The Wind just got boob-tube-friendly.
(Credit: MSI)MSI's newest Wind has gone on sale, upgrading to an Atom N280 processor from the previous N270 for some modest performance gains. What else is new as compared with the last-generation Wind? Four colors instead of two--blue, red, gray, and white, so a family of four could have its own MSI Wind party and not mix up their laptops.
Also new and notable is a TV antenna connector, turning the Wind into a portable broadcast-ready set in a pinch. Most of what we watch these days is on the Internet anyway, but this could always come in handy for live sports or events.
Packed with a six- or nine-cell battery (no three, so you have to live with the "battery bump"), prices start at $380 for the six-cell, and $430 for nine-cell. Both models come with 1GB RAM, a 160GB HDD, a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, and a 10.2-inch screen--no surprises. The nine-cell also adds 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0, whereas the six-cell just has 802.11 b/g.
More juice for your Hackintosh Netbook.
(Credit: Boing-Boing Gadgets)Although Apple doesn't have any clear Netbook plans on the horizon, that hasn't exactly stopped anyone from getting their own Apple Netbook the hacky way. Hackintoshes, i.e. PCs with Mac software loaded on them, hadn't truly started stealing the spotlight until the Netbook phenomenon. For as little as $300 and a copy of Leopard, you too could have the sort of ultraportable that Jobs and Co. would only sneer at.
The downside, besides no official hardware support from Apple, has been battery life, an area where OS X hasn't exactly been Netbook-friendly.
That is, until now.
Early reports from MSI forums claim boosts from 3 hours 45 minutes to 5 hours 5 minutes on a six-cell MSI Wind after upgrading to 10.5.7, which just became available Wednesday. The update doesn't claim battery life improvements as a feature, according to Apple's official documentation. If battery life improvements were true, one imagines they would be advertised.
On the other hand, maybe these improvements only show up on Atom processors. Others around the Web are planning to do their own testing to see if any Apple magic has been bestowed on their little Mac Mobile mutants.
We haven't tried it here yet, but have any of you found Hackintosh advantages? That is, if you have a Hackintosh. Let us know below.
Kinesis Industries' K3 is a compact "tribrid" wind and solar power generator about the size of a flashlight. The company calls it a tribrid since the built-in rechargeable battery also can be precharged with normal grid electricity using an AC plug. It also charges from any computer via USB, or from a car cigarette lighter with available USB adapter.
According to Kinesis, the fully charged K3 can power a mobile phone more than five times on a single charge--and an iPod/MP3 player more than 10 times.
(Credit:
Kinesis Industries)
At a weight of 10.5 ounces (a little over half a pound), I personally think it's a tad heavy for a serious hiking trip or mountaineering. It is marketed as more of a disaster relief device, securing power when there's an emergency with no available power supply, and you still need to make a call, for instance. Still, it is weatherproof, so you could bring it along for a kayaking or a boat trip for instance, when the weight doesn't count so much.
The built-in battery has a capacity of 4,000 mAh and can be charged from wind and sun simultaneously.
The recharging times provided by the manufacturer are impressive. The built-in battery can after one hour of sun and wind provide about 30 minutes of talk time, or more than 300 minutes of MP3s.
The included AC adapter is for precharging before you go--if you don't trust the wind to blow, or worse, the sun not to shine.
When it's officially released in June, the charger will come at a price, however--$99.95. That's compared with the cheaper and presumably simpler solar charger, which goes for around $30.
The MSI WindTop hits online stores Tuesday.
(Credit: MSI)According to our inbox, MSI's WindTop AE1900 touch-screen all-in-one PC is scheduled to hit online retailers Tuesday. It will join the already available Asus Eee Top and Averatec All-in-One in the niche-but-growing Nettop category. On paper, anyway, the Wind Top may stand out due to its many features.
The $525 WindTop essentially marries the key features of the Eee Top and the Averatec system with no price premium. Like the Asus system, MSI's WindTop will feature touch-screen capability, only with a larger, 18.5-inch screen that MSI says conforms to the familiar 16:9 screen ratio common to HDTVs. And as with the Averatec All-in-One, the WindTop also includes a DVD burner. The Eee Top is optical drive free.
Like these other Nettops, the WindTop is powered by a slow, low-power Intel Atom CPU. With Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and the Windows XP Home Premium operating system, the WindTop is only a serviceable computer (serious digital media work and 3D gaming are both out), but marketers and fans of the Netbook/Nettop movement will tell you that computing power isn't the point.
As long as Nettop prices stay low and real all-in-one prices stay high, we agree. The only problem is full-power systems like Dell's $699 Studio One 19 starting to emerge in the same price ballpark. If that trend continues, the "performance doesn't matter" argument won't hold up for long.
Dear Shmoopy, hope you like pink!
(Credit: MSI)To celebrate that upcoming day of Hallmark love, MSI will give away 15 limited-edition Wind U100 models featuring a rosy, heartsy design. Depending on your significant other's tolerance for pink, he or she will either want to smother you in kisses or possibly break up with you should you manage to snag one.
The Netbooks feature an Intel Atom N270 1.6G processor, Windows Home XP Home Edition, a 6-cell battery, and the same lightweight ultramobile design as the other U100 models. If you don't win, but still want one of these lovey dovey models, you can purchase one at MSI's Web site for $429.99. MSI says it will offer free shipping on all Valentine-edition Winds.
To enter the contest, you just need to provide contact information and upload a picture of you and your Valentine between now and February 14. MSI will randomly choose 15 winners and announce them on the same site on February 17. MSI will also give his and her "My Valentine" 2GB USB flash drives to the first 100 participants.
