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The Distro Interview: MSI Senior Vice President and co-founder, Jeans Huang
The MSI brand should be no stranger to connoisseurs of desktop motherboards, graphics cards and gaming laptops, but did you know that this Taiwanese company started off as a computer terminal maker 26 years ago? To find out more, we sat down with the very likable Senior Vice President (R&D Division) Jeans Huang. Read on to hear the co-founder's interesting story on how MSI was formed by five ex-Sony engineers, his frank reason behind MSI's reluctance to enter the smartphone market, and his thoughts on 3D display on the PC.
MSI WindPad 100A, 110W, and 120W hands-on (video)
What's this? It looks like the MSI WindPad 100A that we discovered at CES and the WindPad 110W that we first saw at CeBit decided to make an appearance on the show floor here at Computex 2011. Only this time around they brought a new friend along to the party -- namely the MSI WindPad 120W. To refresh your memory, the WindPad 100A is a 10-inch NVIDIA Tegra 2-equipped tablet running Android (Gingerbread here in Taipei, but potentially Honeycomb in the future) while the 110W uses AMD's Brazos platform paired with Windows 7. The Windpad 120W shares the same exact 10-inch chassis as the 110W but swaps AMD's Fusion APU for an Intel Cedar Trail-based chipset together with a tasty serving of WiDi and HSPA wireless. We still have no information about availability or pricing, but for now we invite you to check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on videos. %Gallery-124832%
MSI brings sub-$300 Enjoy 7 and Enjoy 10 Gingerbread WindPads to Computex, we go hands-on
MSI has snuck a couple of new tablets into Computex, which we've naturally dug up, dusted off, and covered in fingerprints. The WindPad Enjoy 10 is a 10-inch Android Gingerbread slate with relatively humble specs -- 1024 x 768 resolution, 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, and a 27.3WHr battery -- but also a very modest asking price of $299. It comes with a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 (single core) processor that's said to be able to play back 1080p video, and at least one of the dual 2 megapixel cameras should be able to record in 720p as well. Its smaller sibling, the Enjoy 7, spans 800 x 480 pixels across a 7-inch expanse and has a smaller 17.3WHr battery, but is otherwise identical. We're promised an even lower price point for this smaller tablet, with both Enjoy models expected to begin mass production in July and hit the States in earnest either that month or soon thereafter. Releases in Europe and other nations are also planned shortly after the US gets a first bite of these intriguing Gingerbread concoctions. MSI specifically pointed out to us that it preferred Android 2.3 over 3.0 for its broader compatibility and better stability. Alas, neither slate is licensed to access the Android Market, but the pre-production units we looked at had an APK installer on board and MSI promised to figure out a workaround to let you obtain apps. It wasn't terribly clear how that'd be done, but at least the company has it in mind. As to build quality, the 795g Enjoy 10 felt great in the hand, its curvy and thin body proving easy to handle. We can't really comment on the actual construction as what we were shown were early pre-production mockups designed to just give us a taste rather than the full enchilada. Weighing in at 395g, the Enjoy 7 features a similar penchant for curviness and, on a less happy note, glossiness. Both are smear magnets with a high sheen finish on the front. The metal backs are more demure, though. Check out the Enjoy 10 on video after the break. %Gallery-124828%
Tablet shocker! MSI WindPad 100A packs Tegra 2 and will ship with Honeycomb
At this point, MSI has been showing off its 10-inch Android tablet for a good half a year, but at least this time it's coming clean with some specs, and they're actually not half bad. Yep, the company brought its WindPad 100A to CeBIT and has announced that it, like most of the others, is powered by a dual-core Tegra 2 processor and will get some sweet Honeycomb when it hits the market in late May or early June. The model on hand at CeBIT was running some 2.X version of Android, and the hardware was identical to the one we saw back at CES. MSI's told us that pricing hasn't been set yet, but hopefully, like Moto's Sanjay Jha just proclaimed, these tablet prices will be dropping come the second half of the year. Hit the gallery below for some closer hands-on shots. %Gallery-117776%
MSI WindPad 110W eyes-on (video)
Joining its Intel-powered 100W cousin at CeBIT this week is MSI's WindPad 110W, basically an AMD Brazos-powered remix of the original with a slightly different design. You've got an optical pad on the upper part of the right bezel that controls a mouse pointer -- if you're into that sort of thing -- but hopefully you'll be touching the lovely 10.1-inch IPS display (which it shares with the 100W) directly most of the time. We would've liked to have taken the skinned load of Windows 7 for a spin, but MSI had its demo unit set up on a looping video and kept it under glass or in employees' gentle hands for the entirety of our time at the booth, so we didn't get a great sense for performance; they're targeting mid-year for release, though, so they've got some time left on the clock to put some spit and polish on the package. There'll also be a dock available that plugs into a connector in the bottom of the tablet -- it wasn't on-hand, but the company had some prototype docks connected to WindPad 100A dummy units (showing Honeycomb on their fake displays, interestingly, even though live 100As at the show are running Froyo). Follow the break for a quick video from all angles. %Gallery-117768%
Intel Oak Trail Atom Z670 tablets to arrive at the end of March
Intel's spent the last nine months prepping its Oak Trail silicon to improve the battery life and performance of Windows 7 tablets, and come the end of next month we should finally have some slates with the new 1.5GHz Atom Z670 chip inside. While Fudzilla has heard that the tablets will hit in the general March time frame, the eagle-eyed guys at Netbook News spotted the Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 press materials stating that the new platform will launch on March 30, 2011. That seems to line up with what we've heard on timing, since both the Oak Trail-powered Samsung Sliding PC 7 and MSI WindPad 100W were announced with March availability. Chances are we will hear more about it all at CeBIT next week, but honestly, at this point we're just really eager to get one of these in our hands to see what Chipzilla's really improved.
