More info on the MSI Wind

So finally there are some specs out on the MSI wind. What first appeared to be a proper first take on the device turned out to be just a showing of a prototype. Not that there is anything wrong with showing prototypes, but it’s just slightly anti-climactic and may not be reason for videotaping and setting the gadget-themed blogosphere on fire.

Here’s the coverage at engadget and to save you having to read through the coverage here’s a link to the turkish guy who got to fondle the unit.

The keyboard seems nice, the design is decent, but what’s with all the leds? Do we really need 8 (eight!) little lights just to insure that everything’s working properly. Sometimes less is really more, people.
Who makes a product release in Turkey anyway? WTF!

UPDATE: Turns out the MSI Wind is the Medion Akoya that was mentioned around the blogosphere recently umpc portal has the scoop.

Comparing UMPC screen sizes

I’ve had a hard time trying to figure out just how big a difference it will make that the Mini note has a 8.9″ screen as opposed to the 7″ screen of the original Eee. I’ve found it hard to visualize just how big the difference will be. I opened Photoshop and drew up a little figure to visualize just how much extra screen estate we’ll be getting by opting for a different UMPC. I included the MSI Wind because they’re marketing is as having either a 8.9″ or a 10″ screen. Looking at the chart I could be totally tempted to go for a 10″ screen. It might just be the sweet spot for a tradeoff between screen size/keyboard size / bezel size.

Of course resolution factors in as well, but that’s a whole other post to be written right there.

Unboxing and size comparisons with the HP 2133 mini note

I must admit that I’ve been spending way too much time lately perving on the new HP mini note. It’s just so pretty. So far it’s a little quiet with some hands on real user-reviews, but at least there’s a forum up. I did find some awesome unboxing shots and comparison pics on the really awesome blog journey of a code monkey. Codemonkey74 who has the blog is also one of the first to write about his trouble getting XP installed on the mini note. He’s reporting that most things are working fine, but that there are some issues still with the audio card.

I must admit the machine is looking beautiful and apart from the Via disaster and the less than stellar battery life I’m completely sold.

(picture from journey of a code monkey)

mininoteuser.com

I just stumbled upon this promising site in the comments on engadget. One thing that impressed me when I was an Eee owner was the vibrant community at eeeuser.com. Here’s to hoping that mininoteuser can become just as awesome. When I signed up a couple of hours ago there was only 4 (four) members of the forum. Here’s to hoping that grows a little.

Here’s the link to the site