• Technology Reviews from TechnologyGuide.com
  • Desktop Reviews from DesktopReview.com
  • Digital Camera Reviews from DigitalCameraReview.com
  • Notebook Reviews from NotebookReview.com
  • Smartphone Reviews from Brighthand.com
  • Tablet Reviews from TabletPCReview.com
  • Printer Reviews from PrinterComparison.com
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Forum Login
  • Media Kit
NotebookReview.com
  • HOME
  • REVIEWS
    • ALL REVIEWS
    • Notebook Reviews
    • Software Reviews
    • Ultrabook Reviews
    • TOP BRANDS
    • Acer Laptop Reviews
    • Dell Laptop Reviews
    • HP Laptop Reviews
    • Lenovo Laptop Reviews
    • Sony Laptop Reviews
    • RECENT REVIEWS
    • Toshiba Satellite P875-S7102 Review
    • The Toshiba Satellite P875 is a desktop replacement mid-tier notebook with strong visuals and perfor...

    • Lenovo G580 Review
    • This Lenovo budget notebook offers some impressive specs in a deceptively unimpressive wrapper. Keep...

    • BUSINESS REVIEWS
    • Toshiba Satellite P875-S7102 Review
    • The Toshiba Satellite P875 is a desktop replacement mid-tier notebook with strong visuals and perfor...

    • HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15z-b000 Review
    • The HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15z-b000 is an affordable configure-to-order notebook with a 15.6-inch dis...

  • NEWS
    • ALL NEWS
    • All Notebook News
    • Software News
    • Ultrabook News
    • News Archives
    • TOP CATEGORIES
    • Dell News
    • HP News
    • Lenovo News
    • Sony News
    • RECENT NEWS
    • First Look Review: AMD Showcases New Processors
    • AMD's newest notebook processors are codenamed "Temash," "Kabini" and "Richland." What do these thre...

    • WD to Showcase Solid State Hybrid Drives and 5mm Technologies at COMPUTEX
    • WD announces plans to showcase a number of its SSHDs and 5mm HDDs at COMPUTEX.

    • BUSINESS NEWS
    • Adobe Acrobat Review: Worth the Money?
    • Adobe Acrobat is one Windows and Macintosh application you can use for reading, creating, and editin...

    • Dell Inspiron 15R vs. HP ENVY dv6t
    • In this battle of the budget multimedia laptops, we look at two 15.6-inch notebooks with Windows 8, ...

  • SHOP
    • SHOP
    • Notebook Price Search
    • COMPARE
    • Student Notebooks
    • Business Notebooks
    • Home Notebooks
    • Multimedia Notebooks
    • Gaming Notebooks
    • POPULAR PRODUCTS
    • HP Pavilion g6
      J&R Music and Computer World $454.99Sears $469.99Kmart $469.99
    • BUSINESS PRODUCTS
    • Dell XPS 13
      Dell $1599.99
      Lenovo ThinkPad T430
      Lenovo - Official Store $1095.29
    • ALL POPULAR LAPTOPS
  • COUPONS
    • ALL COUPONS
    • Dell Coupons
    • HP Coupons
    • Lenovo Coupons
    • Sony Coupons
    • PowerEdge T420 Server
    • PowerEdge T320 Server
    • PowerEdge T110 II
    • Precision T1650 Tower Workstation
    • OptiPlex 9010 Mini Tower
    • Latitude E6530
    • Inspiron 15
  • DEALS
    • ALL DEALS
    • Business Deals
    • Best Laptop Deals
    • Laptop Rebates
    • Sony Coupons
    • RECENT DEALS
    • Sony VAIO E 15.5" Notebook $599.99
    • Sony VAIO T 13.3" Ultrabook - $699.99 w/ Free Shipping
    • Sony VAIO S 13.3" Ultrabook - $719.99 after $78 off
    • Sony VAIO S (RED) for $899.99 at Target
    • HP Spectre XT 13 Ultrabook w/ Windows 7 - $1,069
  • DISCUSSIONS
    • NOTEBOOK DISCUSSIONS
    • See All Notebook Forums
    • TOP FORUMS
    • What Notebook Should I Buy?
    • Notebook News and Reviews
    • HP Forum
    • Dell Forum
    • Acer Forum
    • RECENT DISCUSSION
    • » College Laptop Vaio Sa13 vs Envy 15 3200
    • » Thin/Light and capable of playing games - UK/Ireland - €2,000
    • » What Laptop Should I Buy?
    • » Need college laptop. Chrome OS or Windows? Needs to last about 5 years. Help!
  • ADD ONS
    • ALL ACCESSORIES
    • Accessory Reviews
    • Storage Reviews
    • Monitor Reviews
    • Mouse Reviews
    • Backpack Reviews
  • VIDEO
    • NOTEBOOK VIDEOS
    • View All Notebook Videos
    • RECENT NOTEBOOK VIDEOS
    • HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15Z
    • Dell Latitude E5530 Notebook Video Preview
    • Dell Latitude Ultrabook 6430u Video Review
    • Dell Latitude 10 Education Tablet\/ Notebook
    • Vizio Thin & Light Ultrabook Line
  • BUSINESS

MSI Wind U135 Review

By Jerry Jackson , NotebookReview Editor | | 70426 Reads
Reviewer Rating:
Pros
  • Good design
  • Capable touchpad with proper drivers
  • Nice keyboard

Cons
  • Half the battery life of other Pine Trail netbooks
  • Missing touchpad software out of the box

Email this article Print Discuss
Tweet
  • Page 1. Overview
  • Page 2.

