MSI's AMD-Powered U210 up for pre-order

With no official press release in sight, the MSI Wind U210 AMD Neo-based netbook is now available stateside on pre-order. This diminutive ultra-portable packs quite a punch - offering a 12.1-inch LCD, 250GB HDD, 2GB RAM, a 6-cell battery providing up to five hours of run time and a weight of only 3.2 pounds (1.45kg).

The U210 is based on MSI’s Wind U200, but runs on an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 1.6GHz CPU instead of an Intel CULV processor. This ultra-compact netbook also squeezes in an ATI Radeon X1250 GPU, a 16:9 HD WXGA display with 1366 x 768 resolution, WiFi b/g/n, an HDMI port and a 1.3-megapixel webcam.

Measuring just 7.4″ (18.8cm) x 11.7″ (29.7cm) x 1.2″ (3.05cm) the U210 isn’t quite as slim as MSI’s X600 Notebook we saw recently - but the width, depth and weight make for a very portable netbook indeed.

The MSI Wind U210 comes with Windows Vista Home Premium and is available now on pre-order in either white (U210-006US) or black (U210-008US) for a very reasonable $429.99 from Amazon.com.

Battle for Best High-End Mac OS X netBook

I’ve been busy installing OS X on the Dell Mini 9 (CNet review) and fellow podcaster Rob Parker prefers the Acer Aspire One (review) but guest blogger Bob DeGrande thinks that the Asus 901 (review) and MSI Wind(review) make better high-end Mac OS X netbooks.

I think there is a better deal on a Linux netbook at the moment. The Asus 901is a high end netbook.  It normally sells in the $360-380 range, but there is a $100 rebate going on through early March, bringing it into the same price range as the Aspire.

It has excellent features - a 1.3MP webcam, Bluetooth, 6-cell battery, 20GB of SSD in the Linux version, and a Synaptic touchpad which supports two finger scrolling like a MacBook. The Asus 901 network card identifies itself internally as a gigabit card (even though the specs say 10/100) and it also has 802.11n wireless (most others only have b/g).

I have some experience running OS X on a netbook (I have a legal license). I use the MSI Wind. I have upgraded to 2GB RAM, a 7200 RPM 320GB hard drive, and a 9 cell battery.  It’s still under 3 lbs., and this machine runs OS X well - I load up Spaces with Tweetdeck, Firefox, Mail, and iTunes, and I have no problem running additional applications without slowing down.

Time Machine works, including using Migration Assistant to move apps from an existing Time Machine backup by USB.  There are some minor issues, I have to run a program to switch between speaker and headphones and there is a program that runs at startup to connect to Wi-Fi, but that is automatic. I am also dual booting XP, as I have a digital TV USB stick that only works with Windows.

BoingBoing has recently updated their compatibility chart for netbooks running OS X. What’s your favorite netbook for running Mac OS X? (story Link)

Review: Samsung NC10-14GB

From cell phones to HDTVs, Samsung products have successfully found their way into American homes for the past decade. But the company hasn't made much headway with its laptops, and for good reason: The laptops have only recently started selling in the United States. Samsung needed a strategy that would jump-start its laptop presence. A netbook was the obvious choice, as this category is taking the market by storm. The Samsung NC10-14GB ($480 street) is a lot like every other netbook, but it has a few small advantages. It comes with a six-cell battery instead of a puny three-cell, and the keyboard is a tiny bit (1 percent) bigger than those of the MSI Wind and the HP Mini 1000. Ultimately, though, it loses out on price: The MSI Wind is a lower-priced package for now (by about $50, which in the netbook category is significant).

The white exterior of the ASUS EeePC 4G, once thought of as sleek and sexy, has been copied over and over for other netbooks like the Wind, the Acer Aspire One, and the Lenovo IdeaPad S10. Splashed in navy blue, the NC10 is neither bland nor head-turning. The HP 1000's embedded patterns and the metallic lid of the ASUS EeePC 1002HA are taking netbook designs to another level, and the trend won't stop with them. At 10.3 by 7.3 by 1 inches, the NC10's dimensions practically identical to those of the ASUS EeePC 1002HA. The HP Mini 1000 (10.3 by 6.6 by 0.9 inches) and the Lenovo S10 (9.8 by 7.3 by 0.9 inches) are slightly thinner and smaller. At 2.9 pounds, the NC10's frame seems heavy, but once you factor in the standard six-cell battery, its weight is actually on a par with its 10-inch counterparts.

By 10-inch, I mean the size of the widescreen. Netbooks like the Acer Aspire One (2.1 pounds), the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (2.3 pounds), and the ASUS EeePC 900 (2.2 pounds) are noticeably lighter because they have smaller 8.9-inch widescreens. The viewing experience is obviously better with a bigger screen, but the 1,024-by-600 resolution is the same across the board. The NC10's brightness and contrast levels are consistent with those of other 10-inch netbooks and make for pleasant viewing. Its 93 percent keyboard is 1 percent larger than those found on the Mini 1000 and the MSI Wind—not a huge difference, although the keys are noticeably bigger and the typing experience better. Consequently, the touchpad is minuscule compared with those of the EeePC 1002HA and the Wind, resulting in a tighter pinch when using your thumb and index fingers to navigate.

