Don’t buy the MSI Wind, not yet

Not the right time to buy the small laptop
WELL, I know that’s not the most apt headline, especially not for a cuddly little laptop that costs you just about Rs 25,000, so small that you can lug it around without noticing it, and can turn your colleagues green with envy. So why this tough line on the MSI Wind. Well, read on.

The recently announced Intel Atom Platform — MSI Wind is the first next book to use it — has put a lot of computing minds into overdrive, and set them thinking how we can take lowcost computing forward, what are the possibilities. And there is always a debate on why you should and why you should not. But in recent years, there has been a big hype on how you can use your machines, with Microsoft upgrading us to a Mac-style environment called the Vista, and even Mac becoming cutting-edge. Earlier, only Linux offered a no-frills desktop computing environment, and to a certain extent the Windows XP. Sadly, Microsoft has discontinued Windows XP sales, though you can buy a Windows Vista licence and downgrade it to XP, so you can run XP on these Atom machines.

But if your usage, like most people, is to browse the Internet, check mail, watch online videos, listen to music, watch a movie, sync your portable media player, work on Word documents, crunch a few numbers in an Excel sheet and make Power Point presentations, the Atom, the Celeron and the Sempron will all suit you well. My typical usage of this machine will be to carry it around to coffee shops to jot down my thoughts, and leave my power house of a computer back home to do the number crunching, and spare time to Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence using SETI.

These new machines will change the entire scenario, making life much simpler for students of B Schools and other higher education centres who have been forced to buy laptops since they are affordable. But, yes, they are not the right fit to get those fancy Windows Vista graphics, neither are they great for ripping DVD’s as all these functions require a lot of power. Still, there is nothing better for your day-to-day use.

But, is it the right time to buy a netbook? I’d say, despite all the temptations, don’t fall for it just yet. Things are going to change within a couple of months, and these will make you regret buying it today.

Here is what’s in store:
By September, the Lenovo Idea Pad S10 Ultraportable, using the Intel Atom Chipset, should be out.
The Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Ultraportable will be out around the same time. But it’s still not clear if this will be brought to India, though it features a cool changeable face plate — remember the Nokias of yesteryears.
Intel has already announced a Dual Core Intel Atom to be released in September, which will change the landscape quite a bit.
Dell Inspiron Mini comes out in September with an approximate price tag of $300.
So wait, if you can, that is.

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The above Article appeared in the Indian Express, dated 10th August 2008