I go offline for a day or two, and look what happens? Here's a brief roundup of news that broke while I was in the process of moving and getting my broadband connection up and running:Asus Eee PC News

• Elantech, the maker of the Eee PC 901 touchpad have issued a software update that enables additional multi-touch features like task switching, rotating, scrolling, and zooming. Jkkmobile has more, plus a video which you can find below.
• Jkkmobile also added an internal 3G card to his Eee PC 900. You can check out a ton of pictures and some video on his site.
• But wait, there's more. Jkkmobile also decided to slap a touchscreen display in his Eee PC 900. This isn't jkkmobile's first foray into touchscreen Eee PCs. He was also one of the first folks to add a touchscreen to an Eee PC 701. You can check out a video of the touchscreen Eee PC 900 below.
  PC Retail Magazine says it has received confirmation from Asus that the company will indeed be releasing a laptop bearing the Eee PC 904 moniker. The Eee PC 904 HD will be available in the UK within the next few weeks, and will be the same size as an Eee PC 1000, but while that means it will have a larger keyboard than the Eee PC 901, it will have the 901's smaller 8.9 inch display (and a big bezel around the screen). The price hasn't been set, but PC Retail Magazine reports it will be around £250, or about $500 US.
• 
  A whole slew of Eee Monitor photos leaked out this week. The Eee Monitor is basically an all-in-one PC that bears a vague resemblance to the Apple iMac. In other words, it basically packs all your usual PC components into a case that's not much bigger than an LCD monitor. Oh yeah, and it includes an LCD monitor, plus 6 USB ports, a webcam, ethernet, and audio ports. Word on the street is that this puppy will start at around $500 and will run Linux or Windows XP.

MSI Wind News

• While it should be a few more days before the Wind notebook lands in the US, it looks like the company has managed to push a handful of units out the door in Europe. Scan Computers in the UK had a few units in stock briefly. And reviews and hands-on videos are starting to pop up. [via Mobility Site]
• The Medion Akoya Mini, which is basically identical to the MSI Wind in all but name is also on sale in Europe. And you can find unboxing photos and reviews for that as well. Sascha Pallenberg promises to post an English language video later today.

Acer Aspire One NewsIt looks like the Acer Aspire One will come in several flavors. Acer has announced a new 150 series to compliment the 110 series. The 150 will have a higher price tag and a larger hard drive. Oh yeah, and Acer appears to have bumped the price up a notch. According to the product pages at Netbooksbillinger.de, here's a rundown of the prices and specs:

• Acer Aspire One A110L - 329 EUR (or $522 US), 512MB RAM, 8GB SSD, Linux OS
• Acer Aspire One A150L - 359 EUR (or $570 US), 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Linux OS
• Acer Aspire One A150X - 399 EUR (or $633 US), 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Windows XP Home OS

It's not clear yet whether those prices will be reflective of the US price. Acer had originally promised to release a $379 laptop, and generally computers do cost less in the US. But $140 less? We'll just have to wait and see.[via Eee PC News.de]

Eee PC multi-touch:

Eee PC 900 with a touch screen display:

I probably should have seen this one coming. Last week I asked which Linux distribution was best suited for netbooks, and the overwhelming majority of people voted for Ubuntu. This Linux distro has only really been around for a few years, but already it's become one of the most popular flavors of Linux. For many people, Ubuntu and Linux are synonymous. The fact that Ubuntu makers Canonical are planning a custom interface to make Ubuntu a bit more friendly for users of small-screen devices like the Eee PC makes it an even more attractive choice.

But the first two Linux-based netbooks to really hit the market in the past few years have run other operating systems. The OLPC XO Laptop runs a custom version of Linux with the unique Sugar OS user interface. And the Asus Eee PC runs a custom version of Xandros Linux. The HP Mini-Note users SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, and the upcoming Acer Aspire One will run Linpus Linux Lite. So there's no real consensus on the best operating system. At least not among computer makers.

