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Sylvania's g netbook MAGNI gets detailed: it's a rebadged Wind
Back in July, we heard that Sylvania (of all companies) would be bringing a few more netbooks into the world, and sure enough, that g netbook MAGNI that was hinted at earlier this year will be making its red carpet debut in time for the holidays. Based on information gathered in an interview with Paul Goldenberg, Managing Partner of Digital Gadgets (the company that sells under the Sylvania brand), the 10-inch netbook will be nothing more than a rebadged MSI Wind with a 120GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, an Intel Atom CPU and your choice of either Windows XP or Ubuntu Remix. Pricing and battery size details have yet to be determined, but given how easy it is to search for both of those tidbits in relation to the Wind, we'd say you've just found a great use for your deductive reasoning skills.
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 teases with details on new U91 and U120
While some manufacturers are just now getting in on the netbook craze, others are rolling in the cash from their first generation and are already prepping for the launches of their second and third. Such is the case for MSI, and in an interview with Impress, Notebook Product Manager Neo Lin dropped a few interesting nuggets about the U91, an 8.9-inch successor to the U90; and the U120, a wholly new 10-inch model. Both will offer HSDPA and could receive new keyboard warmers: VIA's Nano was considered but discarded, while Intel's dual-core Atom 330 might just make the cut -- if engineers can figure out how to feed it twice the power of its predecessor without killing battery life. 2GB of memory seems to be the plan on the U120 at least, which might break it out of Microsoft's "ULPC" category, meaning Vista instead of XP Home. Yeah, Lin didn't sound too happy about that prospect either.
MSI Wind launch was delayed by ripped movies, family photos?
Here's an interesting, albeit confusing, story: we're getting word that MSI has recalled some Wind laptops running SUSE Linux, since some random oddities had snuck onto the disk image. Namely, illegal screener copies of movies and some family photos. That could explain MSI's temporary delay in shipping this thing out -- a preemptive recall -- but the when, where and what of the recall are a bit hazy, so we recommend rummaging around for the files just in case they're eating up your hard drive room or contain that one flick you were dying to watch with large "Screener copy!" signs flashing past.[Thanks, Patrick S.]
MSI digs up 6-cell battery for MSI Wind
While the MSI Wind is truly one of the most standout netbooks on the market -- something that MSI's competitors have made exceedingly easy with their complete disregard for quality -- a big gripe of early adopters has been the paltry 2 hour battery life with the standard 3-cell battery. MSI is now addressing that with its promised 6-cell, offering up a $550 SKU with the new battery onboard. It's shipping now.
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]
Hands-on with LG's X110 netbook: HSDPA, GPS and a price to match
A USB shuffle here, a logo swap there and here's what you get, the MSI, uh hem, LG X110. Sporting a fairly obvious MSI Wind base, LG's X110 is making its first appearance in Berlin. Prices will range from €399 to €499 (about $590 to $738) which takes home an 8.9-inch display, 120GB disk (6GB SSD option), 1GB of RAM, and choice of built-in 3G HSDPA and GPS modules. Yes, XP running atop a 1.6GHz Atom processor, too. On sale in Europe at the end of September.%Gallery-30645%
MSI rolls out EX300, EX400 laptops
While it may seem like MSI has nothing but the Wind on its mind these days, the company is, in fact, still in the general laptop business, and its just let loose a pair of decidedly ordinary new models to prove it. From the looks of it, the "athletic and fashionable" EX300 (pictured above) is the slightly more interesting of the pair, with it sporting a 13.3-inch WXGA display, an unspecified Core 2 Duo processor, ATI Mobility Radeon HD3450 graphics, a max 320GB hard drive, up to 4GB of RAM, and a Blu-ray drive, among other standard fare. The EX400, on the other hand, opts for a slightly less portable 14.1-inch display and some more traditional styling, along with some virtually identical specs to its more "athletic" counterpart. No word on a price for either of 'em just yet, unfortunately, nor is there any indication of a release 'round these parts.Read - MSI EX300Read - MSI EX400[Via Far East Gizmos]
MSI Wind barebones desktop now available to order
This one looks to have actually slipped into availability a few days ago but, for those that don't make visits to Newegg.com part of their daily routine, you may be interested to know that the barebones version of MSI's Wind desktop PC is now available to order for the low, low price of $139.99. That'll get you the ever-present 1.6GHz Atom processor, along with Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, 8-channel audio, a generous six USB ports, a 4-in-1 media card reader, a CF card slot, and VGA output, but no hard drive, RAM, or optical drive. Unlike the forthcoming full-fledged Wind desktop, this one also looks to only be available in basic black, but it does at least come with a stand that'll let you use it upright.[Via Computer Monger]
MSI Winds said to be shipping without Synaptic touchpads
If the increasing number of posts on the MSIWind.net forums are any indication, it looks like at least some MSI Winds are now shipping out with Sentilic touchpads in place of the more-functional Synaptic ones that have been standard issue until now. Among other things, the Sentilic touchpads don't allow for horizontal and vertical side scrolling (instead offering just corner clicking), and they apparently don't let you turn off the tap-to-click feature, which seems to have caused plenty of frustration among those that have received a Wind from this latest batch. For its part, MSI only seems to be offering an updated driver to anyone that contacts them complaining of problems which, not surprisingly, apparently doesn't do much to improve things.[Thanks, Stephen P]
MSI Wind Netbook Love Edition
Just let that name sink in a little. Seriously, we couldn't make this stuff up. Our main point of contention is the emphasis on netbook love, or is this merely a love edition of the Wind netbook? Questions that need answers, MSI. From what we can tell, the only netbook loving that's happening here is MSI has slapped on a few hearts in various colors, and will be making charity contributions to Taiwan, China, Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Korea and India to help kids there learn how to use computers. Oh, and you want to know what this charity is called? "Love with the Wind." We're dead serious. Would we lie to you on matters of such gravity? Well, probably. No word on exactly when, where, or how much these new laptops are going for.[Via Pocketables Forum]
MSI gets official with Centrino 2-based GX620 / GX720 gaming laptops
MSI has clearly been busy with its Wind here lately, but that doesn't mean it has forgotten entirely about the gaming crowd. The 15.4-inch GX620 and 17-inch GX720 were both made official today, even though they made their debut at CeBIT. Now that the specifications are nailed down, here's what you're looking at: an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA's 512MB GeForce 9600M GT, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 2-megapixel webcam, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, a 320GB SATA drive, an optional Blu-ray drive, 6-cell battery and the usual assortment of ports. Sadly, there's no mention of prices just yet, but click on past the break for the full release.
