MSI's 10-inch WindPad 100 advances past prototype stage, gets pictured with a dock

The wait for a legitimate mass market Windows 7 tablet continues, but at least MSI is showing signs of progress. The WindPad 100, which we saw at Computex in prototype form, has now reached design maturity and the concordant gallery of pictures has been distributed to the world. There's no word of any spec changes, meaning we're still looking at a 1.66GHz Atom Z530 CPU, 32GB SSD, 2GB RAM, Wind Touch UI overlay, and HDMI plus 2x USB ports on the stat sheet. The 100 has been joined by a new dock in these latest images, which will throw in the typical expanded connectivity options. We can probably expect to see both reappearing at IFA in Berlin in about a month's time.

MSI WindPad 100 press shots

[awlh Posted Aug 16th 2010 9:29AM]

Close but not dice, can't wait to see more from HP with a WebOS based or the ExoPC based Win7 devices (or whatever they send down here to Oz) - hard to decide as I still have to finish my "Nice to have" and "Need to have" lists but I just know I want more interoperability than the Ipad can offer at the moment (an in-built USB port or two for fugs sake - how fkn hard is it?)

[IRJ Posted Aug 16th 2010 11:28AM]

I have invented this new gadget. It's called an iClone.

[cpd5c45 Posted Aug 16th 2010 12:26PM]

@IRJ It should be called 'iVapor' along with this other crap.

[Irondog Posted Aug 16th 2010 11:31AM]

Wow, an awful lot of armchair engineers here.............

[cpd5c45 Posted Aug 16th 2010 12:25PM]

More bullshit VAPOR!!!!

[vanglorious Posted Aug 16th 2010 12:46PM]

@techwhizard

you don't make a good point. it was apple who brought this whole "pad" nomenclature into the tablets business. that they had to buy the trademark from Fujitsu is another matter altogether and completely irrelevant, as Fujitsu were using the name for a completely different kind of product. So the original guy's point still stands: all these other companies with their slates/tablets are all following the [someWord]pad pattern.

[darkkevind Posted Aug 18th 2010 5:09AM]

@vanglorious

That's incredibly un-true!

The first tablet/slate devices were Windows based with resistive overlays, but the technology wasn't quite there yet and they were fat and un-attractive as a truly portable device.
Now technology has moved on and components are getting MUCH smaller, that's why more Windows based devices are emerging, not to copy another company, but because the form factor is a reality now.

Take the ExoPC for example, http://kevindark.co.uk/ExoPC.aspx it has a beautiful form factor and has all the power of a notebook/laptop along with the connectivity... oh connectivity... did I just hear all the apple fanboy's run away?

Apple did do a favour for these new Windows based slates/pads though, in that they made people want this kind of device, more-fool them for being first and paying for the marketing for all the Windows based devices yet to come.

I say thank you Apple for being the Guinea pig.

[nicomo Posted Aug 16th 2010 1:30PM]

I like the word Slate, its so far better than Pad!

If MSi want to call it a WindPad then unless the specs are improved it certainly will be received as device that blocks the passing of gas :)

they could call it MSi-Pad - the sheep will follow!!

[NateDroid Posted Aug 16th 2010 11:08PM]

Looking forward to this, though that name is really underwhelming...