MSI has announced a netbook that uses Intel's 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor and offers an optional TV tuner. The "Wind U123" has a 10-inch display, 80GB, 120GB, or 160GB hard disk drives, "EasyFace" security software, and available HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access) networking, says MSI.
MSI's new Wind U123 appears to be intended as a successor to the original, popular Wind U100 (right). The company highlights the device's "sharper lines and more stylish new colors," compared to the "round and cute U100."
The Wind U123 employs a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 instead of the 1.6GHz N270 used in the majority of other netbooks. Apparently, though, the main point of the CPU switch has merely been manufacturing economy or availability issues, since MSI has retained Intel's 945GSE (945GCSE northbridge and 82801GBM southbridge) supporting chipset. As a result, the U123 will not be able to support HD video, and is unlikely to perform noticeably better than the U100.
