MSI Wind U123 (003US)
Long, long battery life. Comfortable mouse buttons.
- Cons Huge battery is unsightly. Design is boring. Features lack differentiation. Performance scores should've been much better.
The only differentiating feature in the MSI Wind U123 (003US) netbook is the humongous battery, which sticks out like a sore thumb.
The original MSI Wind burst onto the scene in spectacular fashion, nabbing the first-ever Editors' Choice in the netbook category. Of course, it helped that this fledgling field wasn't the mob scene it is today. The Wind U123 (003US) ($385 street) is a nice follow-up, and it's full of lifebattery life, that is. Its 87Wh battery is the biggest battery yet found on a netbook, though it was added at the expense of making this model look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame (though the hump is on the bottom). Overall the U123 could use more of a lift, as its performance scores fell well short of the competition, and everything else is just middle of the road.
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There's not much you can say about the U123's design. It's basically the same shape and form as the original MSI Wind, using a combination of hard plastics and a splash of color (navy blue, in this case). While netbooks like the Toshiba NB205 and the HP Mini 2140 are employing textures and metals, respectively, the U123 did little to improve its looks. Even the ASUS EeePC 1008HA (Seashell), despite using a similar plastic case, has slimmed down drastically by reshuffling parts and using a smaller motherboard. The only noticeable difference in the U123's looks is the unsightly battery that gives the unit a (roughly) 35-degree lift from the back. It's the biggest battery I've seen on any netbook (think nine AA batteries packed into a cylindrical tube). At 3.2 pounds, the U123 is one of the heaviest netbooks.
The 10.2-inch screen is as generic as its 1,024-by-600 resolution. A bigger screen would've improved its standing tremendously. Like its predecessor, the keyboard measures 92% of full size. While 92% is an acceptable size on a netbook, full-size keyboards are already being deployed by the likes of the Toshiba NB205 and Samsung N120 (12GBK). It's a traditional-looking keyboard, not like the tiled format found in the ASUS EeePC 1000HE. The touchpad is almost as small as the one found in the Acer Aspire One (D250-1165), but the mouse buttons, though small as well, aren't as resistant. Both the eeePC 1000HE and the NB205 have the best touchpad and mice combination.
There's not much differentiating the U123 in features either. The three USB ports, while plenty in quantity, lack the NB205's Sleep-n-Charge abilities, with which USB peripherals can charge while the system is shut down. It has neither an ExpressCard slot like the Lenovo Ideapad S10e and the HP 2140 nor internal 3G support like the HP Mini 1000 and the Acer Aspire One. The included VGA port, Ethernet, and media-card reader are basic features you can find in most every netbook in the market.
The 1.67-GHz Intel Atom N280 is the most current netbook processor, but only negligibly faster than the ones found in the Acer One (D250-1165) and HP 2140. It's the same processor used in the NB205 and 1000HE and runs the same amount of memory (1GB). However, performance scores didn't quite add up, as SYSMark 2007 Preview and video encoding tests lagged those of the 1000HE and the NB205. This could be some weird anomaly that happens once in a blue moon, or the processor speed is throttled down on purpose. (Let's hope it's the former.)
There was one bright spot in the U123's performance: It scored an impressive 8 hours 41 minutes on MobileMark 2007. The sheer size and capacity of the 87Wh battery paid off, so its heft wasn't for naught. Still, the NB205 was even more impressive, as it drained its smaller 63Wh battery in 8 hours 27 minutes.
With the Wind U123 (003US), MSI basically took the original Wind and slapped a humongous battery on it. While all-day battery life isn't something to scoff at, you can achieve similar battery scores with smaller and lighter netbooks. The other change is the move to a faster Atom processor, which didn't help it in performance tests. Had the U123 ($385) been as inexpensive as the Acer One ($350), it would have raised an eyebrow or two. But right now, MSI needs to up its netbook game if it wants to regain its advantage.
Check out the MSI Wind U123 (003US)'s performance test results.