14 DAY TRIAL // MSI officially introduced today the new U115 Hybrid netbook, coming to expand the manufacturer's range of small-sized, low-power computer systems. The new product comes to provide the company's customers with an alternative netbook system that brings to light new features, previously unavailable in any of the MSI netbook models. With the new system, MSI is basically offering its users an alternative storage solution in a netbook form factor. The “Hybrid” in the name stands for hybrid storage, a technology that enables the user to take advantage of both a Solid State Drive (SSD) and a traditional Hard Disk Drive (HDD).
The U115 hasn't been specifically branded as part of the company's Wind family, but, given the overall specifications of the system, it will certainly compete with all the other netbooks on the market. With a design very similar to that of the first MSI Wind netbook, the new U115 Hybrid portable PC does provide some interesting new features, compared to what most products in its range are bringing.
First of all, the new U115 comes built on Intel's Poulsbo US15W platform and is equipped with the Atom X530 processor, running at a similar 1.6GHz, core speed. The other significant change that has been enabled on the new MSI netbook is its capacity of providing two alternative storage solutions. The U115 can be equipped with both a 2.5-inch SATA HDD and an SSD. Users can choose between 120GB and 160GB HDDs and 8GB and 16GB SSDs. The advantage of the hybrid storage solution of the netbook is that it can provide a longer battery life, but also a faster operating system experience. The technology enables users to temporarily disconnect the HDD of the system, by a simple press of a button, which will set the U115 in its “ECO on Mode.”
Additional details regarding the system include the 1GB of DDR2 memory, 4-in-1 card reader, 2.0MP webcam, wireless LAN and Bluetooth and 3-cell and 6-cell battery options. Unfortunately, MSI is yet to unveil the pricing details.