Angel Product Reviews

Product Review.


The basics.
Intel Atom 1.6 GHz Processor, 512 KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz Bus speed
1GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
160 GB SATA Hard Drive
Windows XP Home, 6 Cell Battery
Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN and Modem Module, Built-in 802.11b/g/n WLAN Card

Review
It's hard to find much to dislike about this little device. For less that $400 you get a light weight, highly portable, fast, notebook that's more than adequate for surfing the web, handling email, and routine office tasks involving word processing and spreadsheets.

I use this device in two locations: my nightstand at home and when I travel.

It's small enough that it fits neatly on my rather crowded nightstand, which includes an alarm clock, a remote for the TV, a lamp and, occasionally, a coffee cup. It's quiet, fast, doesn't run so hot it will char the wood, and it's relatively fast. I can watch downloadable TV shows and movies with no trouble, or surf the web and answer the "dead or alive" question about an actor in a TV show I'm watching on cable. It's the perfect bedside device. I can use it to update my Netfilx queue and then watch the movie on my TV via my ROKU device. In short, it's the perfect beside appliance...er...wait. Well, you get the idea.

The only drawback was that I had to get a second one for my spouse.

For travelling, again its light weight and compact size work well. I spend my day attending meetings and use the computer in between to check email, calendar and perform other routine office tasks. It works fine for all of these functions, and the 6-cell battery lasts through an 8-5 day with this kind of intermittent usage. I'm glad I bought the 6-cell battery, though. The 3-cell battery in my spouse's U-100 doesn't make it through a day of knitting and surfing for patterns at the yarn store.

There are some down-sides to this computer. While the screen is bright and sharp, at 1024x600 pixels, it doesn't have sufficient height to display many web pages without a lot of scrolling. For example, I use it to program my Harmony remote control, and their interface assumes a 1024x800 screen, so I'm constantly scrolling down to click "okay." The Chrome browser, with its smaller footprint, is a good choice for surfing the web. There are also add-ons for Firefox that give that browser the same look and feel. MSIE, with it's larger operator interface, is less serviceable on this smaller screen. Of course, in my experience MSIE is less serviceable in general, so I don't consider that a big loss.

Another possible downside is that the 6-cell battery adds some height to the device. Instead of a sleek, flat bottom, there's a little hump from the extra cells. That doesn't bother me since it has no impact on the usability, but it's a little less aesthetic.

The system comes with 1GB on-board memory, and Amazon sells a 1GB upgrade for under $30. However, in order to install the upgrade you have to break the seal on the back. The manual says this voids the warranty. While there's information on the web that says this is incorrect, I'm not prepared to risk my warranty for the extra 1GB memory, especially as the performance is more than adequate for my limited purposes. Posts on the web say the upgrade is very easy to do, but I can't attest to that.

There's no included DVD drive, so you'll need a USB drive if you want to install other software like MS Office. The good news is that Office runs like a dream on this little system.

There's an included camera, which I never use. I also almost never use the included speakers. When I do, I find the volume is pretty low even turned up to the highest setting. There's an input jack for a microphone, but no built-in mike.

The wireless card seems to work adequately, although it occasionally drops the network connection. If I disable the network card and re-enable it, this seems to always fix the problem, so I conclude this is a driver issue rather than a hardware problem. This seems to only apply to the older U130 and not to the newer U100 which I purchased for my spouse.

My previous laptop was a Sony VIAO VGN series mini. That was a fantastic little machine, with an incredible display and other outstanding features. I spent over six times as much for it, but it lasted over six years. At less than $400, including shipping, my MSI Win is a bargain if it only lasts one year, and I have confidence, after three month's use, that it will last much longer than that.

This computer is no replacement for my desktop, as I also do more heavy-duty programming and design work. Neither the processor nor the display are adequate for my purposes on those applications. In addition, there's no native docking solution, so if you're constantly moving files between your desktop and your laptop, this probably isn't the machine for you. But if your uses are limited, as mine are, then it's great!

PS: This is my first review in this forum. I hope it's what people expect!







Max Griffin
Please visit my website at
http://members.cox.net/maxgriffin/