MSI U100 Plus Netbook

No, this is not up for sale. Couldn't take my eyes off of it the first time I saw it. A day after, I bought it. And I was hooked on since then. Been using it more often than my home PC nowadays!

MSI, the world famous brand in producing motherboard now came with up this 'fun to play with' netbook. The not so familiar brand in notebooks may brings cautious approach in purchasing for some, but give it time, the MSI will be among the top netbook makers. Yes, branding reputation has its own share of a decision making in purchasing.

The Specs.

Intel Atom N280 which means a faster bus speed clock of 667MHz.CPU is also 60MHz faster
1Gb RAM (upgradeable up to 2Gb)
10-inch display with 1,024x600 resolution
Intel GMA950
160GB SATA hard drive
a multi-format memory card reader
802.11b/g/n WiFi
Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
a 1.3 Megapixel webcam
10/100Mbit Ethernet
three USB 2.0 ports
a D-sub connector
a pair of audio jacks
Windows XP Home
6 Cells Battery (with a choice of upgrading to a 9 cells during first purchase)

The Performance

With the new Intel Atom N280 processor, the U100 plus certainly capable of doing simple application task such as Microsoft Office, watch movies, store photos, etc with ease.For those who tends to use Autodesk AutoCAD, movie editing, latest games, then they should opt for notebooks that comes with better processors i.e core 2 duo. In the mean time, the Atom N280 is the latest processor for netbooks such as this, which means better speed and lower power consumption. Also the 1Gb RAM (which is upgradable to 2Gb) also helps things speeding up a little bit. Opening lots of applications at the same time(i.e bluetooth,media player and web browsing altogether) do provides some lags to the netbook.




Browsing the net is fun thanks to the 10.1' screen. It came with 1024 x 600 resolutions, which means the web popping out at the right size. Larger screen also gives way for a larger keyboard. Typing with this keyboard is really fun and easy to use, Instead I'm loving every moment of it. Can't pay for the net? No worries. The 802.11b/g/n WiFi surely can helps you to browse the net without even paying for it.er, in the wifi area, that is.The 1.3 megapixel webcams is good enough for chatting with your friends online. yay!

This tiny netboook came up with a storage up to 160G, which is big enough for storing simple application. It provides the much needed space that some needed. Still, the multi card readers slot that came up with U100 plus offers more spaces for storage. The speakers, well, nothing much to expect from those. In the open spaces, I doubt that the sounds can be heard clearly. But thanks to a pair of audio jacks, a headset can be used to counterpart this problems. Or, like what I did, I use the bluetooth 2.0 to match with my Sony Ericsson bluetooth speakers. Now there, the sound can be heard loud enough for movies and songs.

The U100 came pre-installed with Window XP. It doesn't come with the optical drive, but this can be solved by using the external optical drive, and the three 2.0 usb ports surely can support this extra works.

I've upgraded the RAM to 2G and a screen protector. Upgrading the RAM will peel off the stickers, and that could only means one thing; the warranty is not valid anymore!(which is 2 years international warranty). But I just can't hold my nerves and still opt to upgrade. I still got the warranty from my retailer though. phew! The 6 cells battery can only last around 4 ++ hours, but that's good enough for me. Here's a sneak peek of the inside of the MSI U100.



Summary
The size, weight (1 kg), processor speed and the portability that the U100 plus offers are really hard to resist. furthermore, it came with 5 different colours! The design of the netbook still make it looks like, well, a computer, instead of a toy. And it is a head turner for the passer by. For those who carry their notebooks often, then the MSI U100 plus is definitely a choice to grab.

Got mine for RM1519 including screen protectors, 2G RAM and external optical drive.