Review We’re beginning to think there’s some sort of competition between laptop manufacturers to come up with the most ridiculous marketing statements. In our recent review of the EasyNote Butterfly, we were left cringing at Packard Bell’s explanation of exactly why it had chosen to use that name.
MSI’s X-Slim X600: literally, as light as a feather, apparently
Now, with the X600, we have MSI saying it “strives to be literally as light as a feather”. Yes, that’s right – literally, not metaphorically. With the X600 weighing 2.1kg, MSI has either failed dismally in its quest or there are some gargantuan birds strutting around its offices. Still, as far as dimensions go it is rather thin. There are more slender laptops available (Apple‘s 1.94cm MacBook Air springs to mind), but at 2.5cm MSI isn’t too far off the pace.
The X600-055UK version we’re reviewing here is powered by an SU9600 processor. This is an ultra-low voltage chip, but unlike the SU3500 that powers the Packard Bell EasyNote Butterfly, it still manages to pack in two cores. With a clock speed of 1.6GHz and 3MB of L2 cache, it’s no speed demon but, as we’ll detail in a moment, neither is it woefully under-powered. Read the rest of this entry »
Review All-in-one PCs have been around for ages and it’s not hard to understand their appeal. They feature the wire-free tidiness of a laptop, combined with the big screen of a Desktop PC. The concept sustains many admirers, with Apple’s iMac range doing very well indeed with just such a form factor.
MSI’s Wind Top AE1900: touchscreen computing on Windows XP
Getting in on the act is MSI’s Wind Top AE1900. Appearing as a rather stylish widescreen monitor, the whole unit is set into a clear plastic surround, which forms a pair of feet at the front and at the top is a small silver 1.3Mp webcam.
A standard set of monitor control buttons fall easily beneath the fingers of your right hand, and it’s not until you look at the left hand side or rear of the unit that it gives away its true computer credentials at all. Tucked away to the left is a pair of USB ports, a card reader and a vertically mounted DVD Super Multi format drive. Read the rest of this entry »
Review From the outside, the Wind U115 looks like your average 10in Small, Cheap Computer – which makes the fact that MSI has managed to squeeze in not one but two storage systems all the more impressive.
MSI’s Wind U115: old styling, new approach to storage
With most netbooks, you face the choice between either a shock-proof but small solid-state drive, or a capacious but fragile HDD. Opt for the Wind U115 and there’s no longer any need to choose between the two as you’ll find both inside, in this case an 8GB SSD and a 160GB HDD, but there will also be 16GB SSD and 120GB HDD options in the range.
The idea is to load the netbook‘s OS and applications onto the faster – at least at reading data – SSD and keep frequently written files on the HDD, to take advantage of its more rapid recording speed. When you’re hooked up to the mains, both drives are active, but when you switch to battery you can disable the HDD to eke out extra power savings. Read the rest of this entry »
