Gone are the days, it seems, where you paid a pretty penny for a ridiculously small and lightweight piece of hardware. The Wind’s wallet is also bigger and bulkier than you might like. With just the Wind inside it the wallet swells to 290×220x50mm (HxWxD). That size sure isn’t going to leave your tote-bag busting at the seams, but if you plan to carry a portable mouse, MP3 player and so on with you as well then you might want to be just a tiny bit wary.
The good news though is that the faux leather finish on the Wind’s wallet, plus the zip and extra padding, mean that it’ll be a lot safer than it would be in a thin neoprene envelope. While it might be a more snug fit inside your bag, at least it will be better protected.
With that in mind, check the full hardware specification below:
Intel Atom 1.6GHz with Hyper threading
• 10″ Widescreen with 10.1″ 1024×600 LED backlit screen
• Intel 945GMS Northbridge (GMA950) and ICH7-M Southbridge
• 1GB DDR2-667 Memory
• 80GB SATA hard drive
• 3-Cell Li-ion battery
• 802.11b/g Wireless and Bluetooth
• 1.3MP Webcam and Stereo Speakers
• Windows XP Home
The size though has caused some arguments in the office. Joe, now used to his original 7″ Eee PC prefers the 9″ 901 as it’s a little more portable. Richard however has used a 13″ notebook for a while now and much prefers the 10″ Wind over the Eee because it’s far easier to type on.
There were yet more arguments over the definition about portability too and how that extra inch might or might not make all the difference, but we’ll not go into the intricacies of the name-calling here. You can look at the facts and make up your own damn mind.
On the other hand MSI should be praised for innovations in a few other areas. It isn’t everyday someone manages to make a 10″ notebook weigh the same as a 9″er - especially when using a mechanical hard drive instead of an SSD. This SSD versus hard drive leads to some strong debate though: the SSD allows for a better battery life, drop protection and completely silent operation, however it’s potentially limited in capacity, performance or by cost if you want both.
On the other hand MSI should be praised for innovations in a few other areas. It isn’t everyday someone manages to make a 10″ notebook weigh the same as a 9″er - especially when using a mechanical hard drive instead of an SSD. This SSD versus hard drive leads to some strong debate though: the SSD allows for a better battery life, drop protection and completely silent operation, however it’s potentially limited in capacity, performance or by cost if you want both.
Still, MSI has shot itself in the foot a bit by essentially making the Wind a rebadged version of the Advent 4211. If there had been some sort of upgrade in terms of the wireless connectivity and storage capacity, or if a swanky new add-on like a touch-screen had been wired in then we’d be all over the Wind as the first real Eee-killer.
