MSI intros cut-price Linux mini-laptop

Other models get hard drive boost

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

1st September 2008 10:50 GMT

MSI has made some modifications to its Wind line of Small, Cheap Computers, upping the storage capacity of the standard model and introducing a cheaper model.

MSI's Wind U90: smaller screen, lower price

The low-cost Wind matches the spec of its pricier stablemates but comes in at £269 ($485/€332) instead of £329 ($593/€406) by coming pre-loaded with Linux and sporting an 8.9in, 1024 x 600 display instead of a 10in screen.

The new model, dubbed the U90, comes with an 80GB hard drive. The current, 10in model, the U100, immediately gets a hard drive upgrade, to 120GB - the better to compete with rival SCCs, most notably Acer's Aspire One.

It's cheaper in pink, too

If 120GB's too much for you - or the price is - but you still want a 10in display, then how about the new pink U100, which swaps hard drive capacity for price. It's an 80GB model but costs £10 less than the U100: £319 ($575/€393).

All the machines come with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of memory, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, three USB ports, an Ethernet connecter, VGA out and an SDHC card slot.