There's a long line of companies waiting to launch netbooks and nettops based on Intel's latest "Pineview" Atom processors, and hot on the heels of ASUS is another familiar Taiwanese brand, MSI.
Famed in the netbooks arena for its Wind line of systems, the Taiwanese company is today announcing two upcoming netbooks equipped with Intel's CPU+GPU processor, the Atom N450.
The systems, dubbed the Wind U130 and Wind U135, both feature Intel's Pine Trail platform and claim to be the first netbooks to achieve international WiMAX Forum certification.
With Intel's latest architecture at the helm, MSI claims an increase in battery life by 15 per cent and overall performance by 10 per cent - both useful improvements for the netbook audience.
Elsewhere, there's a 10in LED-backlit display offering a 1,024x600 resolution, 160GB/250GB 2.5in hard drive options, a four-in-one card reader and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. Connectivity options include VIA out, Gigabit Ethernet, Wireless N, Bluetooth 2.0 and optional 3.5G WiMAX.
The Wind U130, available in Snow White and Brilliant Black, is priced at £229. The Wind U135, meanwhile, is available in Sterling Silver, Brilliant Black, Midnight Blue and Cherry Red, and carries a higher price tag of £279. MSI expects both systems to be available from January, but what helps differentiate the Wind U130 from the Wind U135 isn't exactly clear - we presume the latter will ship with 250GB of storage and a six-cell battery, as opposed to the standard three-cell option.
Users who haven't agreed with MSI's keyboards and touchpads in the past can also look forward to a couple of useful refinements - including a new chiclet keyboard and a touch pad with a 20 per cent larger surface area.