MSI to reintroduce WindPad tablets at CES, claims Oak Trail improves performance and battery life
You'll remember that back at Computex MSI introduced two tablets or so-called WinPads -- there was the Windows 7 / Atom slate and another one of the Android / ARM variety. Well, MSI is planning to resurrect those with some slight improvements for CES, and this time it's gearing up to actually release them both. First up is the 10.1-inch Windows 7 Home Premium version, which will be one of the first Intel Atom Oak Trail-powered devices out there, says the company. According to MSI's Director of North American Sales Andy Tung, Intel's tablet solution does show both battery life and performance improvements over the current Atom chips, but it's "not extremely significant." Based on our discussion with Tung, we got the feeling that it's a step in the right direction for Atom but still not as long-lasting as it needs to be to compete with ARM-based tablets. Beyond that, the tablet measures less than an inch thick and will have a 1024 x 600-resolution, multitouch display, mini-HDMI and mini-USB ports, an SD card slot, and an accelerometer. Tung wasn't ready to reveal pricing, but he said it should be available in early 2011. On the Android side of things, MSI's got a dual-core Tegra 2-powered 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800-resolution slate prepped with the same selection of ports and features -- although, this one is slightly thinner and also has a drop-proof design. So, what version of Android will it run? Well, that depends on Google's timing, says Tung. If Android 3.0 or Honeycomb is available by the February / March timeframe MSI will go with that option -- however, if it's not, it will go with Gingerbread, so it can hit the market earlier in 2011. We have to say both tablets sound rather intriguing, but will they be able to go up against the hundreds of others coming at CES: The Tablet Year? We'll know more in Vegas, that's for sure!
MSI WindPad tablet design concepts rendered, available in your choice of innie or outie
It's a bit odd to see a gadget go from sitting in your hand to sitting in the output file of some renderer but, if images uncovered by blogeee.net are as legit as they're said to be, MSI looks to be thinking a redesign for its upcoming WindPad tablet. Two different versions are shown, one with a chromed bezel that's not entirely unlike the one we played with previously, and another with what looks to be edges that are not convex but instead concave, which actually seems like it could be quite nice for carrying whilst sauntering about the penthouse. On the back is a raised black surface that surely can't be glass... right? Anyhow, there's no being sure of the legitimacy of these renders, but both look respectable enough to show up on this tablet whenever it shows up at retail, supposedly by the end of the year.
MSI waiting on Intel Oak Trail for Win 7 tablet, Android version will hit before end of the year
Remember MSI's Windows 7 WindPad that we went hands-on with back in June at Computex? Of course you do. Well even though it's been given a bit of Photoshop polish lately, MSI isn't planning on launching it until Intel releases its Oak Trail Atom platform for tablets and netbooks at CES 2011. MSI's Andy Tung told us that the current Atom platform just doesn't provide adequate battery life and power for the form factor, and that it's finding the Oak Trail platform to be much better in all areas with the Windows 7 OS. Tung also said it's still experimenting with the dualscreen Win 7 tablet, but similarly needs a better hardware platform. Oh don't worry, there's still some tablet love to come from MSI this year -- the company still plans to release its Tegra 2-powered, Android 2.2 WindPad 110 tablet in time for the holiday season. MSI is working with Google, and we were told that the Android tablet should have access to some sort of app store. It's clearly got the tablet bug, and Tung even told us that the company is minimizing the number of netbooks it has in its lineup. That sure seems to be a common trend these days.
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.%Gallery-99506%
MSI WindPad 110: a 10-inch Tegra 2-powered Android tablet
Oddly MSI didn't officially talk about its Android-powered WindPad 110 during the press conference, but it definitely exists. The 10-inch slate runs Android 2.1 and is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor. It's got a different design to the WindPad 100, but retains the same 10-inch capacitive touchscreen and will have a USB port and video-out capability. While the tablet runs just stock Android, we're definitely digging the curved form factor and the ability to swap out the back cover for a more "stylish" option. We heard very conflicting things about the availability of the tablet -- one product manager told us that the company hasn't decided if it will bring it to market, while another told us that they plan to sell it for $399 by the end of the year. Hopefully we'll clear that up soon, but we've got some hands-on pictures below, along with a video after the break. %Gallery-93941%
MSI WindPad 100 is a 10-inch, Intel Atom-powered Windows 7 tablet
Oh, hello WindPad! MSI just took the wraps off its 10-inch, Windows 7 tablet during the company's Computex press conference. The tablet is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, 2GB of RAM, and packs a 32GB SSD that boots Windows 7 Home Premium, though MSI has created a Wind Touch UI layer. While they were showing early prototypes, it will have two USB ports, an HDMI and a webcam when all is finalized. According to an MSI product manager on hand, the WindPad 100 will hit the market later this year for around $499. We just caught a few minutes with the tablet so hit the break for some early impressions and a short hands-on clip. %Gallery-93937%
