MSI unwaps dual disk Wind U115 and 1.3kg X-Slim 320

Even before we checked out the free bathrobes and emptied the minibar of all contents, MSI had slipped this press release 'neath our door with details on its CES goodies - including what we're pretty sure is the first dual disk (SSD and traditional hard disk) equipped netbook and a rival for Apple's MacBook Air.

First up is the super slim, Air rivalling, X-Slim 320. A mere slip of a thing at 1.3kg (60g lighter than the Air's stated 1.36kg) it's just a shade thicker than the Apple, ranging from 6mm to 19.8mm versus 4mm to 19.4mm with the Air.

It gets a 13.4in 16:9 widescreen - a smidgen wider than the Air's 13.3in 16:10 display - and will squeeze ten hours out of the battery although we don't know yet what processor it's packing. UPDATE: Apparently it's a 1.6GHz Atom but we'll check.

Pushing its cells further, this is the new netbook on the block, the Wind U115 “Hybrid”. Hybrid refers to its unique SSD and hard drive combo, combining the storage advantages of a hard drive with the speed and power efficiency of an SSD. It'll manage a full 12 hours from a 6-cell battery when in "ECO" mode, which shuts off the hard drive altogether and relies solely on the SSD, giving even the ever-frugal Samsung NC10 a run for its money.

No word on pricing and availability yet. We'll add any more news as we get it.

Press release:

Debut of MSI U-Series New Force

First Look at U115, the Dual Disk Model

All-In-One Wind NetOn Models Starting the Era of Dual Core Atom

[Taipei] At CES 2009, to be held in Las Vegas from January 8, MSI will capture the world’s eyes with its prolific R&D and designs. In addition to introducing new U-series models, MSI will launch the new All-In-One Wind NetOn models and MSI’s first dual-core Atom All-In-One model. G-series notebooks, the first models from MSI surmounting 10000 points on 3Dmark, will also be exhibited.

Following the popular MSI Wind Netbooks, U100 and U90, MSI will introduce more netbooks at CES, including MSI’s U115 Hybrid, and will also announce that MSI’s forthcoming U120 is “WiMAX Ready”. The first netbook capable of running SSD/HDD simultaneously, MSI X-Slim Series X320, and the 13” super portable notebook just 1.3 kg

MSI X-Slim 320 super portable notebook shows off its slim figure at 1.3kg!

The newly launched, super portable notebook, MSI X-Slim Series X320, is certain to capture the crowd’s interest. While the MSI X320 is equipped with the latest Intel platform and a 13.4” display with an optimized 16:9 screen, it only weights just about 1.3 kg making it your perfect mobile partner.

Not only light, the X320 is also very “thin”. The overall thickness is 1.98 cm, with the thinnest part being only 6 mm. In addition to its small size and weight, the X320 also features an excellent battery life up to 10 hours. Its chic and elegant appearance, available in Champagne gold, pearl white or even jet black, make it any consumers’ dream notebook.

World’s First Dual HardDisk Netbook, U115 Hybrid, Showing Off Its Battery Life of Up-To-12-Hours

At CES, MSI will also exhibit another topical netbook, the U115 Hybrid, which is the world’s first netbook with built in SSD and HDD simultaneously. U115 Hybrid implements the latest hybrid storage technology to combine the advantages of SSD and SATA disk, thereby presenting numerous beneficial features such as being energy-saving, stable and shock-proof, reading fast and having high capacity. Thanks to MSI’s exclusive ECO power-saving technology, the U115 Hybrid’s battery can last up to 12 hours. *(with a 6cell battery).

U115 Hybrid has its OS installed in the SSD, thereby reducing boot time and improving operational efficiency. During ECO Mode, the system will shut off SATA disk so temporarily only work with the low-power-consuming SSD, which will impress users with its amazing long-term battery life.

* The aforementioned 12-hour use is achieved under the conditions of implementing a 6cell battery and ECO Mode, the actual battery life may vary with products and operational environment.
 

U120-Series is ready for not only 3.5G, but also WiMAX

In addition to the 3.5G network card enabling you to easily surf the internet, MSI U120 is even ”WiMAX Ready”. At CES, MSI will build up a WiMAX wireless environment allowing people to experience the outstanding WiMAX wireless performance of the U120.

All-In-One Wind NetOn Starting the Era of the Dual-Core Atom

MSI will present 4 of it’s new All-In-One species “Wind NetOn” at CES, including 22” AE2203, 19” AP1900, AE1901 and AP1902. AE1901 is the world’s first All-In-One model equipped with the dual-core Atom processor that helps to not only improve operational performance, but also save energy. Its power consumption is only 20% that of normal PCs (250W). The advanced model, AE2203, is fully equipped with advanced AV and entertainment functions and supports Full HD.
 

G-Series Gaming Notebook Presenting Amazing Performance and breaking 10000 points on 3DMark

New G-Series Gaming notebooks will also be shown at CES, including MSI GT725, MSI GT727, MSI GT627 and MSI GX420. At CES, MSI will announce their success in setting a new milestone for our Gaming NB’s thanks to the new GT725/GT727 are the first two models in MSI’s line-up to break 10000 points in 3Dmark.

While establishing a whole new level of performance, MSI will also launch its first 14” with a 16:9 screen GX420. The new GT627 is equipped with 1Gb of DDR3 VRAM and presents better overall performance in a new Carbon-Fiber Concept chassis.

About MSI

MSI is proud of its more than 20 years experience in designing and manufacturing high performance IT products. The product lines of MSI are motherboards, graphic cards, notebooks, consumer electronics, barebones, networking and server products, and fully integrated add-on peripherals. With its ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 qualified facilities, MSI products provide the ultimate performance, reliability and value-increasing productivity. We distribute our products through offices located in The Netherlands, Serbia, Germany, Italy, Poland, France, Russia,Taiwan, United States, Canada, Brazil,  Japan, China, Korea, Australia, United Kingdom and India.

MSI markets its products to distributors, computer system manufacturers, and system integrators. For more information visit the company on the World Wide Web at http://global.msi.eu.

MSI Computer UK Ltd was established in 2000. Having its own facility in Hayes near London, it handles all marketing, sales, logistics and after-sales-service for its customers throughout the UK.