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MSI Wind U100 coming to "major retailer," Wind 2 coming this quarter
Slowly but surely, MSI is following in the laughable footsteps of ASUS. At first, the Wind was simply the Wind. Now, we've a smattering of variants to keep up with, and according to a recent interview with director of US sales Andy Tung, that trend isn't about to stop. Starting next week, the Wind U100 will be available at an undisclosed "large national retailer," with the 3-cell / WinXP version going for $399. Additionally, Tung gave us all a reason to hold off on making that very purchase by revealing that the business-minded Wind U120 (or Wind 2, as he called it) will be landing on US soil in late November or early December. Said machine will boast "a whole new look," new HDD / SSD options and inbuilt 3.5G WWAN connectivity for under $600. Also of note, MSI's internal research has found that Linux-infused netbooks get returned four times as often as units with Windows XP; we can't say we're shocked that people don't feel like learning a new OS, but we're deeply, deeply saddened that reading comprehension levels (particularly on specification labels) in this nation are so obviously low.
MSI Wind U90 reviewed, thrown back to the wolves
Laptop Mag would evidently like to make two things quite clear: if you pick up MSI's Wind U90, you better love SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 and be totally cool with the sub-2 hour battery life. For those of you still with us, you can probably guess that the 8.9-inch Wind didn't do so hot during its review, with those two rubs really overshadowing the solid design, great keyboard and delicious price tag ($350). For whatever reason, MSI figured it'd be peachy to toss a 3-cell battery in there and let mobile users just deal with the 1 hour, 39 minute lifespan; obviously, that's an issue serious road warriors can't ignore. If you're willing to pony up for an extra battery and install your own OS (if SUSE isn't your cup of tea), the Wind U90 might not make for a bad companion, but as-is, you better do some serious soul searching before pulling the trigger.
MSI's Wind U90 gets unboxed on video
You've seen the Wind U90 MSI has wanted you to see -- you know, that version it brings to trade shows, possibly showered and cleaned up by professionals beforehand. But the U90 you're about to see in the video past the break is the real deal. Ordered from Canada and shipped to the US of A, this 8.9-inch Wind looks pretty much exactly like its larger-screened sibling save for a bigger bezel and a few French symbols on the keyboard. But why listen to us spell it out when you can just click through and mash play?
MSI's 8.9-inch Wind U90 in the flesh, Linux version shipping for 339 Euro
While MSI's 8.9-inch Wind U90 first made an appearance in June at Computex, it took MSI this long to flesh out all details -- which is actually a relief, given the ridiculous quantity of Eee PC SKUs ASUS has managed to pump out in the meantime. We just got to handle the new laptop, and we think MSI might have a winner here. The laptop is shipping with SUSE Linux exclusively to start, with an XP version in the works, and boots quite rapidly to the full OS. SUSE has never looked better, and we think these two might be quite the pair. MSI has kept the full keyboard of the 10-inch Wind, and merely bumped up the bezel while cutting the price; all the other specs are the same. MSI is planning on shipping this at the end of September or beginning of October for 339 Euro (no word on a US release), and is also working on a six cell battery to fix the paltry 2 hours of battery the Wind currently gets from the three cell.%Gallery-30888%
MSI's Wind U90 to boast 8.9-inch display
Well, that took long enough, now didn't it? We've been hearing about an 8.9-inch MSI Wind for months now, but it has just now popped up on the outfit's website. The Wind U90 will pack an Atom N270 processor, built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, stereo speakers, microphone, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, 512MB or 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, 80GB hard drive and a 4-in-1 card reader. Additionally, you'll find an Ethernet port, three USB 2.0 sockets, VGA out, a 3-cell battery (optional 6-cell available upon request) and a weight of 2.2-pounds. Your guess is as good as ours when it pricing / availability, but hey, we're just thrilled to know this thing is destined to be more than a trade show crasher.[Thanks, Peter]
8.9-inch MSI Wind shows up at Computex
We had heard that MSI planned to offer up an 8.9-inch Wind in overseas markets in addition to the 10-inch model we're getting 'round here, but we haven't actually been able to get a look at it until our crack team from Engadget Chinese hit up Computex and got up close and personal with one of 'em. Dubbed the Wind U90, this one is apparently identical to the now-familiar 10-inch model in every respect except for the screen (no word on the resolution) which, as you can see above, is accommodated by an extra-wide bezel instead of an all around smaller laptop. No word on a price, but you can look for this one to launch alongside or slightly after the 10-inch U100 model "towards the end of June."[Thanks, Ax]