The Wind U135 is the one of the newest netbooks from MSI in the 10-inch form-factor. Packed with the Intel Pine Trail platform this netbook promises increased battery life and performance compared to models still using the previous Intel Atom chipset. Our longest lasting notebook to date is the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE, clocking in at over 12 hours with average use. In this review we put the MSI Wind U135 through its paces and see how well it stacks up against the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE which offers a nearly identical hardware configuration.

MSI Wind U135 Specifications:

  • Windows 7 Starter Edition (32-bit)
  • 10.1-inch diagonal WSVGA (1024x600)
  • Intel Atom N450 Processor 1.66GHz (667MHz FSB, 512KB Cache)
  • 1GB DDR2 SDRAM onboard (1 slot available)
  • Intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics
  • 250GB Seagate 5400.6 Hard Drive
  • 802.11BGN 1T1R Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
  • 4-in-1 media card slot
  • Dimensions: 10.24"(L) x 7.09"(D) x 0.74"~1.24"(H)
  • Weight: 2.87lbs(not including weight of AC adapter)
  • 6-cell Lithium-Ion battery (5200mAh, 58Wh)
  • Retail Price: $329

Build and Design
The MSI Wind U135 offers a simple design with a clean, high-contrast color scheme. The screen is covered with a “Color Film Print Technology” that closely resembles the Imprint finish on HP notebooks. It offers greater durability than a simple painted glossy surface while still allowing artwork to be worked in with the design. MSI went with a very simplistic weave pattern on the U135 that blends in well with the features of the netbook. The pattern is also copied inside the notebook over the touchpad surface. MSI keeps the painted silver look inside the notebook, but instead of keeping the weave pattern, it shifts to a textured silver paint. It has the look of a matte finish while still maintaining the smooth feel of a glossy paint job. The glossy black screen bezel and keyboard tray look great with the silver and move the mirror-finish glossy parts away from where your hands and palms will always be smudging.


Build quality is average compared to most netbooks, with a durable outer shell when the cover is closed and plenty of screen protection. The glossy finish is scratch resistant to a degree but would still show damage if abused. For the average user stuffing it into a backpack between classes or using it for travel it should keep a scratch-free look for a long time. The keyboard and palmrest show some flex under strong pressure but it doesn’t interfere with normal typing.


Users looking to upgrade any components will be in for a surprise when they notice there are no access panels on the bottom of the U135. To swap out the wireless card, hard drive, or add a stick of memory you need to split the case in half. One advantage the U135 has over other netbooks is its open memory slot. The 1GB of base memory is soldered in place, so it leaves one slot open for future upgrades. Netbooks like the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE need to have the 1GB stick swapped out for a 2GB stick which costs significantly more for the same end result.

Screen and Speakers
The Wind U135 offers a 10” glossy LED-backlit display that rates below average compared to other similarly sized netbooks. On our review model we noticed significant backlight bleed around all the edges when the brightness is near the top of the scale. During the boot sequence this is especially visible when the backgrounds are black. Turning the backlight down to 50-70% reduced the bleed, but it was still slightly visible if you were in a dark room watching a movie. Color and contrast are comparable to other competing netbooks thanks to the glossy screen surface. If the backlight bleed was lessened it would be a great machine to watch movies on while traveling. At peak brightness the screen is easy to read in bright office conditions and outdoors if you are in an area that the sun wasn’t reflecting off the screen. Viewing angles are average with the vertical viewing range spanning 15-20 degrees forward or back before colors started to invert. Horizontal viewing angles are better, keeping colors looking true even at steep angles.

Speaker performance is average compared to most netbooks on the market, meaning that they lacked volume and any hint of bass compared to a full-size notebook. For most users the speakers are great if you want to watch a quick streaming video clip or listen to some music in the background, but if you intend on watching a movie, headphones are the preferred option.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the MSI Wind U135 is a near carbon-copy of the keyboard seen on the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE. They are Chiclet-style keyboards and share the same layout, key size, and key shape. The only visible differences are the printed labels which appear bolded on the MSI version. Comparing both models side-by-side the U135 feels more solid and attached to the frame, whereas the keyboard on the 1005PE bounces slightly. Tactile feedback is nearly identical with the same key strength and noise when fully pressed.


Out of the box the touchpad is disappointing, lacking any specific driver or utility support. Just like the X-Slim X340, MSI didn’t include any sort of manufacturer-specific touchpad support out of the box, instead relying on the basic Windows drivers. The end result is a laggy touchpad with no scrolling or multi-touch capability.