The NC10's features are consistent with those of other top-rated netbooks. It comes with three USB ports, a VGA-out, an Ethernet port, and an SD slot. Lenovo opted to forgo a USB port in its S10 to make room for an ExpressCard slot, which is a handy addition for expansion devices that enable 3G wireless services and other specialty ports. Both the HP 1000 and the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 have 3G wireless built in, simplifying things even further. A 160GB hard drive is included and appears to be the capacity that everyone is settling on. By next year, you'll see netbook hard drive capacities standardized at 320GB.

The NC10 contains the same parts as every netbook. Its 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 processor and 1GB of memory are no surprise. The same could be said about the integrated graphics. The ASUS N10Jc-A1 is an exception, a netbook that utilizes two sets of graphics chipsets to its advantage—one for 3D work and another to save battery life. The NC10's SYSmark 2007 Overall score topped the Wind's by a point, though you wouldn't notice it in real-world applications. The NC10 was a bit slower on video-encoding tests, trailing the others in the comparison by at least 2 seconds. (full Story)

Sony’s Lifestyle PC VGN-588EQ

It was more than two years ago that Mike Abary, senior vice president at Sony, reached into his inner suit pocket and pulled out the Sony VAIO VGN-UX180P. At the time, he called this handheld PC, which ran a full-blown version of Windows XP, "an achievement in ingenious design." Little did he know he'd be pulling the same stunt again at a quaint hotel in Manhattan, where I was one of a handful of journalists invited to preview Sony's take on the netbook revolution. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a clamshell the length of two UX180Ps, not even an inch thick. This, as he described it, is Sony's answer to the surging netbook market, only it's not being classified as a netbook, it's not an update to the UX180P, and the intended audience, interestingly enough, is women. It's the Sony VAIO VGN-588EQ ($1,199 direct), better known as the Sony Lifestyle PC.

The Lifestyle PC is unlike anything you've seen before, in large part because of the 8-inch LED widescreen, the first of its kind. Even from afar, you may feel a tingling sensation as soon as you lay eyes on it, and your first instinct is to pick it up. Sony handed me a review unit while I was at the CES 2009 show in Las Vegas, allowing me to use it in multiple scenarios. I really don't want to call this a netbook, but there's no other way to classify this gorgeous device. It runs the Intel Atom platform, it's inexpensive for a Sony-branded laptop, and the keyboard is undersized—all netbook symptoms. On the other hand, it's so much more than a netbook. It weighs half as much as one and packs in features like 3G wireless, a pre-boot Linux environment, and a high-resolution screen. Although the Lifestyle PC is now at the pinnacle of design engineering, performance is an issue when Windows Vista is the only operating system offered, and the price is over $1,000 with the solid-state drive option. Based on design alone, though, I think Sony can create a huge following with this pseudo-netbook.

Even though there are no ties between them, the Lifestyle PC conjures up images of Intel's Moorestown concept device. It weighs a mere 1.4 pounds, only 0.2 pound heavier than the original UX180P. And it measures 9.7 by 4.7 by 0.8 inches, which is about the length of the ASUS EeePC 1002HA but only half its depth. It fits nicely in the inner pocket of a suit jacket or a Coach clutch bag, and is thin enough that you can slide two of them into a manila envelope. Its look is unique, and its design intentions are clear: Sony wants to dissociate the Lifestyle PC from the likes of the MSI Wind, the ASUS EeePC, and the Acer Aspire One—some of the more popular netbooks in the market. In my opinion, it has successfully done so. (full Story)

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Reviews: HP Mini 2140

The HP 2133 Mini-Note was (and still is) ahead of its time design-wise, with an aluminum finish that made the original ASUS EeePC 4G look like a toy by comparison. As one of the first netbooks that helped spur the ongoing revolution, it was enticingly presented and crafted to look like its EliteBook business siblings. But it wasn't without flaws. Specifically, the VIA processing innards were slow and required excessive cooling, resulting in significant fan noise and heat coming from the base. The newly minted HP Mini 2140 ($500 street) replaces the older parts with faster and more energy-efficient ones from the Intel Atom platform while keeping the impeccably fresh design intact. It's basically a business and education version of the HP Mini 1000.

From the outside, you can't tell the Mini 2140 from its predecessor. The aluminum alloy finish, a glaring departure from the white lacquered designs of the Acer Aspire One, the MSI Wind, and the Lenovo IdeaPad S10, is what made the Mini-Note exceptional in the first place. The 2140, starting at 2.6 pounds (with the three-cell battery), is slightly lighter than the 2133. It's as heavy as the Mini 1000 (2.5 pounds) and the MSI Wind (2.6 pounds), and a bit heavier than the Acer Aspire One (2.1 pounds), the lightest in the netbook category.