But if you have an inkling your significant other would be less embarassed to ride the train clutching a teddy bear than to use a gadget like the one pictured above, you might want to consider something more along these lines.
Related story:
If you're thinking about going green in 2009, the Baylis Revolution wind-up MP3 player may let you inch down your carbon footprint ever so slightly.
Click for Baylis Revolution photo gallery.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)I know it's unforgiveably anachronistic to have a hand-crank slapped on the side of an MP3 player, but before you dismiss this as pure novelty, let me say that I was surprised to find that the Revolution isn't a half bad MP3 player. Sure, it's thicker than a bar of soap, but if you're ever trapped on a desert island the Revolution puts the iPod to shame.
The Baylis Revolution includes music, video, and photo playback, and comes with FM radio, voice recording, line-input recording, and radio recording features, as well. Oh, and did we mention it has a built-in flashlight? It has a friggin' flashlight!
One minute of cranking should buy you about 45 minutes of music on the Revolution, but you can charge it over USB as well. At full charge, you'll get 48 hours of audio playback.
The Baylis Revoltion sells for $179 (4GB) and $209 (8GB) online. To learn more, read our full review over at CNET Reviews.
The Wind U120 will hit at the end of January.
(Credit: MSI)MSI dished to Laptop magazine about its plans for its Wind Netbook.
The previously announced Wind U120 will ship in the U.S. at the end of January. As we learned last month, the U120 will feature the same specs as the U100 but introduce a new design along with WiMAX and mobile broadband connectivity. MSI's Director of U.S. Sales Andy Tung said about the U120, "the price will be about the same as the U100, but the 3G/WiMax may raise the overall price." MSI will continue to sell the U100 but its aim will be "kids and teenagers."
MSI will also release two new Netbooks in late January, the Wind U110 and U115, that will forgo the Intel Atom N270 CPU in favor of the Atom Z530 chip. Both chips feature the same 1.6GHz clock speed, but the Z530 is physically smaller and more efficient. The U100 and U115 models will feature 10-inch screens, which MSI believes is the sweet spot for Netbooks. (I would agree. Anything smaller and I'd rather use a smartphone. Anything bigger, and I'd probably spend a bit more for a more fully functional ultraportable or thin-and-light laptop.)
The U115 will also feature a hybrid hard drive that will include an SSD and spinning hard drive. You'll be able to turn off the hard drive for improved battery life; Tung estimates that the U115 will run for 10 hours on the SSD using its 6-cell battery. He expects the price for the U115 to stay below $699.
Other items of interest: MSI will be demoing touch-screen Netbooks at CES, has no plans to sell Linux-based Netbooks in the U.S., and will introduce a 1.3-inch ultraportable, the U300, that it promises will shockingly thin.
(Via: Gizmodo)
MSI on Friday announced the next iteration of its popular Wind Netbook, the 3-pound Wind U120. The updated model includes many of the same features as its predecessor, but sports a new look (white with black accents) and adds WiMax or HSDPA connectivity.
Mobile broadband was one of the items we thought was missing from the Wind U100, so we're glad to see it's been included with this update, at least in theory. (At the moment, WiMax networks are pretty scarce in the U.S.) Also included is a six-cell battery, which is a necessity when you're talking about a device as mobile as a Netbook. In fact, our only wish that isn't granted with the Wind U120 has to do with storage: though the hard drive size has doubled to 160GB, there is still no solid-state drive option.
The Wind U120's other specs look similar to the previous version, including its 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, three USB ports, and 4-in-1 card reader. In a concession to those who hate the Netbook's tiny touch pad, it ships with an external mouse.
MSI did not specify pricing or availability for the Wind U120, but the announcement press release trumpeted that the minilaptop will be on display at CES in January 2009.
MSI appears to be the only thing standing in the way of Asus and its attempt to take over the world with Eee-branded products, including an Eee Nettop that is on tap to be announced Thursday. MSI sees Asus' Eee Top and raises it three Wind Netons, MSI's (odd) name for its new line of all-in-one Nettops.
At the low end is the Neton M16, which features a 15.6-inch screen and a $400 price. In the middle sits the M19, an 18.5-inch model for $500, and at the top of the line is the still reasonably priced $799 M22 with, you guessed it, a 22-inch display. The two low-end models serve up 1366x768 resolutions, while the M22 does 1920x1080 while also including a Blu-ray drive. All three have touch screens.
I assume the prices quoted are for the single-core Atom chip, but MSI will also offer the dual-core Atom. Linux isn't offered, but you do get a choice of OS: XP with a single-core chip and Vista with a dual-core chip.
You won't see these Netons until next year--the M19 in January, the M16 in February, and the M22 in March. By then, perhaps someone will explain to me why I'd want a computer based on an Intel Atom processor that doesn't also include a battery.
Via Engadget China, which has photos from the MSI event.
(Credit:
MSI)
We had gotten word previously that MSI's follow-up to the Wind 100--the 120--would likely hit the streets this December. According to Digitimes, though, we won't have to wait that long. In fact, the 3.5G-sporting Netbook should be available sometime next month. The specs are fairly impressive, running Windows XP on Intel's Atom N270 processor with 1GB of RAM.
With its 8.9-inch screen, this ultraportable is inviting with its estimated street price of $552, but that price could come down if the manufacturer squares deals with American 3G network operators like AT&T or T-Mobile, both of which use the same 3G technology as Taiwan's Vibo Telecom, the first carrier to subsidize the Netbook.
We aren't expecting deals like that until next year at the earliest, though, if they come at all, but as carriers are looking for new ways to lock us into long term contracts, fancy hardware is an appealing way to go.
