Remember the MSI Wind -- the netbook we nearly soiled ourselves over back in May? It's back and it's better than ever. MSI has listened to our feedback, tweaked a few things and unleashed what, on paper at least, sounds like the best netbook we've seen.
The most significant change is the new battery. Whereas the old model used a paltry three-cell unit, the new Wind benefits from a six-cell, 5,400mAh battery. Obviously, this adds a tiny bit to the overall size and weight, but you'd have to be a major pedant to hold that against it.
The new Wind lasted 3 hours 39 minutes in our classic BatteryEater test. That's a solid 102 minutes longer than the old model -- enough to watch an extra feature-length movie. With more frugal use, the new Wind is likely to achieve over 4 hours of life.
There are other new additions to the Wind. It now has a larger hard drive -- 160GB instead of the 80 or 120GB drives supplied previously. You also get high-speed 802.11n Wi-Fi, so you can connect to compatible networks at up to 300Mbps. Naturally, it can still connect to more common 802.11g networks.
MSI is aiming for a price of around £350, which seems like good value to us. In its current state, the Wind is a real contender for the best netbook ever -- it's comfortable to use, well designed, has good battery life and a good screen.
What do you reckon? Have a look at the pictures over the page then let us know in the comments below or in our forums. -Rory Reid
The new battery juts out by a few millimetres and weighs around 100g more than the original. The overall weight of the new Wind is 1.26kg, which isn't bad.
The battery raises the height of the screen and tilts the keyboard towards the user, which seems to improve usability slightly.
The sticker on the bottom left of the wrist rest reveals the new Wind's 802.11n status.