15 Hours of Mobility with MSI's Wind U110

A couple weeks ago, we posted our review of the Acer 751h. The claim to fame of the 751h is that it uses the Poulsbo chipset (US15W) with integrated GMA 500 graphics. We definitely experienced some growing pains with the 751h, in particular trying to get the integrated graphics to properly support HD video decoding required some effort. Once configured properly, however, we felt that the 751h was a viable alternative to other netbooks.

Unfortunately, we experienced some instability and we have heard complaints from a few users stating that stability on the 751h is, in a word, horrible -- that quality control at Acer must be practically nonexistent. Obviously, frustrated users are more likely to post complaints, but there are definitely people out there looking for an alternative. One alternative would be the ASUS 1101HA, which offers the same basic components but allows overclocking up to 1.73 GHz on the Z520 processor. Today, MSI has announced the Wind U110 Eco with immediate availability.

The U110 Eco has a lot in common with the Acer 751h and ASUS 1101HA. It uses a Z-series Atom processor, this time going with the faster Z530 (1.60GHz compared to 1.33GHz on the Z520). It still uses the US15W chipset, which means with the appropriate video codec you can get accelerated H.264 decoding. One notable difference is that it uses a 10.1" 1024x600 LCD instead of an 11.6" 1366x768 display. MSI also ships the U110 with a large 9-cell battery, stating that you can get up to 15+ hours (!) of battery life. The weight remains acceptable at 3.2 pounds, so the only question is whether you're okay with netbook performance. Overall, this should certainly be a better multimedia netbook than other GMA 950 10.1" designs, though it sticks with the smaller LCD and its lower resolution.

You can currently buy the MSI Wind U110 Eco direct from MSI for $430, or ExcaliberPC has it starting at $400. Below are the detailed specifications as well as the text and images from the press release.

MSI US Announces New Netbook - Wind U110 ECO
The U110 features best in class battery Life - up to 15 + hours of untethered computing

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA - September 21, 2009 - MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is excited to announce the new netbook -Wind U110 ECO. The Wind U110 weighs just 3.2 pounds, features the Intel Atom Processor Z530 (1.60GHz), a 160GB HDD and an ultra efficient best in class 15+ hours battery life (9-cells).

Despite being just 1.24 inches thick at its widest point, the U110 is a multimedia powerhouse. The ultra mobile U110 features a 10" backlit LCD with a crystal clear 1024x600 resolution, high definition web cam, 2 speakers, built-in mic, a reliable 802.11 b/g/n LAN, and is Bluetooth ready for constant connectivity.

MSI offers a 1-year limited warranty with the U110 and extended customer service hours at 1-888-447-6564.