MSI Wind U123

Editors’ Note: Portions of this review were taken from our earlier review of the MSI U120.

While the MSI Wind U123 looks identical to the older U120, MSI has updated this 10-inch netbook with Intel’s newest Atom N280 processor, which provides slightly improved performance. Also, the U123 sports a new nine-cell battery, which, while making it heavier than most other netbooks, provides more than 8 hours of runtime, earning it the title of the longest-lasting netbook on the market. At $379, the MSI Wind U123 is easily one of the best netbook bargains around.

Design

The Wind U123 sports the same chassis as the U120, which is not quite as snazzy or slim as the HP Mini 1000 or Dell Inspiron Mini 10. MSI claims that the U123’s design is for adults and business professionals, but the HP Mini 2140’s aluminum chassis seems more appropriate for that market segment. Still, the U123 is sleeker than the original U100 and forgoes its rounded edges for a squarer shape with cleaner lines. A glossy navy blue lid (also available in white, red, black, and gray) covers the outside of the netbook and is offset by a black underside and glossy screen bezel.

The Wind 123’s dimensions of 10.2 x 7.1 x 1.3 inches is standard fare for a 10-inch system, but its nine-cell battery adds a bit of girth to the back, props up the entire system about an inch, and also puts it in a higher weight class. At 3.2 pounds, this netbook weighs more than most competing netbooks (the Wind U120 was 2.8 pounds), it’s the same weight as the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE. Nevertheless, even with its AC adapter (which brings travel weight to a total of 4.0 pounds), the Wind U123 easily fit in our bag, and plenty of room was left for other gadgets.

Surrounding the Wind U123 are three USB ports and VGA, Ethernet, headphone, and microphone jacks. A 4-in-1 card reader is on the right side.

Roomy Keyboard, Subpar Mouse Buttons

The keyboard on the U123 is the same as that on the original Wind and the U120. The matte keys offered a good amount of springy feedback when typing, and we like that the Shift keys and Backspace key are relatively large. While the HP Mini 2140 and the Samsung N110 have slightly better keyboards, touch typists should have no problems using the Wind U123 for extended periods. The nine-cell battery props up the system, putting the keyboard at a nice angle for typing.

The 2.0 x 1.7-inch touchpad is disappointingly small. While we’re glad that MSI replaced the original single bar mouse button with silver colored right and left mouse buttons, they are quite stiff and make a distracting clicking sound when pressed. Also, the touchpad does not support multitouch gestures like those on the Eee PC 1000HE or the Samsung N110.

Display and Audio

Typical of other netbooks with 10.2-inch, LED-backlit, 1024 x 600-pixel displays, the U120’s screen allowed us to view Web pages without having to scroll. The matte LCD produced clear images and bright colors. When we watched an episode of 30 Rock on Hulu.com, vertical viewing angles were good, and tilting the screen to its maximum 120-degree angle didn’t cause much glare. The 0.5-inch wide, glossy black bezel that surrounds the screen looks classy but is larger than we would like and attracts fingerprints.

The MSI Wind U123’s dual speakers are located on the bottom front of the system. We could clearly hear Tina Fey’s voice from across our small apartment. Listening to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love,” the speakers were loud but lacked bass.

Webcam with Facial Recognition Software

Above the display is a 1.3-megapixel webcam that displayed clear images when videoconferencing with a family member over Skype. Waving a hand resulted in a bit of motion blur, but the caller didn’t complain about lighting or clarity.

Paired with the webcam, MSI’s EasyFace Manager software enables facial recognition so users can log in with their face rather than a password. After registering our mug with the system, the Wind U123 recognized us in less than 10 seconds.