Review: MSI Wind U110 Eco (15 hours battery!)
MSI’s new 10″ Wind U110 Eco released just last week, but hasn’t received enough the fanfare it deserves. That’s what you get for launching a month before Windows 7 comes out along with every 12″ netbook imaginable and nVidia. Oh well. The Wind U110 Eco is still relevant. For $400, you’re getting a media powerhouse – a netbook with a 1.6GHz Z530 processor which means the netbook can last for up to 15 hours (!!!!) on the 9 cell battery it ships with.
See, now you’re excited too.
Rating: 
Features
The U110 Eco is essentialy a re-do of the MSI Wind U115 (remember how hyped that was!) which was discontinued because Microsoft was having a bad day… the U115 basically figured that by combining the high capacity of a hard drive with the power efficiency of a solid state device, the netbook would become far more power efficient and would be able to last up to 25 hours off a 9 cell battery. Well, Microsoft was having none of that hybrid storage business and forced the U115 off the cliff.
So here’s why the U110 eco is awesome.
- Good light weight processor – a 1.6GHz Z series is surprisingly hard to come by these days; Intel’s Atom N270 and N280 saturate the market. With the Z530, you aren’t compromising on performance & clock speed, and you’re benefiting by having a more power efficient processor.
- 15 hour battery life - And that’s how the Wind U110 Eco is able to promise a 15 hour battery life on a 9 cell battery. Do note that the netbook weighs ONLY 3.2 lbs despite having a 9 cell battery. That’s impressive! Also note that the top 10″ netbook, the Asus Eee PC 1005HA promises a 10.5 hour battery machine for $355. Ask yourself if the extra 4hours is worth the extra $45. Because that’ what it will ultimately come down to.
- Affordable! At $400! Maybe not so much anymore… a lot of 10″ netbooks have just witnessed price cuts. Sellers must be trying to get rid of as much stock as they can before October happens. The MSI Wind U110 Eco would have been considered very affordable two weeks a ago. Now, it’s a not-bad price.
- Small but Capable – I’ve been reviewing a lot of 12″ netbooks and CULVs lately, and the line between netbook and notebook is really blurring. I like that the MSI Wind U110 Eco goes back to the roots, to the notion that people want small light portable devices that can achieve everything. 10″ is a convenient size to carry around. 15 hours redefines portable. 3.2lbs is not bad considering you’re getting a 9 cell battery and will probably never need to carry your battery charger around. Done.
Drawbacks
- Meh specs – Comes with 1GB RAM and a 160 GB HDD. Boh-ring.
- Low resolution – Not that I have anything against the 1024 x 600. But, since I’m comparing this to 12″ netbooks, I figured I should point out that this isn’t an HD playing machine. It’s just a nice small machines that will work!
Rating – 6.5/7
- Value for Money – 0.75
- Speed and Performance – 1
- Screen – 1
- Keyboard & Touchpad – 1
- Portability & Battery Life – 0.75
- Looks and Design – 1
- Extensibility & connectivity – 1
MSI Wind U110 Eco Specs
- Processor – 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530
- Chipset – Intel US15W + SCH LPC
- OS – Windows XP
- Memory – 1 GB (upgradeable to 2GB)
- Storage – 160GB HDD
- Display – 10″ (1024 x 600)
- Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth
- Ports – 3xUSB, VGA, SD reader, Kensington lock, 2 speakers
- Battery – 9 cell/ 15 hours
- Dimensions –10.23″ x 7.08″ x 1.2″
- Weight – 3.2lbs (with 9 cell battery)
Bottom line
The U110 Eco is a solid device. If you’re looking for a 10″ netbook now and don’t mind upgrading to Windows 7 on your own time and expense, you should consider this netbook. At $400, the MSI Wind U110 Eco is almost competitively priced.
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Filed under: MSI Wind
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