Turning to the internet we found Sentelic touchpad drivers listed on the MSI website for the U135, but they were not originally included on our review model or recovery partition. After installing the software the touchpad sprung to life and even offered various two-finger multi-touch features. The touchpad surface was better than average with a matte finish that was easy to slide across, compared to some of the glossy touchpads we have seen on the latest notebooks. The touchpad buttons shared the same rocker-style switch, but the button was flexible enough that both sides could be pressed at the same time with minimal effort.


Ports and Features

Port selection on the MSI Wind U135 is comparable to competing netbooks, offering three USB ports, audio jacks, VGA-out, Ethernet, and an SDHC-card reader. For security a Kensington lock slow as also included.


Front: Indicator lights


Rear: Battery


Left: Kensington lock slot, AC-power, two USB


Right: One USB, SDHC-card slot, audio jacks, VGA-out, LAN

  

Email this article Print Discuss      Tweet
MSI Computer Wind U135 Info.

MSI Computer Wind U135: Overview & Specs
MSI Wind U135 Review: Our Review
MSI Computer Wind U135: All Reviews
Related Articles

MSI X460DX Review
MSI GX660R-060US Review
MSI Wind U210 Review
Most Recent News & Reviews

Toshiba Satellite P875-S7102 Review
Lenovo G580 Review
Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Review
First Look Review: AMD Showcases New Processors
WD to Showcase Solid State Hybrid Drives and 5mm Technologies at COMPUTEX
Adobe Acrobat Review: Worth the Money?

Our Most Popular Notebook Reviews

  • HP ENVY dv7

    As low as $899.99

    ENVY dv7
  • Lenovo G580

    As low as $555.19

    G580
  • Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13

    As low as $1499.99

    IdeaPad Yoga 13
  • Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition

    As low as $899.99

    Inspiron 15R Special Edition
  • Dell XPS 12

    As low as $1199.99

    XPS 12
Powered by Shopping.com

Partner Resources

  • Shop Sony Deals!
Dell Coupons

Featured Dell Business Deals

Today's Promotions

  • ULTRA SMART. ULTRA AFFORDABLE. ULTRABOOK.
    Lenovo Ultrabooks are a statement in style, mobility and productivity. Choose your favorite color and get going. Advertisement
  • Uncompromising Gaming Performance
    For a limited time save $100 on the award-winning MSI GT Series gaming notebooks. Redefine your gaming experience.
  • Countdown to COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2013
    COMPUTEX TAIPEI joins the ICT greats who are out to set the trend. To make IT happen, this is the place to see and be seen.
  • Custom Notebooks, Gaming Laptops & Desktops!
    Looking for the ultimate in a gaming rig? Look no further than XOTIC PC for the latest gaming laptops & desktops!
  • Improve Business Productivity
    Make it easier to work remotely or from home. Click to learn more about Emerging Tech For SMB sponsored by Sony Business Store. Advertisement
  • Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers.
    Designing mission-critical tools for the mobile user is how we're engineering a better world.

MORE FEATURED Notebook/Laptop CONTENT

  • SSD vs Hard Drives: A Beginner's Guide to SSD Upgrades
    Upgrading notebook storage is often an easy and worthwhile way to boost the speed of your laptop without buying a new one.
  • How To Upgrade Your Old Laptop
    In this exclusive how-to guide we'll explain how to breathe new life into your old laptop. We took a look at a wide sample of systems that all have a unique way to getting at the internal components.
  • Dell Inspiron 15R (N5110) Review
    The Dell Inspiron 15R (second gen., N5110) features Intel's "Sandy Bridge" Core processors and your choice of surprisingly powerful integrated graphics or AMD Radeon discrete graphics for gaming.
  • Notebook Buying Guide: How To Buy The Right Laptop
    We'll help you figure out what to look for and what to stay away from in your search for that perfect portable system.
  • HP EliteBook 8560p Review
    The EliteBook 8560p is the latest generation of 15-inch premium business notebooks from HP. This aluminum-clad workhorse is designed to serve as a mobile desktop replacement for business professionals.
  • Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Review
    A true 15-inch ThinkPad mobile workstation, the W520 delivers serious performance for professionals who need it.
  • How To Improve Notebook Battery Life
    Anyone with a notebook knows that at the end of the day, battery life is still the key mobility factor when using a notebook on the road. Increase your productivity--read our guide on getting the most out of your laptop battery.
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Review
    The all new ThinkPad X1 promises to deliver all the features and dependability you expect from a ThinkPad inside a thin and lightweight 13-inch laptop.
  • ASUS K53E-B1 Review
    The Asus K53E combines good performance and battery life into a well-made 15.6-inch laptop.
  • Technology Guide
  • Desktop Review
  • Digital Camera Review
  • Notebook review
  • BrightHand
  • TabletPCReview
  • Printer Comparison

TechTarget publishes more than 100 focused websites providing quick access to a deep store of news, advice and analysis about the technologies, products and processes crucial
to the jobs of IT pros.


TechTarget Corporate Web Site |  About Us |  Advertising |  Media Kit  |  Site Map |  Contact Us |  Submit Review |  RSS Feeds |  Jobs

All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2000 - 2013, TechTarget |  Read our Privacy Statement