As expected, MSI have announced their Wind U200 netbook, based on Intel’s Celeron ULV SFF 723 processor (now part of the Intel CULV line) with GMA 4500M graphics and a 12-inch 1366 x 768 LED-backlit display. Netbooknews.de stopped by the launch to shoot some photos and hands-on video, which you can see after the cut.
Video hands-on after the cut
MSI has officially announced their X-Slim X400 and X600 CULV ultraportables, together with confirming that the 14-inch and 15-inch notebooks will land before the end of June. The MSI X-Slim X400 weighs just 1.5kg while the larger X600 is 2.1kg; each notebook is less than 1-inch thick and have a 16:9 aspect LED-backlit display.
Details of MSI’s new 12-inch Wind U200 notebook have leaked, confirming that the ultraportable does indeed use Intel’s CULV platform. According to the source, the MSI Wind U200 has an Intel Celeron M ULV 723 1.20GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard-drive.
MSI’s X-Slim X340 ultraportable may be all about the skinny glamor, but once you’ve succumbed to its slender charms you want a machine that can handle at least the minimum of mobile processing tasks. According to LaptopMag’s X340 review, as long as you’re not looking to game or edit video, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue: the 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo CULV chip may rack up only half the PCMark Vantage points as a ThinkPad X200, but it’s good enough to run Vista, Office 2007, crank up tabs in Firefox or play 720p video.
It’s turning into something of an Atom unboxathon today, with MSI’s X-Slim X320 following hot on the heels of ASUS’ Eee PC 1008HA. This time it’s NewGadgets.de doing the honors, whipping the 13.4-inch WXGA notebook from its surprisingly classy packaging.
Hannspree are hoping to catch up with the netbook crowd with their own model, the HANNSnote SN10E1. A rebadged MSI Wind, the HANNSnote has the same old specs that have now etched themselves into our weary brains: Intel’s Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 10-inch 1024 x 600 display.
It looks like Intel’s CULV wish may be coming true, as six whitebox manufacturers in Taiwan are apparently ramping up for production of ultraportable notebooks based on the platform. Industry sources have fingered Pegatron, Clevo, MSI, Compal, ECS and Mitac as all preparing 13- to 14-inch CULV notebooks, with the first shipments expected in June 2009.
From one MSI ultraportable to another, and the company surprised with the announcement of a hitherto-unseen X-Slim notebooks at an Asia-Pacific launch recently. The MSI X-Slim X400 is a 14-inch variant of the X-Slim range, with the same slender chassis as the X340 and X600 but a screen size in-between those models.
MSI prompted some consternation last month, when official listings for its X-Slim X340 ultraportable appeared with a $1,099.99 price-tag. That might seem vaguely reasonable for a super-skinny 13.4-inch notebook, but considering MSI had been bellowing beforehand about a sub-$1k sticker there were some understandably disappointed would-be buyers. Now, the listings have changed – the X340 is still not in stock, but its price has flipped to TBD (”To Be Determined”)
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