October 6 - 4:05pm EDT   MSI today said that its Wind netbook is shipping to Best Buy, marking one of the first times the portable has been available in a major US retail chain. The netbook ships in just one configuration for the store and comes with Windows XP pre-loaded as well as the necessary 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive; MSI keeps pricing under check by using the stock three-cell battery rather than the larger six-cell pack. [full story]

August 4 - 7:25am EDT   Lenovo this morning contributed its share to the rapidly growing netbook field with a new IdeaPad model. The S10 shares the same 10-inch screen and 1.6GHz Atom processor as larger rivals like the MSI Wind but promises a unique design with a multi-touch trackpad, front-mounted speakers, and a keyboard at 85 percent of full size and thus comfortable enough to type on for long periods. A 1.3-megapixel camera is built into the lid. Bluetooth and an ExpressCard slot are also rare additions for connections to wireless keyboards, 3G modems, and similar peripherals. [full story]

July 30 - 11:40am EDT   MSI today confirmed to LAPTOP that it would raise the official price of its Wind mini notebook by an average of $50. A base model with a three-cell battery pack now costs $499 while a longer-lasting six-cell version costs $549. The company has had "no choice" but to increase the price as the raw manufacturing costs for the battery and other notebook materials have increased significantly, according to an MSI official. Retailers such as Buy.com are being asked to cancel orders at the original prices to avoid facing sanctions from the PC builder. [full story]

July 8 - 4:35pm EDT   MSI this afternoon confirmed that it has finally begun shipping the Wind, its first mini notebook. Stores such as Amazon, Buy.com, Fry's, and Newegg are all receiving the 10-inch portables first and will initially receive basic versions with a three-cell battery and Windows XP Home. Versions with the longer-lived six-cell battery as well as those preloaded with Linux are due in September, the company says. The larger battery itself will be available separately at the same time. [full story]

June 27 - 4:30pm EDT   MSI has again delayed getting its Wind UMPC into the hands of buyers. In a letter sent to customers recently, apologetic MSI says the delay stems from an industry-wide notebook battery shortage that took place in March. In an attempt to make up for the delay, MSI will give buyers free overnight shipping when the Wind does arrive on July 7. The last promised ship date for the long-awaited UMPC was June 16th, but US customers are still to receive their mini notebooks. [full story]

June 4 - 4:50pm EDT   Apple may be refusing to negotiate with all players in the Italian cellphone market, one telecom executive suggests. Vincenzo Novari, the CEO of phone carrier 3 Italia, says that while his company is "super-interested about the iPhone," he has not heard any response in regard to inquiries at Apple, whether positive or negative. Novari in fact claims to have sent two e-mail messages directly to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, without receiving any sort of acknowledgement. [full story]

June 3 - 7:45am EDT   Acer this morning made its launch into micro notebooks official with the Aspire one. Following closely in the style of systems from ASUS and MSI, the 8.9-inch portable is based on an Intel Atom processor that Acer claims should last for about 6 hours on an optional battery, or slightly longer than the MSI Wind's 5.5 hours. This is helped by the switch to flash storage on the base model: simpler configurations include an 8GB module in place of the hard drive used in some other mini portables. [full story]

June 3 - 7:15am EDT   MSI this morning finalized the US specs and details for the Wind, its entry into micro notebooks. The 10-inch, LED-backlit system is available in Linux and Windows versions that share virtually identical features: at the center is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor that MSI claims will net each Wind as much as 5.5 hours of battery life, or much more than systems based on older Celeron processors. Each also comes with an 80GB hard drive rather than flash memory. [full story]

May 28 - 7:55am EDT   ASUS is bumping up the launch of the 10-inch Eee PC in an attempt to head off rivals, PC builder insiders claim. The company is reportedly concerned about the launch of the same-size MSI Wind and now plans to introduce its largest Eee PC at the Computex show next week alongside the Atom-based Eee PC 901 in an attempt to garner more publicity for its own system. [full story]

May 13 - 2:45pm EDT   MSI today has firmed up specs for its Wind mini-notebook, including its launch timeframe. The 10-inch system will closely follow ASUS' practices with the Eee PC and ship in both a low-cost Linux version (based on Novell's distribution) as well as a more expensive Windows XP edition. The basic Wind will ship with just 512MB of RAM and a three-cell battery good for 2.5 hours of battery life; in exchange for the higher price and demands of the Windows portable, the premium model will come with 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, and a six-cell battery that runs for 5.5 hours. [full story]

May 9 - 3:05pm EDT   Online store eXpansys today put up pre-orders for the Wind, MSI's rival to the ASUS Eee PC. Elaborating on early specs published last month for the system, the store confirms that the launch edition of the 10-inch notebook will run on a comparatively quick 1.6GHz Atom and features that aren't often present in smaller notebooks, such as a physically larger 80GB hard drive, a 1.3-megapixel webcam built into the lid, and Bluetooth. [full story]