MSI Wind U123 and ASUS 1000HE Show Netbook Evolution
by Wesley Fink on July 17, 2009 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Battery Life Comparison
To provide the best perspective on battery life we tested with representative ASUS models from the original ASUS PC 4G to the ASUS 1000HA. ASUS was extremely helpful in providing netbooks to more clearly demonstrate the improving battery life on netbooks. Battery tests were run for the ASUS 1000HE and the MSI Wind U123 and test results were added to the base charts.
| Netbook Battery Testing Results | |||
| Model | Specified Battery Life | Wh Power | Tested Battery Life |
| Asus 1000HE | 9.5 hrs | 62.6 | 5:54 |
| MSI Wind (U123) | ? | 86.6 | 8:27 |
| Asus 1000HA | 7 hrs | 62.6 | 4:41 |
| Asus PC 901 | 8 hrs | 62.6 | 4:37 |
| Asus PC 4G | 2.8 hrs | 38.5 | 2:10 |
The first ASUS netbook, the Eee PC 4G had a specified battery life of just 2.8 hours. This compares to the current ASUS 1000HE with a specified battery life of 9.5 hours - certainly a dramatic improvement. Our more demanding battery life testing showed the original ASUS Eee PC 4G with a battery life of 2 hours 10 minutes with improvement in the 1000HE results to 5 hours 54 minutes. However, the MSI Wind U123 is clearly the battery performance king among netbooks tested in this roundup. The Wind U123 turned in a benchmark-leading 8 hours 27 minutes of battery life while constantly connected by Wireless LAN to a website with flash content on every page.
With netbook architectures so very similar in recent designs the most revealing specification is the Wh (watt hours) battery rating. The voltage and mAh ratings were converted to Wh and the advantage for the 9-cell MSI Wind U123 is almost 40% compared to the Wh rating for the 6-cell ASUS 1000HE.
Our first thought was that the extra power trade-off in the Wind U123 must be increased weight, but that is not the case. The 9-cell Wind U123 weighs almost the same as the ASUS 1000HE. This makes the MSI an even more impressive performer in the battery life derby.
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fuberwil - Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - link
I think this is just showing the evolution of the netbooks. A relatively recent device that now has everyone clamoring for one due to the size and portability of it. I think MSI is onto something especially with the option of the 9cell battery which can offer up to 10 hours of work time (from what i've read). Partner that with a low price tag with amazing specs then you have the new best friend of every student and businessman. Yea i think they all have their shortcomings such as the mouse track or the keyboard but like any good electronical device give it some time then it will meet consumers needs on almost every level.Hrel - Thursday, August 6, 2009 - link
A device like that would NEVER be worth more than 200 bucks to me, and I'd feel a little rotten about paying anything more than 100. Not to mention it's not really much more portable than a laptop. Laptops just need better battery life so we don't have to chug around with the ac adapter, If my laptop got 12 hours of battery life I'd take EVERYWHERE!!!afkrotch - Thursday, July 30, 2009 - link
I can't see how anyone can recommend these pieces of crap. I've owned an Asus EeePC Seashell and I would never recommend these to anyone I know. I don't care about battery life, size, or weight. The pieces of crap run so freaking slow. On a straight up HTML page, it flies, but once you get into something that's heavy in java, php, etc is lags. It lags when you scroll, move to a new page, etc.For simple websurfing, it fails. If all you plan on doing is typing up on notepad, ya. Go ahead. Have Office 2k7? Play with lag. It lags when I type.
FYI, I cleaned off the XP Home they had on there and installed a clean copy of XP Pro. I thought it would help with the lagging, but needless to say. It didn't.
MamiyaOtaru - Monday, July 20, 2009 - link
stop making glossy bodied netbooks. They look like trash as soon as someone touches them. Also never make glossy screened netbooks. I want to see what I'm working on, not my reflection. WOn't buy any eee past the original 900 because of this.kawatwo - Sunday, July 19, 2009 - link
Futisu and Sony both have 2 Ghz atoms overseas now in the P and the u820. It shouldn' be long before they make there way here. Also, it costs a little more but people always forget Asus own N10J mmodel with the gforce 9300m which makes it a pretty well rounded machine. A 2 Ghz N10 would be pretty remarkable I would think.I'm waiting for the 2 Ghz U820 though as I travel by motorcycle whenever possible.
AstroGuardian - Sunday, July 19, 2009 - link
Hmmm.. 2Hhz? Like 5% more horsepower? Not feeling like waiting for it lol.I think the netbook future will be pushing the limits to portable CPUs and GPUs. Nowdays netbook CPUs are useless except for bare computer needs. Right?
Wesleyrpg - Saturday, July 18, 2009 - link
hey guys, i know the MSI Wind 123 already has an impressive battery life, but how would it perform with an Intel SSD and would there be any better battery life?richwenzel - Saturday, July 18, 2009 - link
The lenovo s12 and the samsung nc20 both have the new via nano. I believe asus has a netbook and possibly dell as well with the nano.the nano supposedly can do blue ray. It would have been nice to see the differences between the two.
the nc20 is a bit pricier, at $500-$550 or so, but the lenovo can be had for around $400.
there is another company call top crown, www.tct.hk that looks they have some interesting developments with the nano
piasabird - Saturday, July 18, 2009 - link
What is the appeal of a miniature laptop which is slow and underpowered? Better yet, just build a small nettop with a real processor. One thing I tend to wonder is why these Atom motherboards are so inexpensive, yet the via Mini-ITX motherboards are so expensive. Maybe it is just mass production fueled by the want of people for a smaller computer. Myself, I think you could just as easily hook it up to an external HD widescreen monitor. This would give such a device more appeal.You could just make a phone that could plug into a monitor. Why carry around a big nettop? I think it is just as possible.
SilthDraeth - Friday, July 17, 2009 - link
My brother bought an EEE specifically to run some DJing software on it, so he didn't have to lug around his Macbook. Unfortunately it couldn't handle it. He then couldn't sell it on Ebay, only scammers tried to buy it.Not blaming the netbook, and he had the money to throw away, and still makes use of it. But something with a bit more horsepower than a slight processor clock speed increase would be very welcome.
Looks like we may have to wait a bit longer though.