MSI Wind U115 comes with a LED-backlit 10-inch matte screen with maximum resolution of 1024x600. Color and brightness intensity is pretty good, allowing it to retain picture quality even in ECO mode when the brightness is down to 50% or less. The best thing about the screen is that it's matte, so you can even enjoy it on the go, which can't be said of glare screens found in many similar devices.

You can use the VGA out to connect an external monitor, and we tried with iiyama’s 24’’ TFT monitor with 1920x1200 resolution, an older Samsung 19’’ TFT monitor with 1280x1024 resolution and with 17’’ BenQ monitor also with 1280x1024 resolution.

Intel’s integrated graphics media accelerator supports multiple displays but we weren’t at all happy with the quality of the image. The 24’’ TFT allowed for native resolution of 1920x1200, but sharpness was nowhere near what we’d call ideal. Of course, that’s not to say you can’t do work with it, but we don’t recommend working for longer periods. The same problem persisted on the smaller Samsung monitor, whereas the 17’’ TFT displayed a pretty nice picture and quite adequate for work.







The build on this device is great and feels tough and sturdy. Opening the lid is easy and the mechanics isn’t rigid as is often the case with netbooks.

Since the camera is of course a must on a netbook, MSI equipped this device with a 1.3MP camera and the microphone. The camera is good enough for video calls but we didn’t particularly like the mic. Even when at maximum loudness, it’s still not enough for the person on the other side of “the wire” to hear clearly, so the only way out is for your conversation partner to turn up his/her speakers.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the Wind U115 doesn’t quite excel in sound, as the integrated speakers are just not good enough. The speakers, which are located on the front bottom side, are not loud enough for you to watch a movie unless you’re alone in a silent area and right next to the netbook. The following photo shows the Wind U115 upside down, and the speakers are hidden behind the round grills.



I/O connectors for external speakers, headphones or microphones are on the right side of this device.




The right side houses a USB port, multi-card reader, standard jacks for the microphone and headphones, VGA out and RJ45 LAN port. The left side houses two USB ports, cooling vents, charger port and a Kensington lock.




As we mentioned in the specs, the U115 features a couple of networking devices: the Wireless adapter (802.11b/g/n WiFi), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, as well as 10/100MB/s network card.



The front also features indicator LEDs whereas the rear has no ports whatsoever.



Due to this device’s dimensions, the touchpad is pretty small and placed so that the keys are on the ledge of the case. Such placement takes time to get used, but we thought that another centimeter added on the width wouldn’t have hurt the design, and would be much more functional. After a couple of days of usage we noticed that the left side gets dented after we release the key, but it still runs fine. 



What missing on this touchpad is the scroll bar, as well as multi-touch functions which are today considered standard, even with some much cheaper competitors. We must admit that we consider this a must have, especially for a netbook with this price tag.

The battery is what sets the U115 apart from the competition and you simply have to try it to believe it. If you’ve ever complained about short battery life, then the Wind U115 might be the right one for you. You can read more about the battery on the following page, for now it’s enough to know that it’s a 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (5200mAh).



Here we must warn you to watch out if you’re holding your U115 in your lap or on the edge of the table while your screen is up. Much of the weight is concentrated in the battery pack and screen, so even a slight touch in such a scenario will be enough to tip it over, and that could be ugly if it's sitting on the edge of your desk.


Packaging

Within a recycled cardboard box you’ll find a carefully packaged U115, as well as MSI’s protective pouch which will surely come in handy when you’re carrying this device around.

Package Contents:

• Quick start guide
• Warranty
• Recovery DVD
• Utilities DVD
• Power cable
• Protective pouch