A decent netbook incorporating the latest Intel technology in a stylish design
Tablet PCs garnered the majority of headlines in 2010, and Micro Star International (MSI) decided to start the year by launching the U130, U135 and U160, its first models based on Intel’s Pine Trail platform.
However, the end of the decade saw people fall out of love with the netbook form factor that had revitalised sales for a number of OEMs and brought others into the public consciousness.
Netbooks were introduced to serve a simple purpose, but were being edged towards machines that could do it all, both in terms of physical characteristics and price. MSI seems to have gone back to basics with the Wind U135, using a redesigned chassis to accommodate the new silicon from Intel.
The Pine Trail platform was Intel’s Centrino-like solution for netbooks, moving the memory controller and graphics into the processor package. One of the well-documented problems with the Diamondville platform was the use of the power-hungry 945GC/GSE chipset. The lower power consumption could have been used in two ways: clocking the processor higher or for better battery life. Thankfully, Intel chose the latter and it shows.
MSI chose this year’s CES to unveil its first major update to the hugely popular Wind netbook series with the U130, U135 and "high-end" U160. The new chassis not only brought the Pine Trail platform, but added other key features like 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, a quality webcam and a new Chiclet-style keyboard.
Effort has been taken to make the U135 a little less bargain basement with an exterior available in dark colours and even a pinstripe. The attention to detail is quite admirable, with stylish, not garish, touches found when the device is opened up.
The trackpad has a sandblasted look, the single mouse button isn’t from Apple’s reject bin - it actually has two buttons underneath - and there’s even a fancy asterisk light on the power button should you forget that your Wind is running.
