| Brand: | MSI | ||
| Average Rating |
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When you’re seeking more power and ease-of-use than a cellphone, with less bulk than a notebook, the answer is blowing in the wind. Actually, it’s the Microstar Wind. It’s a netbook that incorporates the convenient styling and capabilities of a Windows notebook PC with full 802.11g WiFi wireless. It’s the perfect electronic accessory to bring along anywhere. 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 percentage 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. The Microstar Wind does what a netbook is supposed to do, provide easy access to the internet, via WiFi in a small, lightweight and inexpensive package. Its 10-inch LED screen offers bright color and contrast. Take a trip with the Wind and enjoy life to the max. 10 WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display more info
Popularity: 2% [?]
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
great netbook
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
the second one I buy. Short battery life but if you get a bigger battery will last long
wow!!!!! cant say enough good stuff!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
just got my new msi u100 netbook today…i will have to say i did a lot of research before buying this….and i reluctantly sold my compaq 1 year old full size laptop running vista this weekend to purchase this netbook….boy what a sweet trade off!!!my 1 year old huge laptop running vista was slow , 2 gb ram , dual this and that , yada yada,. state of the art clunker!!!froze up at least twice a month, shipped back to compaq 2 times before the 6 month warranty was even over…anyways , i love my new msi netbook… compact light weight and powerful too!!! had it out of the box for 30 seconds …it booted to xp and found my internet connection BOOM !!very nice buttons …bright lcd…and it has instructions on the user manual cd on how to overclock it by %24!!!! wow …now its freakin fast!!!sleek black case…and lots of options too….one gripe…yea yeah yeah…should have spent the extra coin for a better mouse pad system fellas!!! but it is totally usable , and you get used to it quick….i would recommend any body dropping there 10 lb dell or hp or compaq laptop off of a very high bridge and getting one of these netbooks by msi!!! or do as i did and just sell it to some sucker on ebay for $350 cash….. ha!!!
quite good for a netbook
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
well this is the 3rd product review today and I’m kinda tired of typing so here we go,
pros:
*10″ screen
*fast
*light weight
*looks cool
*upgradable ram
*windows xp
*comfortable keyboard
*webcam
*there is a forum full of mods, tips and stuff about the wind([...])
cons:
*bad to use touchpad
*battery life(I didn’t know that I have to fully charge it then fully discharge) gives me like 2 hours
*no integrated bluetooth and has the drivers and bt s/w preinstalled :S
*it’s a netbook
*only a trial of M Office and AV software, WTH?
*only b/g wifi, what happened with the “n”?
the creepy:
a guy from [...](don’t remember if that was the site) found this flaws: screws falling and loose battery after heavy use(of course it was modded, had issues with WLAN after installing another OS.
My usssage it’s been for basic stuff(browsing, office programs and chatting) and I’m quite satisfied with the wind, as others bought another gig of ram and left it in it’s package cuz the wind’s has a good perfomance, was able to install and play Serious Sam Second Encounter.
Recomendations: buy the 6 cell’s one, a usb tiny mouse, buy it only if you really can’t carry with an avg notebook, if not wait a lil’ bit more to the eeepc 1000 sumthin’ get cheaper
Thx for reading, hope this review was usefull for ya
Acceptable quality and good price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
I purchased this MSI Wind netbook on amazon because it is offered with a very good price. It turns out to be a pretty good deal.
The netbook looks nice and simple. Everything works fine, including webcam and wireless. Overall performance is pretty good. I like the screen, the light weight, and the ports.
However I am not comfortable with the keyboard because I type very fast. Mouse pad is not comfy either since it’s small and 2 buttons are integrated in one plastic piece. I don’t like the speaker much but I think the sound-card is good because I tested with my headphones and it sounds great.
So my solution was to buy one usb keyboard, an optical mouse and 1 pair of speakers so that I can enjoy this netbook at home. Those are cheap so I’m content with this MSI now.
Not a bad deal at all!
Great Netbook !!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Bought this as a present for my daughter and she loves it. Runs all software pretty fast for an XP. Was able to double the RAM to 2 gigs. The built-in wireless picks up signals great. FYI….if you are trying to load a program and it gives you an error about the screen resolution….you can trick it by connecting a monitor to the output of the MSI.