DIY 9-cell battery defeats the Wind's purpose, keeps it going and going
Sick of your puny 3-cell battery? Not really kosher with paying absurd premiums for a 6-cell edition? Do what any self-respecting, entirely fearless netbook owner would do -- create your own 9-cell while simultaneously sticking your tongue out at MSI. We wouldn't go tinkering with a battery pack unless you're a) quite skilled and b) well protected, but those looking for extra long battery life at the expense of (severely) uglifying your machine can dig into the how-to guide waiting in the read link below.[Via jkOnTheRun, thanks Joe]
MSI Wind with 6-cell battery to sell for $50 more
MSI told us that a 6-cell version of its briskly-moving Wind was on the way. What it failed to mention, however, was the $50 premium that would be tacked on. The units including a 6-cell battery have been popping up in a few e-tailers here recently, with prices ranging from $559 to $599. According to an MSI representative, however, the official MSRP for the 6-cell units is $549.99 (versus $499.99 for the 3-cell edition). As you can tell, it seems that some places are taking the liberty of bundling in a little profit while demand is high. Worse still, users who managed to get their orders in at Buy.com for a $499.99 6-cell unit are now receiving cancellation notices. So, is the more capacious battery worth an extra 50 bones (or more) to you?[Via jkOnTheRun]
How would you change MSI's Wind?
Now that MSI's Wind has (finally) started shipping out to eager customers, we're anxious to hear how you all like them. As was the case with HP's heralded 2133 Mini-Note, we're confident that you early adopters are champing at the bit to let loose some opinions here. In the end, was it worth the wait? Was it worth the asking price? It is nimble enough? Even if so, what would make the Wind an even bigger threat in the quickly growing netbook realm? Take all the time you need to get it all our, we're here for you.
MSI to reportedly build LG's X110 netbook
MSI has been pretty successful with the Wind, wouldn't you say? Yeah, so would LG. Reportedly, LG is hoping to solicit MSI's services in order to craft its own X110 netbook. The mini laptop will purportedly boast an 8.9-inch panel, 120GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM and Windows XP runnin' the show. Interestingly, the price is expected to hover between $625 and $790 as it focuses on "design and material quality" rather than low cost. Anxious to see how that move plays out, aren't you?
MSI Wind starts arriving, gets unboxed
Sure, the MSI Wind's taken its sweet time to start shipping here in the States, but it looks like a few units finally started trickling out last week, and that means its time for a torrent of unboxing pictures and videos to flood the tubes. Adam Smith has the first video we've seen -- head on after the break to watch his very-visible hands pull a black Wind running XP blinking into the world for the first time.[Thanks, Cameron]
MSI finally ships the Wind
After weeks upon weeks of painstaking delays (okay, so maybe that's a stretch... maybe), MSI has finally started shipping the Wind to US customers. As you very well know, these buggers have been showing up everywhere across the pond, but we've just received word that Fry's, NewEgg, Amazon, ZipZoomFly, MWave and Buy.com are all sending units out as we speak for those that pre-ordered. Chime in below if you've just recently received a shipping notification (or, heaven forbid, if you're still waiting). Full release after the jump.
Teardown party: the MSI Wind and Acer Aspire One get ripped open
You knew this was bound to happen. Like any good piece of gadgetry, there's always someone who can't wait to get their grubby hands all over it... and rip it to shreds to see how it works. Today we present the disemboweling of two of the latest challengers to the Eee's netbook throne: the MSI Wind, and the Acer Aspire One. The Aspire One at least gets the courtesy of a proper unboxing before the medical proceedings begin; the Wind just gets cracked open like a cold PBR at your cousin's barbecue. Don't take our word for it, however -- truck on over to the read links and see the messes with your very own eyes.Read - Breaking WindRead - Acer Aspire One Unboxed and Disassembled
