Another Eee PC killer: MSI's ‘Wind' (built around Intel Atom)
David Flynn20 March 2008, 12:16 PM
MSI jumps onto the bandwagon with the ‘Wind', a 10in subnote running Linux and the first system to be built around Intel's new Centrino Atom platform.
With the Eee PC still topping the sales charts (three different models appear in Amazon's Top 10 Notebooks list), and HP aiming a shot across Asus' bow with the chic Compaq 2133, Taiwanese manufacturer MSI is also stepping into the ring.
The white stuff: MSI also follows Asus' lead by dressing the Wind in a matte white chassisDubbed ‘Wind' (and we've no doubt that the name of Apple's MacBook Air inspired MSI here, although perhaps they were not aware that ‘wind' can also have slightly more earthy connotations), the notebook was unveilled during last week's CeBIT 2008 technology expo in Germany.
It's still in the pre-production stages, but the specs have been set to include a 10in screen. This is a full inch larger than the 8.9 inch panel of the HP Compaq 2133, and three inches past the squinty 7in screen of the original Eee PC.
The larger chassis also makes it possible for MSI to fit a 2.5in drive, with the likelyhood that customers will be offered a choice between the high capacity and low price of a conventional hard disk, or a battery-friendly but not so budget-friendly solid state drive. It's also believed that users can opt for Linux (no disto mentioned) or Windows XP.
Crosswind: seen from the right side the Wind has a card slot, VGA port and Ethernet socketStyled in an curved ‘iBook white' clamshell, the Wind also has a VGA out port for connecting a desktop monitor plus the mandatory Ethernet, 2 x USB ports and a slot for either a memory card or an ExpressCard.
The subnote is the first announced to use the Centrino Atom platform which Intel will debut next month at its Shanghai IDF, with an entry-level model using the 1GHz Atom processor and the top-spec system sitting at 1.6GHz. All will be fitted with 1GB of RAM.
Pricing will span from 300 Euro to 700 Euro ($500 to $1150, but that's without allowing for GST or other localised markups).