It fits my needs
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I chose the MSI Wind U100 after researching and comparing reviews. It looks great, and so far I have not had any performance issues except for one annoying thing that keeps happening. I thought I was accidentally touching the touchpad frequently, causing the cursor to jump to another spot, but discovered that sometimes it just does it spontaneously on its own. You can be typing along and boom, suddenly it moves to wherever the pointer last was and seems to “enter” on its own and starts typing in the middle of a different sentence. Other than that, the keyboard is easy to use, the display is sharp, and the sound is good as long as you use earphones or headphones. Battery life is not too long, so you need the power adapter most of the time. Also wish it had an external CD/DVD drive. That’s the next thing on my list to get. Overall I love it. Have not installed the extra memory card I bought to go with it yet.
I LOVE THIS NETBOOK!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love this mechanism soooo much it is like the best investment i have ever made. currently i am in the process of totally pimping out this little sucka trick i mean i got the 1gb ram stick for only 13 bills HOLLA!!! and next i am getting a nine cell battery and more memory!!! i know it voids the warranty but this thing runs so smooth that it will never break!!!! GO MSI WIND! U RULE!!!!!!! RECOMMEND TO ALL FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!!
My Daughter’s Netbook
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
She likes it quite a lot but there are some software glitches that cause her some irritation; in one internet social networking site she cannot type at the same time that others are typing to her without the two messages being combined. “3 1/2″ stars is what she called out when asked. It gets constant use and she loves it’s size and portabilty.
Light Weight–Sort Of
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
This is an ok portable. As one would expect, the keyboard is small and functions and touchpad take getting used to. Remember that the real weight of the computer includes the power cord and batteries and the power cord is very heavy. The whole setup is not nearly as light as one might dream.
MSI wind
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I found this computer to be what it was advertised and more. I did check into warranty info before I added the memory and was assured by MSI that adding memory would not void the warranty. It is very fast and easy to use. The only thing I found challenging is the touch pad while typing but there is a function key to disable it. I will eventually add the larger battery to gain more user time but currently it more than is sufficient for my use. i would highly recommend it to others and have already to those who have seen it.
Inexpensive powerful tool
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was looking for a laptop that was not very sofisticated since I need it for school. This Netbook filled my expectations and I am very satisfied.
The ONLY con I found was that it does not have a CD/DVD drive which made it hard for installing some programs…but everything is loadable via USB drive.
Useful for the Cost
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
As an admitted electronics guy with three laptops (plus this new netbook), as well as two desktops both Mac and PC, I was intrigued in the new MSI U100 netbook. As a photographer, my main purpose in purchasing the netbook was to have a computer able to store and edit photographs when I travel without lugging one of my heavier laptops.
I was pleased with the lightweight netbook and its ability to run nearly all applications I needed including Office 2003 (not crazy about the 2007 version) as well as Photoshop and PS Elements, Lightroom, Quicken, etc. And with the 160 GB drive, there is plenty of room for photos from my Nikon D700 as well as our point-and-shoot cameras.
One small issue is the lack of a right-click button on the keyboard. One must hold the Ctrl key down, then press the button below the finger pad to obtain the right-click menu. The best way to address this is to simply purchase a wireless mouse — however, you now need more space for the mouse. It seems such a simple fix to provide both left and right buttons, but for some reason MSI decided on only one button.
Another issue is the fact the wireless signal changes while in the same location in my house — and the data rate varies from 54 Mbps to under 10. My other laptops seem to be less susceptible to this issue. I was transferring data from my main desktop and noticed the rate had dropped to near zero. I rebooted the computer and the high data exchange rate improved, but it’s something I haven’t encountered previously.
The keyboard is slightly smaller (80%) of a standard keyboard, so typing can be a learning experience. I find myself occasionally off by a key which then appears as if I am writing in code when I glance at the screen.
The screen resolution is good, but I did find some applications simply won’t adapt (or even install) without a minimum of XGA resolution. I was unable to find a work around for these apps. This is a restriction that would apply to all netbooks. In fact, there is barely any difference between all the models I researched.
