MSI's Wind UMPC, Available for Pre-Order: $610

MSI's much-hyped Wind ultra-mobile PC is almost ready to meet its first customers, as a couple of e-tailers have started taking orders. MSI's first sub-notebook offering will hit the shelves later this month in three different stock keeping units, with either Linux or Windows XP Home edition on board.

The Wind is announced to come in black, white and pink, in order to address a wide range of buyers, from business users to fashion-concerned customers.

Under the rainbow-colored hood MSI included the same hardware configuration, comprised of Intel's 1.6GHz Atom processor paired with the 945GMS and ICH7-M southbridge, 1GB of DDR2-400 RAM memory, a 2.5-inch 80GB hard drive, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

At first the company will only ship the 10-inch version of the Wind but it plans to add an 8.9-inch version sometime next month. However, given the fact that the most appealing feature of an UMPC is its low price, MSI's Wind is a little out of track. The unit is available for pre-order at a price tag of $610, but a price decrease is expected as soon as the production ramps up.

What's extremely amazing is the announced battery lifespan that is alleged to offer up to 7 hours of continuous use. This is extremely odd, given the fact that other notebooks don't even come close to such a battery performance. More than that, according to the company, the notebook will feature a 3-cell Lithium-Ion battery pack. If the news proves right, expect the retailers to run out of stock in an instant.

On the other side, IDC analysts are not quite convinced of the commercial success in the new wave of UMPCs. Despite the large amount of Eee PC units (and its siblings), the market analysts claim that low-performance systems will phase out eventually.


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