Review: MSI Wind with HSDPA: the netbook for 2009?

by Tarinder Sandhu on 1 January 2009, 00:00 3.8

Tags: Wind U100, MSI

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaqkf

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Open her up



Gaining access to the inside, should you want to, is as easy as removing 10 screws that hold the chassis together. Please note that MSI, still, invalidates your warranty if you should do this, but with no 'void' stickers in sight, how it's enforced is ambiguous.

We wonder why MSI doesn't release an SSD-only model, considering the connections are the same for the 2.5in drives. Teaming up with Crucial, say, would pay dividends, even if it pushes prices up by £50.

Anyway, there's a major differences with respect to the U120H and U100's mainboards. Firstly, take a look at the centre, to the left of the fan. What you see here is board-embedded system memory, just the same as newer U100s, but they're not hidden by the SODIMM slot.


Here is 1GB of DDR2-533 memory, supplied by MIRA. You can't augment the memory by user-installing some more, because there's just no slot. Annoying, really.




And, of course, the Ericsson HSDPA module with Vodafone SIM card in situ.

Sundries

Equipped with 1GB of non-expandable RAM as standard and Windows XP SP3 operating system, the Wind U120H is free of bloatware that plagues many laptops today, which is nice. The main claim to fame is the provision for internal HSDPA. Other than that, the ~£319 netbook is eerily similar to its predecessor, so let's have a hands-on play.