15 Hours of Mobility with MSI's Wind U110
by Jarred Walton on September 21, 2009 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
A couple weeks ago, we posted our review of the Acer 751h. The claim to fame of the 751h is that it uses the Poulsbo chipset (US15W) with integrated GMA 500 graphics. We definitely experienced some growing pains with the 751h, in particular trying to get the integrated graphics to properly support HD video decoding required some effort. Once configured properly, however, we felt that the 751h was a viable alternative to other netbooks.
Unfortunately, we experienced some instability and we have heard complaints from a few users stating that stability on the 751h is, in a word, horrible -- that quality control at Acer must be practically nonexistent. Obviously, frustrated users are more likely to post complaints, but there are definitely people out there looking for an alternative. One alternative would be the ASUS 1101HA, which offers the same basic components but allows overclocking up to 1.73 GHz on the Z520 processor. Today, MSI has announced the Wind U110 Eco with immediate availability.
The U110 Eco has a lot in common with the Acer 751h and ASUS 1101HA. It uses a Z-series Atom processor, this time going with the faster Z530 (1.60GHz compared to 1.33GHz on the Z520). It still uses the US15W chipset, which means with the appropriate video codec you can get accelerated H.264 decoding. One notable difference is that it uses a 10.1" 1024x600 LCD instead of an 11.6" 1366x768 display. MSI also ships the U110 with a large 9-cell battery, stating that you can get up to 15+ hours (!) of battery life. The weight remains acceptable at 3.2 pounds, so the only question is whether you're okay with netbook performance. Overall, this should certainly be a better multimedia netbook than other GMA 950 10.1" designs, though it sticks with the smaller LCD and its lower resolution.
You can currently buy the MSI Wind U110 Eco direct from MSI for $430, or ExcaliberPC has it starting at $400. Below are the detailed specifications as well as the text and images from the press release.
| MSI Wind U110 Eco (U110-031US) Specifications | |
| Processor | Intel Atom Z530 (1.60GHz, 512KB L2, 45nm, 667FSB) |
| Chipset | Intel US15W + SCH LPC |
| Memory | 1x1024MB DDR2-667 CL5 (Max 2GB) |
| Graphics | Integrated Intel GMA 500 |
| Display | 10.1" Glossy ~16:9 WSVGA (1024x600) |
| Hard Drive | 2.5" 160GB 5400RPM |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet 802.11n WiFi Bluetooth |
| Audio | 2-Channel HD Audio (2.0 Speakers with headphone/microphone jacks) |
| Battery | 9-Cell 7800 mAhr |
| Front Side | None |
| Left Side | 2 x USB 2.0 Heat Exhaust AC Power connection Kensington Lock |
| Right Side | 1 x USB 2.0 SD/MMC/MS Pro reader Microphone/Headphone jacks VGA Gigabit Ethernet |
| Back Side | None |
| Operating System | Windows XP Home SP3 |
| Dimensions | 10.24" x 7.09" x 0.75-1.24" (WxDxH) |
| Weight | 3.2 lbs (with 9-cell battery) |
| Extras | 1.3MP Webcam |
| Warranty | 1-year standard MSI warranty |
| Price | MSRP of $429; available online starting at $399 |
MSI US Announces New Netbook - Wind U110 ECO
The U110 features best in class battery Life - up to 15 + hours of untethered computing
CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA - September 21, 2009 - MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is excited to announce the new netbook -Wind U110 ECO. The Wind U110 weighs just 3.2 pounds, features the Intel Atom Processor Z530 (1.60GHz), a 160GB HDD and an ultra efficient best in class 15+ hours battery life (9-cells).
Despite being just 1.24 inches thick at its widest point, the U110 is a multimedia powerhouse. The ultra mobile U110 features a 10" backlit LCD with a crystal clear 1024x600 resolution, high definition web cam, 2 speakers, built-in mic, a reliable 802.11 b/g/n LAN, and is Bluetooth ready for constant connectivity.
MSI offers a 1-year limited warranty with the U110 and extended customer service hours at 1-888-447-6564.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
24 Comments
View All Comments
strikeback03 - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
I've never found vertical resolution to be much of a problem, I'm much more concerned about horizontal. I have 3 screens that only run 480px vertical (800x480 on my MP3 player and carputer, 640x480 on my phone) and find the limited horizontal width to be far more annoying.Not sure how useful the ability to decode HD is when there are no digital video outputs. Suppose it could be useful for streaming online video, but would be a lot more useful if you could get it to a TV.
firepower9966 - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
HP 5101 has vga and HDMISpringfield45 - Monday, September 21, 2009 - link
I agree with you on that one. I love my Eee PC 900 HA, but the 600 vertical resolution gets incredibly frusterating at times. I really wish someone would come out with a SMALL (8"-10") netbook with a 768 vertical that did not cost nearly $1000. Is the extra resolution really that expensive?Roland00 - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
The new sony's (the p series) have a 1366x768 resolution. They start at $499Mugur - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
Panels are standard.And they are going with 16:9 aspect ratio (they discovered they are cheaper to manufacture this way). So the best you can get is 1366x768, but that's 11.6" for now. Everything that's out of this rule will be 50% more in price (at least).You can say that 1366x768 is the new 1280x800 :-) :-) :-)
samspqr - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
I hate 1366x768, it's a horrible multiple of anything you really want to use, I won't buy anything that has thatthere's no new 1280x800, apart from 1920x1200, which is too much for such a small screen
IvanAndreevich - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
Sure beats 1280x800, 1024x768, and that 1024x600.mindless1 - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
Not to most people. Look at the page you are typing on, what do you need more, horizontal or vertical pixels? Most people are not watching widescreen videos nor tiling windows beside each other on netbooks the majority of the time.Unfortunately the shape of the human hand resulted in keyboards wider than they are deep, otherwise we could have 9:16 ratio, it would be much more useful than 16:9. The cruel irony is that even if you elect to pay more for a tablet with a swivel screen, it usually only swivels the wrong way to be helpful.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
Dell has a Mini 10 with a http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx...">1366x768 LCD, though of course it's more expensive. I figure if Dell offers that LCD upgrade, others will follow at some point. It's a shame that model costs $500 (even after the current sale).firepower9966 - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - link
HP 5101 is 10" and has 1366x768 res and intel atom N280, i am waiting for ion based model with same specs