MSI's 10in Eee PC rival priced up in UK
Let battle commence
How much will MSI's would-be Eee PC beater set you back? £320 for the Linux version or £350 for the Windows XP Home release, according to UK importer Expansys.
MSI's Wind: blowing into the UK in June
Both models incorporate a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of memory, an 80GB hard drive, integrated Intel graphics courtesy of the 945GMS chipset, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
The two versions both come with a 10in, 1024 x 600 display. When MSI launched the product, it also said it would offer Winds with 8.9in screens, but there's no sign of those among the Expansys listings. The included technical details suggest these are the prices for the 10in models, but the company could not confirm that was the case today, and won't until stocks arrive.
Atom powered
The Wind is due to waft in in June, but Expansys is taking orders for the small laptop now. The machine will be available in a choice of colours: black, white or pink.
The price will appeal to potential Eee PC 900 buyers looking for more storage capacity. Asus' 20GB Linux machine is currently priced at around £329, so the two will go head to head.
The 900 uses a 900MHz Celeron M processor, a generation or two behind the Wind's Atom chip. However, Asus has pledged to ship Atom-based Eees in June.
Related Review
Asus Eee PC 900 Linux Edition
COMMENTS
Price
Don't forget this has an 80gb HDD and a 1.6ghz CPU, so I think the price is pretty reasonable.
I really want to know what the battery life is like - if it's better than the EEE, I will be getting one.
I really really want one but...
...I agree with posters above, I thought the idea of these things was to be cheap and cheerful. I could swallow 199 quid for one but 320 for something just to check my email, do a bit of surfing and read doco's in bed is just a bit wrong. The manufacturers of these things have completely lost the spirit and their way.
Paris, because she'd prefer it to be 10"s rather than 8.9.
£329?! The're nuts!
Oh do I not like that!
As other have said, the point of these is to make them small and cheap. At over £230ish you may as well get a better spec'd 15.4in notebook. Talk about missing the point.
They don't get it
The main thing about the original Eee was that, at £179, it was so cheap you could justify buying one just to read email and browse on the move. Even ASUS seem to have slightly lost the plot as they push the spec and the price up towards regular laptop levels. This MSI thing is just a not especially cheap, really low-spec laptop - what is the point?
Mind you Expansys aren't exactly the cheapest place around, so maybe we'll see some more sensible pricing elsewhere.
Confusion over 8.9in Version
Is that because its actually a 10 inch laptop with an 8.9 inch screen?
Marketing will say anything to make you think its better.
