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 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% 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 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. Another wireless feature that comes with the Wind is Bluetooth, this enables you to wireless connect to headphones, or other Bluetooth devices making it more convenient by not carrying around a bunch of tangled cords. With the Wind notebook available in all the different colors and weighting less than 3 pounds, makes for a great second computer to use at school, work and to take on vacations. 10 Widescreen (1024 x 600) LED Backlit Display Two internal Speakers Built-in 1.3 Megapixel Webcamera and Microphone Built-in 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN Integrated Bluetooth 4-in-1 Card Reader - SD, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions - 10.23" (L) x 7.08" (D) x 1.24" (H) Approximate Unit Weight - 2.6 Pounds
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: A perfectly wonderful little machine! Comment: I've been working with my MSI Wind for a few weeks now - long enough to discover and then iron out one or two (common - and easily fixed) wrinkles. As shipped, the wireless driver is sometimes flakey - a quick upgrade, either from the MSI website or via Windows Update fixed that problem.
I chose this mini-notebook primarily because of concerns about cramped keyboards on other comparable machines. As someone who spends a lot of time writing and negotiating the computer world via the keyboard, I'm somewhat demanding on this point. The Wind keyboard is clearly better than most, if not all, of the alternatives. I've not tried the HP-2133, the closest competitor it seems, so I can't say from experience which is better. But I've now spent many hours using the Wind, and the keyboard is perfectly fine.
As shipped - Windows XP, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB harddrive, 6-cell battery - the machine is perfectly suited for 95% of all I need, i.e., wordprocessing, email, Internet. It would be fun to upgrade the memory and harddrive - but as is, the system works perfectly fine. The processor is zippy enough for most tasks, including video-phone via Skype.
Being able to carry all of this around in a package less than 3 lbs - and with a working battery life of at least four hours - is nothing short of amazing.
The only limitation for me is the screen size - but I knew this going in. For 95% of my work, it's more than adequate. Only when I need to edit and compare two documents side by side is the screen just too cramped.
In sum, as long as one is aware that a 10" screen has limits, and the Atom processor will likely be sluggish on intensive image and video processing - I can't recommend this device highly enough. My beloved MacBook Pro is now my desktop - comparatively too big and heavy to carry around; the MSI Wind is now my highly portable notebook. Customer Rating: Summary: perfect performance for the price Comment: This PC has been great.. i bought it for my 10 year old daughter.. she opened the box and has been using it ever since... it is great!!! and for the price it is the perfect first laptop for a kid.. Customer Rating: Summary: Great Small Computer Comment: I have had the computer for about a month. So far I am quite pleased with it. The Wi-fi works well and no problem installing my PC programs. I also have no problems using my broadband card with it. The keyboard is much easier to use than on the Asus that I had previously owned - the keys are larger. No problems with the touchpad even though it only has one button rather than two. The battery lasts a long time depending upon what you are doing. I like the screen that shows the entire web page without having to scroll. I would recommend this computer to anyone who would like something small and light to carry. The only thing that would improve it would be a cd/dvd drive. Customer Rating: Summary: MSI WInd Review Comment: MSI Wind is, in my opinion, the best yet of the new netbook computers. I have had no problems with it. My wife took it on a trip and carried it in her purse. She really like the weight, and had no problems using the machine. After she came home, I installed Vista Home Premium on the second partition (system came partition into a recovery partition, OS partition (40GB), and a local data partition (31 GB)on the 80 GB Hard drive). Vista runs as fast as XP on this machine. All the hardware works - you can use the XP device manager to point you to the devices that you need to find the Vista drivers for (in my case the on board Intel graphics, Realtek ethernet, and the Realtek wireless).
My only complaint was the way MSI placed the warranty sticker over one of the 9 screws on the bottom. I sent an email to and got the reply from MSI that it will not void the warranty to crack the back open and add 1GB of memory. Removing the bottom is easy. Adding the memory stick (Kingston)was simple. There is a short how-to video (use google to find it) on the procedure.
Overall I am very satisfied
Customer Rating: Summary: Overpriced Comment: I purchased this (in white, though) for $499. And yes, I am talking about the one with the 6 CELL battery.
I don't have a clue why it's listed here - and a few other places - for $50 more. It's wrong. MSI has not "officially" increased its MSRP on this mini, but retailers are taking that rumor and running with it. So, what's the result of retailers running with a *rumor*? Everyone begins to think "Oh, look at all the sites selling the MSI at a higher cost, welp, MSI must've increased the price, shucks." It's so wrong. They did *not*.
I live in Nashville and we have/had local retailers with this on pre-order. This is how I got mine... nothing like a local geek stores :) Anyway, the review...
The best improvement on this model, other than the obvious longer battery life is the WiFi. On my last one, the connection would drop, hang and just quit for "no reason" - it took a long time to figure out it came right out of the box in need of driver updates for the WiFi (easily fixed). THIS one doesn't have any WiFi issues at all, no need for driver updates, yet anyway.
The battery life on this one is only about 1 hour more, but that's with me on it constant, non-stop, running programs. It *did* get a little warm, enough to worry me only the slightest. I'd like if they had a mini slant pad for this.. for those who are going to wear the battery down to nill. Maybe there already is one (?)
I don't really see any difference between this one and the previous version, other than the other requires a couple driver updates before you can really roll (well) and the slightly longer battery life. If you're *not* going to run this thing longer than a couple hrs at a time or commute with it, the smaller cell is just fine (imo).
As for looks, the cover *does* show fingerprints. That's a small nag, I know, but it bugs me. This is why I didn't care what color I got this time because I knew I would get a skin for it - to fend off the "fingerprint look."
There's so many other reviews on this product, I don't want to get long winded; mainly just wanted to point out the discrepancy on the list price.
