Wind clone spotted at Amazon: Microtel NB10028

A new clone has emerged, and this time in the US. Amazon has started to list the Microtel NB10028 Wind, which essentially is the same MSI Wind, without the MSI logo, and has a price tag of US$599 for the 6 cell version.

Although at Amazon, it's listed to ship between 3-5 weeks, at the Microtel website, the netbooks will be available from the 2nd week of August. So if you're willing to pay that extra US$50, it's time to get your Wind.

MSI, what's with the 'Hearts' edition?

You can now buy an MSI 'white' Wind at the MSI website, but it comes in the form of the special 'Hearts' edition, and it's going for a whopping US$559! And, it's only a 3-cell!



MSI, what are you guys thinking? You should sack your marketing folks, 'cos they're not doing their jobs right. We're here waiting for white wind stocks to be available, and you come out with a special white edition with a bit of a cover design change for an additional US$59?

Your marketing folks are either geniuses or they have absolutely no clue. So which one is it?

For those of you who likes this new design and willing to pay that extra to get your white, it's still available at the MSI website. Last count, there's still 133 units available (at the time of this posting)

*UPDATE*
It would seem that I was too hasty in my judgement. The 'Hearts' Wind is actually MSI's global charity program to support a range of notebook donation programs around the world for children in rural and remote areas. See MSI's press release for more information.

MSI Wind U100's 'Mini-Me' - the Wind U90

A 'mini-me' version of the Wind U100 has appeared on the MSI website. It's called the Wind U90. According to the specs, it's identical to it's bigger brother in everyway except the screen size. The U90 comes with a 8.9 inch display instead of the 10 inch.

I don't know about you but if you believe the specs on the website, then why the hell would I want to get the U90 that comes with the smaller screen if the dimensions of both machines are the same?

Maybe this is a case of the webmaster not having the full specs yet, or he (or she) is just plain lazy. Whatever's the case, I hope MSI is smart enough to know that if they want to push out a smaller screen unit, the buyers would expect a smaller form factor!

Here are the links to the specs for the U90, and the U100. See for yourselves and draw your own conclusion.

Latest MSI Wind rebadge showing up in Russia

Russian MSI Wind fans will soon get a rebadged Wind in the form of the RoverBook Neo U100. It appears that the specifications will be the same as the MSI Wind, and will retail for around 14,566.50 rubles, or about US$620.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is coming!

Lenovo has just announced it's new IdeaPad S10 netbook PC. It will come in 8.9 inch and 10.1 inch screen sizes with a 160GB hard drive and is expected to be priced around US$400-US$600. [gizmodo]



From the few pictures available and this video, and backed by the Lenovo giant, it looks like this netbook might give the rest a run for their money.

I think MSI has really lost a lot of ground with stock shortage and jacking up the price. They could have dominated but I guess it's too little too late.

Here are some other news on the S10:
http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/9640.html
http://www.slashgear.com/lenovo-ideapad-s10-netbook-announced-0413374.php
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/04/lenovo-goes-netbook-with-ideapad-s10/

More netbooks to come

The 'netbook' scene is looking to get more crowded very soon. Asus has really started a revolution in the notebook market. Along with Asus Eee PC, Acer Aspire One, MSI Wind and Dell E, expect to see more coming from major laptop producers.

Fujitsu will be coming out with the Amilo Mini, expecting to be priced around US$470 to US$630, and might be seeing it around beginning of the 4th Quarter (unconfirmed). See this video.

Lenovo will also be pushing out a budget netbook, although there's no news as yet on what it will be and how much it will be selling for. I'm sure it will make a big splash when it does.

Asus Eee PC family to grow by 13 more

It looks like Asus is looking to dominate the market by expanding the Eee PC range to 23 different models.

The president of Asustek Computer, Jerry Shen, has confirmed plans to launch Eee PC-branded mobile computers for higher-end market segments. These will come in the form of Pro Fashion and Ultimate (S-series) families of Asus Eee PC notebooks aiming at $700 - $900 price-points. The systems will feature 10.1” LED backlit screens, 120GB hard disk drives (HDDs) or 32GB solid state drives (SSDs) and will work for 4-5 hours.



I don't know about you, but I'm already confused by the number of models they have today. There are already 10 models listed on their website. With 13 more to be released, that's just gonna confused the hell out of the average consumer.

Pictures from a Pico user

These pictures were posted by a Pico user at Hardwarezone.

Various clones of the MSI Wind

I thought I would put together a list of all the Wind clones available around the world, just for the fun of it.

So here goes...

1. Advent 4211 was the first Wind clone I came across. Available in the UK from PC World computer store for £279.99. Check out the review from CNet UK. It seems the Advent is identical to the Wind in everyway except the color and some software.
2. Medion Akoya Mini E1210 was the next Wind clone I found. It's available in Germany (and Austria?) for €399 and in the UK for £299 (at Sainsbury's). Looks like the difference is a lack of bluetooth, but an upgraded draft-N wifi.
3. Axioo Pico, the South-east Asia's Wind clone, available in Singapore, and Indonesia. Selling at S$748 from various Axioo retailers. See my previous post on the difference with the Wind.
4. *Updated 04 Aug* RoverBook Neo is the latest MSI Wind rebrand for Russian market. It appears to be identical to the stock Wind, and will likely sell for sells for 14,566.50 rubles, or about $621.76 US.
5. *Updated 08 Aug* Neo Vivid V1100 MiniNote has popped up in the Philippines. It should be available on August 19th for about US$525

Drop me a comment if you know of other Wind clone models out there.

New price hike for the MSI Wind

MSI has finally come out and adjusted the price for the MSI Wind. The 3-cell Windows version will be going for US$499, and the 6-cell at US$549. You can read the story at laptopmag.

Given that here in Singapore, the 3-cell Wind will be retailing for S$859, that could mean that the 6-cell might be going for around S$959 or more.

It would seems that at that price, the Asus EEE 1000H, which is currently selling at S$888 might turn out to be a better deal.

With Comex coming at the end of August, I think we're gonna see some major slugfest, provided MSI can deliver by end of August, that is.

At S$748, the Axioo Pico may still be a good choice.