The 2140 could have been as light the Acer One had it not moved to a bigger screen. It now sports a 10-inch LED widescreen like those of the Wind, the Mini 1000, and the ASUS EeePC 1002HA, rather than an 8.9-inch one. The hinges are concealed when the lid is open, dropping down so that the bottom of the screen meets the system's base, which gives it a modern look. The optional 1,366-by-768-resolution screen is the first on a 10-inch laptop (HP is calling it its high-definition display). My test unit came with a 1,024-by-567 display, which is more consistent with the resolutions found on most netbooks, and it will save you a couple of bucks. The 92 percent keyboard is one of the biggest among netbooks I've seen, as big and as nice to type with as those on the Wind, the 1002HA, and the Mini 1000. The Samsung NC10-14GB, however, has a minuscule advantage with its 93 percent keyboard. As with its predecessor, an exceptional keyboard doesn't help the placement of its mouse buttons, as they flank the touchpad on each side. I found it easier to navigate with two hands.

The 2140 ranks high in features. Its two USB ports don't sound impressive, but it forgoes a third USB port for an ExpressCard 34 slot, which is a better choice. This slot can be used to expand the netbook's capabilities by adding, for instance, a FireWire ports, extra USB ports, a TV tuner, or mobile broadband. Oddly enough, this business netbook doesn't integrate mobile broadband or 3G wireless. Meanwhile, the Mini 1000—a consumer netbook, mind you—does. Otherwise, the 2140 has an impressive selection of storage options, including 160GB (5,400- and 7,200-rpm) spinning drives or an Intel 80GB solid-state drive (SSD). Capacity-wise, the Samsung NC10 has a slight edge with its 320GB, 5400-rpm drive. Like all netbooks, the 2140 comes with an SD slot for digital camera cards and a webcam for video chat… (full Story)

MSI X320 Macbook Air Look-Alike

Talk about identical twins. The MSI X320, which launched at CES 2009, will be a perpetual reminder of the Apple Macbook Air. I don't want to call it a cheap knock-off, even though it is, as prices range from $800-$1,000; there's more to this exceptionally thin netbook than just a cheap price tag.

In fact, it's pleasantly surprising to see just how far MSI has come with the laptops that it plans to ship in the United States later this January.

The X320, like the Air, has an all-aluminum enclosure. Granted, it's not as sturdy nor as rigid, and the heft isn't quite there (with the Air, there's a heft that's equivalent to a Rolex watch). The rest of the design is almost identical: Its slim profile measures less than an inch thick, and it weighs 2.9 pounds; the Air is a smidge over 3 pounds. The X320 is a 13-inch laptop, meaning it houses a 13-inch widescreen. It uses the 16-by-9 form factor, as is common in HDTVs, and its monitor is rated at 1,366x768 resolution; the Air, meanwhile, is designed in a 16-by-10 form factor with a 1,280x800 resolution. The LED screen is bright and pleasant to look at, not much different than the Air's.

The keyboard appears to be full sized, with standard proportions, instead of the non-adjoining keys that the Air uses; I had very little trouble typing with it. Navigating is another story, though. For one, the touchpad is significantly smaller than the Air's, and it doesn't possess the gesture capabilities: pinching and enlarging with two fingers and the two and three finger swiping, for instance, don't work.

That's not to say that the X320 won't have touch capabilities, though. The company expects to add gestures to the widescreen itself, with the help of future models and Windows 7. The mouse buttons are loose and not very responsive, but I'll chalk that up to pre-production issues until I get an official review unit.

However, the X320's other features can actually put the Air to shame. For one, like many netbooks, it has more than one USB port – a total of three, to be exact. VGA and Ethernet ports are built in, and so are the SD slot and webcam. The hard drive is a 160-GB, 5,400 RPM model, expandable to 250 GB. There's no internal 3G wireless for the time being, but Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are present. (full Story)

Why the Budget All-in-One Desktop Will Fail

LAS VEGAS — Several manufacturers are scooping out the guts of netbooks and implanting them in inexpensive, all-in-one desktop computers. And even though they're cheap, it's unlikely these desktops will break into the mainstream.

Multi-Star International (MSI), Asus, Viewsonic and Shuttle showcased various budget all-in-one desktops at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And hardly any convention attendees even appeared to care about the devices; most of their attention remained fixated on mini notebooks.

MSI is proving to take this new category most seriously with four all-in-ones on display at CES. Dubbed the NetOn series, the computers included the same processor and chipset as the MSI Wind netbook. They range from $500 to $800, depending on screen size (from 16 to 22 inches) and other configurations such as optional touchscreens.

Of course, these companies are embracing this new marketing direction with two trends in mind: 1.) Budget devices, such as netbooks, are flourishing largely because consumers are spending less in a failing economy; and 2.) All-in-one compartmentalization is also highly desirable, as proven by the phenomenally popular iPhone. (full Story)