptop keyboard. It is also very quiet, which I very much appreciate.

The screen is awesome, really clear. Some pages I go to I need to push F11 to get rid of my search bar & all that, to see the whole picture or something, but this really never bothers me. Especially not when I’m sitting in an airport with my tiny 2.5lb fully operational netbook on my lap that I can barely feel sitting on my legs! And if the text on some pages is too small for you, Ctrl +/- will help you out there.

It’s AWESOME for traveling. You can take it anywhere without hassle (or shoulder/back trouble), but I would recommend getting some sort of accidental damage warranty, because if they are easy to move they are easy to drop. However, these little netbooks are tough, sturdy little machines. I was actually shocked at how solid mine felt for how light it was.

The battery life for longer travels probably isn’t the greatest, but you can buy longer lasting batteries if this really doesn’t work for you. I usually make it through one whole flight with my battery, then just charge it at the next airport if I have a connecting flight. I am able to carry around the power cable and the netbook easily in one small bag, so I really haven’t found the need to up the battery.

The processor isn’t as beefy as any laptop anywhere, so don’t expect it to be, but for me and probably most people (and I am a fairly hefty computer user), this is a great way to do some work, chat, surf the web, pay bills, do homework, write (I use Final Draft 7 on it without any issues), write music (runs Finale 8 just as well as anything), shop, play Facebook scrabble (haha), watch movies online, etc., easily on the go and inexpensively.

My only complaint, I wish it would come with MS Office or something, because WordPad stinks. However, Google documents makes it possible to go without it, usually, if you have access to the internet.

User-friendly tip: I wouldn’t even bother with the Norton Antivirus it comes with. Uninstall that CPU sucker straight away and download AVG Free (or buy it, if you want!). It works just as well and you barely know it’s installed.

4 Stars The Lenovo S10 is the second best netbook available…
The netbook computer concept is great: they’re small, light, easy to travel with, and connect nearly anywhere to the internet with WiFi. Most have an integrated webcam, as well. Speed and storage capacity exceed any computer I currently or have previously owned. Weights are less than three pounds, and screen size is from 9 to 10 inches. There are plenty of reviews on all of them so it is important to read as much as you can before ordering to make the best choice.

That said, I chose the S10 and am pleased with my choice. In other reviews you will see the battery being criticized. It is a 3-cell battery and with proper power management should be good for about three hours. For me that has been sufficient. The S10 has a matte finish screen and an integrated camera. The operating system is Windows XP which is fine with me because that’s what’s on my desktop and I didn’t want to move onto Vista and have to deal with two OS.

The S10 is easy to upgrade. Two screws hold a small panel cover on the underside. Inside, it only takes a moment to remove the factory 512 Mb RAM stick and install a 2Gb stick (costs about $20).

What is the best netbook? I think it’s the Samsung NC-10. In features, it’s nearly identical to the Lenovo. It costs about $60 more than the Lenovo, but comes with a 6-cell battery. If battery duration is an important consideration, go immediately with the Samsung. A 6-cell battery for the Lenovo is costing nearly $100, and does not integrate well into the streamlined shape of the computer. The Samsung looks designed right from the start for the larger (capacity) battery.

Buy/More Info

Lenovo designed the IdeaPad S10e netbook as an introductory mobile PC for students in grades K-12 and as a secondary device for those in higher education. Ideal devices for connecting to the Internet for online research, students can use the netbook for sharing ideas and for conversation through email, social networking and other applications. Additionally, the Lenovo netbook provides basic functionality for word processing and light multimedia capabilities. A built-in webcam on the 10.1-inch display makes creating and sharing video messaging simple. And for a faster PC experience, the Quick Start feature allows students to quickly check email, browse the Internet, conduct video conferencing, view photos or listen to music without having to fully boot the operating system. 10.1 WSVGA (1024 x 576) LED Backlit Display Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera with Microphone WiFi 802.11b/g Wireless Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR 10/100Mbps LAN ExpressCard 34 Slot 4-in-1 Multicard Reader – MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital Connections – 2 x USB 2.0, VGA, Headphone, Microphone, RJ-45 (LAN) Approximate Unit Dimensions – 9.8 (W) x 7.7 (D) x 1.4 (H) Approximate Unit Weight – 3.1 Pounds

Buy/More Info