Computer makers Acer and MSI Computer on Tuesday introduced sub-$500 mini-notebooks powered by Intel’s new Atom processor.
The MSI Wind has an 10-inch display and weighs 2.6 pounds. Acer’s Aspire One has an 8.9-inch display and weighs nearly 2.1 pounds. Intel’s 1.6-MHz Atom processor powers both computers.The MSI Wind, which uses the Intel 945 GMS chipset for graphics and other tasks, includes 1 GB of memory, an 80-GB hard drive, a webcam, wifi and bluetooth.
The Windows XP version of the Wind has a manufacturer suggested retail price of $499. A Linux-based model will cost $399.
The Acer Aspire One, which uses Intel’s Graphics Media Accelerator 950 chipset, includes an 8.9-inch LED display with the same resolution as the Wind, 512 MB of memory, and Wi-Fi support. The machine does not include Bluetooth support. The machine is available with either Linux or Windows XP. Pricing starts at $379.
So, Asus EEE has even more competitors now. The competition is becoming more fiercer thanks to the very successful Asus EEE 701