MSI to show off new netbooks at CES

MICRO-STAR International (MSI) says it plans on showing off its latest 10.2-inch Wind Notebook offerings, the U110 and U115 models based on Intel's Menlow platform at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January.

Both models were recently unveiled in France, but won’t be making their worldwide debut for another month at least.

The U110 and U115 are both based on the 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, part of Chipzilla’s Menlow platform for MIDs. Although being slightly more expensive than Intel’s previous netbook platform, Menlow boasts lower power consumption and longer battery life, in the case of the U110 and U11, both have purportedly enough battery juice to last 8-10 hours.

With 1GB of 533MHz DDR 2 memory, the 1.1kg U110 includes a 10-inch display, Bluetooth 2+EDR and 802.11n Wi-Fi. It will also come in 120, 160 and 250GB of SATA hard drive capacity flavours and either a 1.3 or 2 megapixel webcam.

The U115 has 2GB of 533 MHz DDR 2 memories and offers a dual storage option, namely either an 8, 16 or 32GB SSD or an 80, 120 or 160GB HDD.

The models will be competing directly with Dell’s new Inspiron Mini 12 netbook and Kojinsha (KJS), a Japan-based mini notebook brand subsidiary of Inventec, both of which are also based on Intel’s Menlow.

MSI might have to figure out a way to generate demand though, seeing as at between $685-$745 for the U115 and $566- $596 for the U110, they don’t come cheap. µ

L'Inq
DodgyTimes