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By way of comparison and to illustrate how far laptop prices have dropped, we offer this tidbit: for the same $499 (which includes a $150 discount at Best Buy) and a simple swap of portability for performance, you can get a Dell Inspiron 1525. From the charts, you can see how much faster a modern (but by no means cutting-edge) dual-core laptop is when viewed next to a single-core Intel Atom-based Netbook. Then again, the 15-inch Dell Inspiron 1525 weighs about three times as much as the Wind.
Netbooks are designed in large part to run for long stretches when you're away from a power outlet, and unfortunately the Wind was unable to top the 2-hour mark on CNET Labs' battery drain test, thanks to its three-cell battery. In anecdotal testing, we never made it past two hours either. That's a far cry from the 5 hours 15 minutes we got from the Asus Eee PC 901 and its 6-cell battery. Due to a battery shortage, MSI won't begin offering a 6-cell battery until September. The company hasn't settled on a price yet, but the 6-cell battery will be offered separately and also included with future Wind models. While the AC power adapter thankfully features a very small power brick, do note that it has a three-prong plug, which may limit your charging options.
MSI backs the Wind with a one-year parts-and-labor warranty. The user manual and driver downloads can be found on MSI's global Web site along, with FAQ pages (only a few exist at the moment for the Wind U100) and helpful glossary of tech terms. Calls to tech support require a toll call; lines are open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PT, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Find out more about how we test Windows laptops.
System configurations:
MSI Wind U100
Windows XP Home Edition SP3; 1.6GHz Intel Atom; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 945 Express; Western Digital 80GB 5400rpm hard drive
Asus Eee PC 901
Windows XP Home Edition SP2; 1.6GHz Intel Atom; 1024MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 945 Express; 12GB Phison Solid State Drive
Asus Eee PC 701
Windows XP Home Edition SP2; 900MHz Intel Celeron Ultra Low Voltage M353; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 915GMS Express; 4GB SiliconMotion SM223A Solid State Drive
Dell Inspiron 1525-121B
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1; 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T2390; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel 965GM Express; 160GB Western Digital 5,400rpm
HP 2133 Mini-Note PC
Windows Vista Business Edition; 1.6GHz VIA C7-M Ultra Low Voltage; 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; VIA/SG3 UniChrome Pro II IGP; 120GB Seagate 7,200rpm
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