MSI Wind U120 Review

MSI was one of the first movers in the netbook industry after Asus. It captured a decent portion of the netbook market with its first release – the MSI Wind U100. Now, when the MSI Wind U100 was released, there wasn’t much competition except for the Asus EEE PC. Now however, the whole playing field has changed. The Year 2008 had seen the launch of more than 50 netbooks and the competition in the netbook market is at its peak now. The recession meant that most people are looking to cut costs and buy cheap, but functional netbooks rather than overpowered laptops which they don’t need. MSI has come up with it’s new release – the MSI Wind U120. It sports almost the same specs as the MSI Wind U100 but comes with a design refresh and some other changes, but most importantly, it is priced superbly at just $379. In this review, we check out the new MSI Wind U120 and see how it stacks up against the scores of other netbooks currently available.

MSI Wind U120 Specs:

• Size: 10.2 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches
• Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Processor: Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Hard Drive: 160 GB SATA HDD, 5400 RPM
• Display: 10.2 inch TFT Display, 1024 x 600 pixels
• Graphics Card: Intel GMA 950 with 64 MB VRAM
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0
• Operating System: MS Windows XP Home
• Ports: 3 USB v2.0, Ethernet, Headphone, Microphone, VGA out, 4 in 1 card reader

Design and Build Quality:

The MSI Wind U120 has a nice sleek look, much better than the rather simple look of the MSI Wind U100. The new look, composed of black and white looks very modern and industrial. It is one of the best looking netbooks I’ve encountered. It has standard dimensions of 10.2 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches, not too slim, not too fat and weighs around 2.8 pounds, slightly more than the category average. The build quality is very nice, and the overall feel is nice. The look is more suited for modern offices, but will appeal to everyone nonetheless.

Frankly speaking, almost all netbooks are mostly the same when it comes to design and build quality. You can not differentiate amongst them properly even when it comes to performance, as almost all of them sport the same hardware specs. The only way to choose a correct netbook is to check out the display, speakers, keyboard and the price.

Display and Speakers:

The MSI Wind U120 sports a 10.2 inch TFT Display with the standard native resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The display quality is very nice, and the high resolution gives you more work space. It is a matte display and so behaves equally well in all forms of lighting. The viewing angles are decent, both horizontal and vertical. The display space is optimum for reading office documents and browsing through web pages and doesn’t require much horizontal scrolling.

There is also a 1.3 MP webcam above the display which produces clear and nice videos. It is sufficient for casual video chats. It also supports facial recognition coupled with the Easy Face software and allows you to log in using your face as a password. IT is still a bit buggy, but works. The MSI Wind U120 also sports dual stereo speakers with nice volume and good sound quality. It will suffice for casual music and videos but better headphones are highly recommended.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The MSI Wind U100′s roomy and spacious keyboard was one of its defining points, which led the way to better keyboards on the netbooks. The MSI Wind U120 also has a similarly spacious and standard keyboard with good key spacing and travel. The keyboard layout is standard and the keys have a nice feel, they also provide good feedback. The keyboard is ideal for touch typists and have decently sized keys.

Just below the keyboard, lies the touchpad slightly to the left. The touchpad surface is smooth and allows for easy navigation. It has nice sensitivity and responsiveness. The mouse buttons offer nice feedback and have a distinctive click. Sadly, the touchpad doesn’t support multitouch. Overall, both the keyboard and the touchpad are very usable.

Performance:

The MSI Wind U120 sports exactly the same configuration that almost all the current netbooks do. It comes with the ubiquitous 1.6 Ghz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1 GB DDR2 RAM, Intel GMA 950 with 64 MB VRAM. The storage is handled by the 160 GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD etc. It offers nice performance and can run the bundled Windows XP Home easily and also multitask a few dozen apps with no hiccups. The built in graphics are capable of some light gaming but are a strict no-no if you are looking to run newer high end games even at medium settings. The 160 GB SATA HDD at 5400 RPM has nice data transfer speeds. It is perfect for office work and casual multimedia playback. The MSI WInd U120 gets a bit warm after long hours.

Battery Life:

The MSI Wind U100 was reputed for its legendary 5 hrs + battery life and even the MSI Wind U120 didn’t manage to beat it. It gives you just under 5 hrs battery life with moderate usage, powered by the standard 6 cell battery. This is still better than the category average though. You can even increase the battery life more by following simple tips like switching off Wi-Fi when not in use, lowering the system volume, lowering the display brightness etc. The Wi-Fi reception and data speeds are also nice. It is equipped with a nice range of expansion ports – it has 3 USB v2.0 ports, Ethernet, Headphone, Microphone, VGA out and a 4 in 1 card reader.

Pros:

• Sleek Design
• Nice Keyboard
• Great Pricing
• Good Battery Life

Cons:

• Nothing new

Final Words:

The MSI Wind U120 is a nice netbook offering all the standard features, packed with a nice design, good build quality, good peformance at a relatively low price compared to other netbooks. It definitely deserves a “Go for it” rating from our end. If you have some more cash to spend, you can also consider the Samsung NC10 or the Lenovo Ideapad S10. In the low end segment, the Acer Aspire One is also another option to look at.

Our Rating: 4 / 5.