In fact, the only low-cost ultraportable I'm aware of that is designed to ship with Ubuntu right now is E-Lead's Noahpad. The Everex Cloudbook does use gOS, which is based on Ubuntu.

This week I've decided to run a more topical poll: Do you think the MSI Wind will actually be available on July 7th? MSI first announced that the Wind notebook would ship on June 16th. That date has already been pushed back twice due to the global battery shortage. What are the odds it'll be pushed back yet again?

More importantly, have the delays shaken your faith in the company? If you were planning to buy one already, have the delays and MSI's announcement that the Wind will ship with a 3 cell battery instead of a 6 cell one made you change your mind? Or does the fact that the Wind still costs $200 less than an Eee PC 1000H make it an attractive alternative, whenever it hits the streets?

An Insanely Mac Forum member by the name of JAV got his hands on an MSI Wind, and one of the first things he did was install a hacked version of OS X 10.5.2 on it. And for the most part, it worked right away. The WiFi card isn't working yet, but Ethernet and Bluetooth work out of the box.

Installing OS X on non-Mac hardware is a violation of Apple's licensing terms. But it's interesting to see that it's easier to install the Mac operating system on unsupported hardware than it is to install the open source Ubuntu Linux distribution. At least for now. As CrunchGear and other sites have pointed out, Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron hangs when you try installing it on an MSI Wind notebook.

I suspect this is a temporary issue, as Canonical is currently working on Ubuntu Netbook Remix, a custom version of Ubuntu optimized for devices with small screens and Intel Atom CPUs. While MSI will eventually offer a Linux version of the Wind notebook, it will be running SUSE, not Ubuntu. But I suspect the Ubuntu/netbook hacking community will figure out a way to get Ubuntu up and running soon after the laptop is released.

[via Gizmodo]

Amazon is now accepting orders for the MSI Wind. For $499 you can order the black model with Windows XP and a 3-cell battery. Amazon says the computer will ship within 3 to 5 weeks. While there are product pages for the white and pink models, you cannot preorder these versions yet. Or you could place an order directly from the MSI Shop where you'll apparently save $20. MSI is selling the same computer for $479.

The company dropped the price a bit when it made the decision to ship the Wind notebook with 3-cell batteries instead of 6, due to a global battery shortage. It's not clear why that price change isn't reflected at Amazon.

The MSI Shop gives an estimated ship date of July 7th. It's possible that Amazon is just being conservative with its 3 to 5week ship date. After all, the Wind was supposed to be available on June 16th, but that date has already been pushed back twice.

[via I4U News]

While you might have to wait a few more days to get your hands on an MSI Wind notebook, Doug Aamoth over at CrunchGear has been testing one out for a while. And he's got the benchmarks and videos to prove it.

Aamoth put the little computer through the paces, testing out Skype Video, DVD and HD video playback, Google Earth (using OpenGL and DirectX), and StarCraft. The video game plaid perfectly smoothly, which isn't surprising considering the game's age. Google Earth worked well enough using OpenGL, but it was pretty pokey with DirectX. For the most part, the Wind passed the video tests with flying colors.

The one down side is that Aamoth tried to install Ubuntu and ran into some problems. He's not the first reviewer to try installing a stock version of Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and run into a brick wall. Hopefully it'll be much easier to install Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which is designed for little laptops with Intel Atom processors. I'm sure it'll be a matter of days, if not minutes before some Linux gurus figure out how to get Ubuntu or other distros up and running once these computers actually start hitting the streets.

You can find more videos over at CrunchGear.

It looks like Medion and MSI aren't the only two companies selling computers made by the same OEM. The Mouse Computer LuvBook U100 bears a striking resemblance to the MSI Wind U100 Notebook.

Like the Wind and the Akoya Mini, the LuvBook sports a 10.2 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, WiFi, BlueTooth, a webcam, and the Intel 945GMS+ICH7M chipset. But unlike the Wind and the Akoya Mini, the LuvBook is destined for Japan and will sport a price around 350€ or about $550 US.

