MSI Wind U123 and ASUS 1000HE Show Netbook Evolution
by Wesley Fink on July 17, 2009 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
MSI Wind U123 Hands-On
The Wind U123 caused quite a stir at this year's CES, but it took a while to make it to market in this less than vibrant economy. The excitement was mostly the result of the biggest battery pack available on any current netbook. With a 9 cell 87 Wh battery the U123 promised huge battery life, and it definitely delivered in our battery life test.
Beyond that the MSI is certainly a slick looking netbook with a standout blue top - also available in white, red, black or gray. Featured are a bright 10" LCD with effective backlight power management, and a clever removable battery pack design that turns the larger 9-cell battery pack into a tilt leg for the computer. The whole package is slightly smaller in both width and depth than the ASUS 1000H series, which features a similar 10" screen.
The U123 is very similar to the earlier U120. The processor has been updated to the latest Intel Atom N280 (from the N270) and the battery is now a huge 9-cell design. As shown in performance testing the N280 is faster than the Atom N270, but the real-world performance improvement is only 4% to 5% and will hardly be noticed by most users. The battery life improvement, on the other hand, makes the U123 the longest battery life we have yet tested in a netbook. This is amazing considering the U123 9-cell design weighs almost exactly the same as the 6-cell ASUS 1000HA also tested in this review.
The MSI Wind U123 keyboard is the same size and layout as the keyboard used on the ASUS 1000HE. The MSI key labeling is larger and easier to see if that is important to you, but the two keyboards look the same. Looks, as they say, can be deceiving, however. The Wind U123 keyboard will not likely be an issue for hunt-and-peck typists, but the switches are somewhat hard to activate and rather imprecise compared to the ASUS 1000HE keyboard. Two fast typists we asked to type on both systems definitely preferred the ASUS keyboard. Two slower typists saw little difference in the two keyboards.
Everyone, however, uniformly preferred the ASUS touchpad, which provides decent feedback. The MSI touchpad by comparison is smaller with very imprecise left and right click keys that feel mushy and have no distinct click position that we could find. The buttons sometimes engage and sometimes don't engage. The touchpad could definitely use a makeover and MSI would do well to take another look at keyboard touch and feedback as well.
Ports are pretty much what you would expect on a $379 netbook. Fortunately there are three USB ports instead of the two ports found on many netbooks. On the right side MSI provides a card reader that accepts several varieties of the smaller flash cards (SDHC/MMC/MS/XD), one USB port, headphone/microphone jacks, and an Ethernet port. The left side adds two more USB ports and the power adapter jack. Stereo speakers, Windows XP Home, Wi-Fi, a 1.3MP webcam, and a 2.5" 160GB hard drive complete the U123 feature list. The battery pack is removable, with 6-cell and 9-cell battery options so the end user can choose the best pack for their needs.
Unlike the ASUS there is no easy bottom access panel to the hard drive or 1GB memory. It appears you can gain access to the netbook board and peripherals by removing seven small screws on the bottom panel. The MSI Wind U123 feels very dense and somewhat heavy with the 9-cell battery pack options. In fact we assumed the U123 would weigh more than the ASUS 1000HE. It was a pleasant surprise that the Wind U123 actually weighed all but the same as the ASUS. That makes the 9-cell MSI design quite an achievement as it delivers the best battery performance yet tested in a package no heavier than other 6-cell designs.
Retail price for the MSI Wind U123 is $379 with street prices as low as $335 for the 6-cell version. The 9-cell option is usually a little more costly at around $400.
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Ruark - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I have an MSI notebook with buttons that seem to be much like those of the Wind.Many buttons (keyboard and touchpad) have to be pressed beyond the "click" in order for the press to register.
strikeback03 - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
When I saw this article I was hoping for a comparison to some of the low-end larger-screened notebooks available. I have been seeing Newegg deals on 14 and 15 inch notebooks for $350-400, I'd expect these to provide 3-4 times the performance of the tested netbooks but it would be a nice point of reference for those who are looking for a cheap system that doesn't need to be as portable. If you are buying for your 6th grader to do their homework, size and weight are less important than if you are flying cross-country.Also, i wouldn't say BluRay playback and gaming are the only areas unsuited for netbooks. After all, a netbook with Ion would be able play BluRay files (off a hard drive at least), but nothing short of a much after processor is going to make tasks like photo editing or video transcoding tolerable on a netbook.
KeypoX - Sunday, July 19, 2009 - link
I dont see the difference between 3 pounds and 6 pounds... Netbooks are cute but have no more functionality than a cell phone.I have seen people in school with them, they generally disappear and have a 15" laptop very soon.
jeff486 - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Just some general comments as I agree with the above post. This article did not really answer the question about whether or not a Netbook can replace a low end Notebook you can pickup on clearance at places like newegg or tigerdirect. I am just looking for an inexpensive second system to toss in the bag when I travel and maybe something the kids can use while I am at home. The size of these would be perfect as the company I work for has our notebooks so locked down that even windows media player is no longer active. I will be lugging two systems around so weight and size is very important.I want to know how well it handles office applications, can it play movies/tv shows I transcoded for travel and how well does the wireless connection work. If I want to watch a TV show on Hulu does it offer decent enough playback quality via the wired or wireless connection. I watch most of my TV shows this way when traveling. How is battery playback when watching movies as those four hour flights showing the same movie over and over get boring.
Someone already mentioned this but do the webcams work and is skype video supported as I like to see my kids after getting back to the hotel room. How is the audio quality with a pair of headphones attached? I do not game so that is not important but it would be nice to know if Peggle or Disney Toon Town or other kids games play on it. At home I could probably trust a couple of seven year olds with the machine.
Most of the articles around here answer my questions and it is why I like visiting the website but this article left me with more questions than it answered.
AstroGuardian - Sunday, July 19, 2009 - link
So, the webcams work as intended with descent perfs. I tested a MSI U100 6 month back and webcam was great. The audio is also with standard quality and there is nothing to cry about. Most of 2D games will work on it. Even Counter Strike 1.6 works flawless with 800x600.bgold2005 - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
The image seems to show the 1000HE with an illuminated keyboard, yet no text in the article refers to this. I like this feature; shouldn't it have been at least briefly touched upon/ added to the comparisons?After all, netbooks are ultra-portable and mat be in some very shady, or porrly-lit, locales.
(although it did lead me to a merry search involving stick-on keys, glow-paint, etc). Apparently this will be a feature in upcoming Asus models (unclear whether just notebooks or also netbooks)
JackPack - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
The keys on the 1000HE do not illuminate or glow.Bolas - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I assume this is a typo?"The N280 is essentially the same CPU as the N280"
You could have a much more thorough article if you didn't stop with just the N280 comparison... Why not compare all the CPU's to themselves?
The Core-i7 is essentially the same CPU as the Core-i7.
The Pentium 4 is essentially the same CPU as the Pentium 4.
The Phenom II is essentially the same CPU as the Phenom II.
*grin*
Bolas - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
I assume this is a typo?"The N280 is essentially the same CPU as the N280"
You could have a much more thorough article if you didn't stop with just the N280 comparison... Why not compare all the CPU's to themselves?
The Core-i7 is essentially the same CPU as the Core-i7.
The Pentium 4 is essentially the same CPU as the Pentium 4.
The Phenom II is essentially the same CPU as the Phenom II.
*grin*
Wesley Fink - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
Typo corrected. Thanks for letting us know.