MSI outs Wind U135DX netbook with Atom N455 chip

Incremental upgrade

A perusal of MSI's UK site shows that it has quietly slipped in another Wind netbook that goes by the name of U135DX.

Apart from looking rather spiffy in a red-and-black colour scheme - also available in pink, silver, red, blue and white - the U135DX ships with an Intel Atom N455 chip, which is differentiated from the popular N450 by having support for both DDR2 and DDR3 SO-DIMM memory. MSI drops the ball by specifying it with DDR2-667 memory instead of DDR3, according to the spec sheet.

The rest of the specifications are standard for a mid-priced netbook, including a 10in (1,024x600) LED-backlit screen, Intel's integrated GMA 3150 GPU, 160GB hard-drive, 0.3MP webcam, multi-card reader, 802.11 b/g/draft-n WiFi, three USB 2.0 ports, and Windows 7 Starter. Shipping with a three-cell battery, MSI provides an option to upgrade to a six-cell model.

Measuring 260mm x 180mm x 19-31.5mm (WxDxH) and weighing in at 1.2kg, the U135DX may do well if pitched in at £250 all in. We note that the U135, configured with the N450 chip, is currently available for £285.