[via Eee PC.net]

The Medion Akoya Mini set to go on sale in Germany and Austria next week. But Eee PC News.de has confirmed that the computer will ship with a 3 cell batter, not the 6 cell battery that had originally been advertised.

Given that the Medion Akoya Mini is pretty much the same computer as the MSI Wind, this news should come as no surprise. MSI has been saying since June 16th that it would be shipping the lower capacity battery due to a global battery shortage. Both MSI and Medion say that they will make 6 cell batteries available at a later date. But computer makers have a tendency to charge an arm and a leg for spare batteries, so if you want an extended battery your best bet is usually to buy one when you buy your computer. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be an option at the moment. There is a silver lining here. Both computers are built around the new Intel Atom CPU, which provides decent performance (for a cheap ultraportable) while consuming very little energy. If you can expect 5 hours of battery life from a 6 cell battery, it stands to reason that you should be able to get about 2.5 hours out of a 3 cell battery, which is not bad. Not great, but not bad.

It looks like our suspicions have been confirmed: The MSI Wind will not begin shipping in the US tomorrow. Several members of the MsiWind.net forums reports that MSI is sending out letters to customers who have placed preorders letting them know that the ongoing battery shortage is making it difficult for the company to meet its ship date. MSI is now claiming it will get the computers in stock on July 7th.

http://forums.msiwind.net/post9623.html#p9623This is the second time MSI has pushed back the release date. The MSI Wind notebook was first scheduled for a June 16th US launch. On the 16th, the company said the notebook would be available on June 27th. And now we're looking at a July 7th date -- which just happens to be 1 day before Asus is expected to begin shipping its next generation Eee PC models.

While the MSI Wind notebook will cost as much as $200 less than the equivalent Eee PC models, the series of delays could hurt the company. And MSI has already announced that the initial MSI Wind notebook shipments will pack a 3 cell battery instead of the 6 cell battery the company had planned to include.

This is hardly the first time we've seen naked photos of the upcoming MSI Wind notebook. But somehow topless computer photos always look a little classier when they're on the FCC web site.

The FCC's got all the usual goodies, including a few "confidential" letters, an operational description, user manual (PDF link) and lots and lots of images. You can check out some of the highlights in the slideshow below:

[via jkkmobile]

Members of the MsiWind.net community are reporting that the Wind laptop could be delayed for a second time.

The computer was initially due out on June 16th. But the 16th came and went, and MSI announced that the Wind would be delayed until June 27th. Oh yeah, and instead of coming with a 6 cell battery, MSI would be shipping a laptop with a 3 cell battery. The company did drop the price from $499 to $479, but honestly, I'd rather have the longer lasting battery than $20 in my pocket.

Anyway, now it looks like MSI reps are telling customers that the computers are not yet in stock, which means it's unlikely we'll see the computers start shipping tomorrow. It's even less likely that you'll be able to walk into a computer store anywhere in the US and pick one up. Not impossible, but unlikely.

The MSI Wind is still one of the most attractive next-gen netbooks around. It has an almost identical feature set to the the Asus Eee PC 1000H, but costs over $200 less. But if MSI can't get it to market before Asus releases their new models in the US and Europe, I'm betting a lot of mini-laptop enthusiasts might decide to opt for the the Eee PC. Not only does Asus have a stronger track record than MSI at the moment, but there's also a huge community of Eee PC users, which means you're more likely to find community support at sites like EeeUser.

On the other hand, $200 is $200. And even with a few delays, it's likely that MSI will get their computer out the door before Asus does. Asus hasn't even announced a US release date for the Eee PC 901 or 1000/1000H models yet.

[via Mobility Site]

Update: It looks like the MSI Wind release date has been pushed back to July 7th.

