MSI revises its netbook chassis

MICRO STAR INTERNATIONAL (MSI) launched its updated netbook chassis today at CES in the form of the Wind U160.

The new flip-box will represent the high-end of its netbook offerings with pricing coming in at just under £300, though a MSI representative said it might be lower once on the shelves.

The U160 will be the first update to the original MSI Wind U100 chassis which saw it's debut with a 10-inch screen, a first at the time for netbooks. While 10-inch screens are now standard fare, MSI has tried to emulate premium netbook offerings in glamming up its mini-notebook.

The model on display had a bronze/brown lid with a trackpad which was flush with the perlescent finish wrist-rest.

Under the revised exterior you get Intel's latest N450 "Pine Trail" chip coupled to 1GB of RAM and a 250GB SATA drive. MSI has also made things easy for those who want to upgrade the RAM by  allowing a single hatch to be unscrewed rather than the whole bottom half as before. The maximum RAM supported is 2GB.

Apparently the screen panel has been updated with faster response time but the resolution remains the same at 1024x600. The U160 is outfitted with a 6-cell battery which MSI says is good for up to nine hours.

The MSI U160 netbook should hit retail shelves by 2nd February. µ