I recommend the netbook as an excellent computer for what it is designed for — to provide a portable computer for e-mail and Internet browsing. The Intel Atom processor is adequately fast for most applications. I do recommend purchasing the additional 1 GB of RAM.
Another minor challenge is installing the additional RAM; it requires removal of a screw that is covered with a warranty warning implying if the sticker is tampered with your warranty is voided. Why MSI decided to require the entire back cover to be removed to access a small memory socket is not quite obvious, save economics. Almost all the other netbooks have a small panel to add memory. This disassembly is probably not for the novice as it requires a bit more finesse than it should. I think they should simply offer the netbook with 2 GB standard, the cost for memory is so inexpensive anyway so consumers are not challenged by this poor design feature.
I took the netbook on a trip to my hometown and it worked flawlessly. I was able to download photos using one of the three USB ports as well as plugging in an SD memory card directly into the provided card slot. The slot works with 2 GB standard SD cards, but was unable to recognize newer, 4 GB cards, so I just used the USB cable.
I did purchase a portable DVD writer, but could have gotten most applications installed using a 2 GB USB thumb drive and simply copying install CDs onto it. MSI thoughtfully placed two USB ports adjacent, in case one port has insufficient power for the DVD.
All in all, I would recommend buying a netbook for travel, certainly not for writing the great American novel. It’s excellent for airplanes, even if the 300-pounder reclines the seat in front of you. The greatest benefit is its lightweight, small size and the ability to run your favorite PC applications, generally without any problems.
Great Product! Want a Third One! U100 v. U123:
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I purchased two white U100′s (model 451) and set them up for family members. These machines are great! I am a nerd, I’ll admit it, but set-up was a breeze! Installing programs just takes a decent size (>4GB for programs on DVD) flash drive or SD card loaded from another computer, or purchase a DVD drive on Amazon or eBay. I finally got a slim external DVD-RW on eBay directly from China for about $35! [Although it doesn't have the "brand" sticker on it, it is a high quality, brand name.]
With these machines, you do need to know what specs you want and therefore navigate the myriad of model numbers past U100. The 451′s have no Bluetooth (I haven’t missed it), and the 3 cell battery (which is fine if you only need a couple hours at a meeting or presentation). The VGA out gives a fantastic picture during presentations and on my 22″ monitor!
U100 v. U123?
I also own a blue U123 and prefer the white U100′s for several reasons: There are more aftermarket battery options for U100′s (even a 9 cell battery good for about 11 hours is only $65 on Amazon), the white finish is matte and not the fingerprint attractor that the blue is, the U123 has chrome buttons which I dislike immensely, installing an extra 1 GB stick of RAM is fairly easy (just take your time), and you can over-clock the U100′s processor by 24% without knowing any nerdy stuff and it is absolutely stable! [someone previously posted a great list of modifications that I will not attempt to rival if you might like to try that.]
If I had it to do over again, I would buy another U100-451, an inexpensive external DVD-RW, and at least a 6 cell battery – doing it this way can actually save you money over the models that come with a 6 cell battery depending on what these are selling for at the time and you end up with an extra battery.
be extremely careful
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I’ve purchased this item while I was outside my university for a research period. After 1 month and a half my LCD cracks, black spots, and areas where the signal is lost appears for apparently no reasons (no incident, no hits, nothing knocked over the monitor…). I assume that I’m covered by the insurance, unfortunately now I’m back in my home country and I’m pretty sure that the insurance is for the U.S. only… Maybe I’m just unlucky but I would suggest you to be very careful choosing this netbook.
So far so good…Msi U100 641US series
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
First of all, and I don’t why but I wasn’ given the selection choice of MY model to review, so placed it in title. I haven’t read any reviews on my particular model so I’m not sure which BIOS to upgrade to…BIOS 1.10B?
Everything seems to work well..my first experience with a notebook/laptop. I’m reading all the reviews as I seem to derive more knowledge. ..
Speed, sound and graphics are fine BUT this damn cursor while I’m trying to type this is bouncing all over the place…very annoying. Maybe just Amazon? I don’t know.
All in all, I’m very satisfied…I think