The Medion Akoya Mini is basically the same computer as the MSI Wind. That is to say, it's got the same size, look, and specs, and was probably built by the same OEM for both Medion and MSI. But while the Medion Akoya Mini is set to drop in Germany and Austria next week, It might be a bit longer before you can find the MSI Wind in Germany.l

While MSI has promised US customers June 27th release date for the Wind notebook, a German shopper says he asked when the computer would be available in his country, and was told September. Now, obviously if Medion can sell the Akoya Mini, that means the actual computer manufacturer could put together a few units for MSI. But as MSI-Wind.de speculates, it's possible that Medion got a limited exclusivity deal for a while... at least in Germany.

As for whether the MSI Wind will actually be available in the US tomorrow, I wish I knew. The release date has already been pushed back once, and I have yet to see a single retailer accepting pre-orders.

The folks at OCWorkBench have posted a video of the MSI Wind playing a 720p HD video. Not that you'd want to watch 720p movies on a 1024 x 600 display very often, but there is a VGA output on the laptop.

The video playback isn't quite perfect. But it's pretty close. And it's going to make it that much harder to wait another two weeks for the MSI Wind to start shipping (if the company doesn't delay the release again).

[via Mike Cane]

If you've been constantly refreshing your browser window hoping to see if the MSI Wind was on sale at Amazon, Newegg, or other retailers yet, you can lay off the F5 button. While the $499 laptop as supposed to drop today, it looks like MSI has updated the estimated ship date to June 27th. You can find mro eetails at the MSI Shop web page.

The price for the Windows XP model has also fallen from $499 to $479. But before you go thinking the company is just compensating you for having to wait an extra week and a half, note that MSI is selling this PC with a 3-cell batery instead of the 6-cell battery that we'd originally been told would come with the Windows XP model. This is likely due to the global battery shortage resulting from a fire in a battery plant earlier this year.

On the bright side, both the black and white models should be available at the same time. No word on when the $399 Linux version will ship.

You can place orders now. I assume if you do so, your computer will ship on June 27th, or as soon as they become available. I'm a little relucatant to place an order myself at the moment, since I'm moving on July 1st. Hopefully I'll be able to find a Wind NB at a retail store in New York on June 27th.

MSI is limiting sales to one per customer at the moment due to limited availability. And the web site is incredibly slow right now, probably because it's getting hammered by angry/anxious netbook customers.

[via Gizmodo and The Gadget Site]

Following the lead of Asus, MSI will be including a Windows XP driver disc with every MSI Wind laptop, whether you order a PC running Windows or Linux. For some reason HP decided to wait until the HP 2133 Mini-Note had been out for a few weeks before posting Windows XP drivers online, but MSI has gone ahead and added a bunch of drivers to the MSI Wind support site even though the PC won't be released for at least another few days.

If you dig around the MSI Wind U100 page, here are some of the things you can find:

• A BIOS file
• Windows XP LAN drivers
• Windows XP CardReader drivers
• Windows XP WLAN drivers
• Windows XP VGA drivers
• Windows XP Touchpad drivers
• Windows XP Chipset drivers
• Windows XP Bluetooth drivers
• Windows XP Audio drivers
• A system control manager application for Windows XP
• Instruction manuals in 24 languages

There don't appear to be any Linux support files at the moment, but MSI doesn't plan to release the Linux model of the Wind notebook until the XP version has been out for a little while. In the meantime, I'm sure members of the Linux community will try their hardest to find the best way to run Ubuntu, Puppy Linux, and other distributions on the MSI Wind.

While Asus CEO Jerry Shen is busy plotting world domination with plans to sell 5 million Eee PC units this year, MSI, makers of the upcoming Wind laptop are settings their goals a bit lower. MSI chairman Joseph Hsu tells DigiTimes that he's hoping to ship between 300,000 and half a million MSI Wind laptops this year. That could bring the company's total laptop sales up to about 2 million.

It's not like Hsu isn't thinking big. He's hoping that by 2010 the company will be shipping 4.5 million laptops per year, which would make MSI one of the top ten laptop sellers.

