Axioo Pico - Another MSI Wind clone

MSI Wind has been making headlines, touted as one of the best 'netbooks' (you know, those cheap, ultraportables made popular by Asus Eee PC) currently available. It's known to have one of the best keyboard for a netbook, a great screen and it comes with standard notebook components, making it easy to upgrade the harddrive and memory. You can check out some of Wind reviews at MSIWind.net

But sadly, one of its biggest problem is its availability. MSI has been hampered with the shortage of the battery which has affected their delivery.

Here in Singapore, the MSI Wind is only available in black and in the 3-cell battery option at the moment, but you won't be able to find it easily sitting on any store shelf, that's for sure. Apparently, the sole distributor, Corbell, is still trying to fulfill the masses who had pre-ordered at S$829. Once it hits the shelves, it will retail for S$859. When that will be is anyone's guess.

So, as we fixed our eyes on when the Wind will blow in, in sneaks a Wind clone, in the form of the Axioo Pico.

Axioo (for those who don't know - and there's probably a lot of you and includes me) is a Singapore-based start-up. So far I've only seen them at various PC events, selling some really affordable notebooks which you'll probably won't come near without a 3 foot pole. But, with the Pico, this company has now caught my attention.

The Axioo Pico is now available from today (31 July 2008), selling for S$748 (which is a good S$100 cheaper than MSI Wind) and it comes with an upgraded 160GB harddisk instead of the 80GB that comes with the Wind.

What's missing, I believe, is the bluetooth capability which might be heart-breaking for some, but at S$100 cheaper, I think this is a great buy, even if it is only the 3-cell version. It seems the only color available at this moment is white, and it has a fairly large Axioo logo on the front - which a nice notebook skin could easily fix.

I'm really still debating on whether to hold out for the real MSI Wind, or just commit to getting the Pico. It is, after all, still a Wind in disguised, and at S$748, it's really worth a second look (and a third, and a fourth).