MSI's U160 Pine Trail Netbook Up for Order

After getting off to a flying start in 2009, netbook sales continue to rise even now, with the Pine Trail platform having opened up new levels of energy efficiency and battery life. One such device has been sighted or hinted at for several months, but it is only now that the elusive product finally gets listed on online stores. Known as the MSI Wind U160, this netbook is powered by Intel Atom and packs all processing, graphics and connectivity options inside a stylish frame that is colored either black or brown.

This particular MSI netbook does not exactly bring any sort of new performance features to the table, even though its design might earn it some extra attention. The Intel Atom N450 central processing unit that powers the netbook operates at 1.66 GHz and is backed up by 1GB of DDR2 667. The configuration also makes use of a 250GB hard drive and a 10-inch WSVGA glossy display with a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 600.

Many of the recently showcased low-cost laptops are built with the new NVIDIA ION graphics processor. This particular device, however, practically predates the formal launch of this graphics solution and, as such, makes do with the Intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics. This means that the Wind U160 has somewhat lower multimedia and graphical capabilities, compared to more recent netbooks, but it also supposedly allows for a lower price point.

As far as connectivity and I/O options are concerned, the U160 features 10/100 LAN, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth, three USB ports, a VGA output, as well as a 1.3-megapixel webcam and a six-cell battery. The product also includes built-in speakers and a 4-in-1 card reader.

The MSI Wind U160 netbook PC can be colored in either black or brown and comes pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Operating System. The listed price is of $380.