As for this year's goal of 300,000, that's awfully close to the number of Eee PC units Asus shipped last year.

Ever since Asus decided to slap 4GB of solid state memory in the original Eee PC, mobile computer makers have been struggling with a choice: hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state disk (SSD)?

On the one hand, the good old HDD has been around for ages and allows PC makers to offer large amounts of storage at a relatively low cost. On the other hand, hard drives have moving parts which generally makes them slower than solid state disks, and much more fragile and likely to break. Solid state disks are sturdier, and typically offer faster read and write performance. But not always.

Laptop Magazine decided to replace the HDD that came with their MSI Wind laptop with a SSD. The results? The computer still boots Windows XP in about 32-34 seconds. And programs launch at about the same speed they used to. Withouto looking at any benchmarks, it's safe to say that these are two of the measures that will matter most to users. Of course, I'd also be curious to know how the "upgraded" PC handles tasks like copying and moving large files. But considering how much more expensive solid state disks are than hard disk drives at the moment, it appears MSI decided to go with the option that will help keep the price of the Wind laptop low without sacrificing much in the way of performance. And it appears to have been the right choice... for this particular computer.

You can add Amazon to the (admittedly short) list of stores that has posted a product page for the MSI Wind. Just like the MWAVE product page, Amazon's page doesn't let you preorder the computer, which is due out in the US on June 16th. You can, however sign up to be notified by email when the product is actually available for purchase.

It looks like you'll be able to order either the $399 Linux model or the $499 Windows XP version from Amazon. Keep in mind, that extra $100 gets you a lot more than Windows. You also get 1GB of RAM (instead of 512MB), and a 6-cell battery instead of a 3-cell battery. I believe the $499 model also comes with Bluetooth, which the $399 version lacks.

Thanks FDAMAN!

The MSI Wind laptop won't be available for purchase for another few weeks, but MSI is already planning the next generation of its cheap laptop. The updated version will be smaller and thinner than the Wind U100 with its 10.2 inch display.

The new version will feature the same Intel Atom CPU as the current generation, so the focus will be on design and not performance. The new version could be released as soon as Q1 2009.

MSI also plans to release a Mobile Internet Device or MID which is smaller than a laptop and is already showing off the Wind U90, which is nearly identical to the U100, but features an 8.9 inch display and will not be available in the US.

MSI says the Windows XP version of the company's Wind laptop will be available in the US on June 16th for $499. And while UK retailer Expansys has a web page for the Wind for over a month, the computer is just now starting to show up at US web stores. MWAVE has the MSI Wind laptop listed for $499.99. It won't be available until June 23rd, and that's listed as an estimated ship date. But it still beats Expansys, who says the computer will be available on July 22nd.

But if you were hoping to place a preorder in hopes of getting your computer as soon as humany possibly, you might have to wait a little longer. MWAVE isn't accepting preorders.

thanks FDAMAN!

Something interesting happens when you try to cram a computer into a small case without much room for cooling. It gets hot. Most laptops I've used have been a little to hot to actually rest on your lap if you're wearing shorts. And mini-notebooks can get even hotter. The HP Mini-Note is one of the hottest, with bottom-of-the-unit temperatures hitting 114 degrees Fahrenheit.

The folks at Laptop Magazine decided to see how the MSI Wind laptop stacks up against the Mini-Note, Eee PC, and other subnotebooks. And the answer? The wind is pretty darn cool (relatively speaking). The underside of the computer hits just 93 degrees, which is a full 21 degrees cooler than the HP Mini-Note, and several degrees lower than the Eee PC 4G, Eee PC 900, or Everex Cloudbook.

The keyboard registers about the same temperature, while the touchpad hits 99 degrees during use, which is hotter than the HP Mini-Note or Everex Cloudbook, but slightly cooler than the Eee PC.

Temperature isn't a make it or break it feature for me. But it's nice to know that you don't need to wear thick pants to use the MSI Wind laptop comfortably.