MSI Releases Specs, Prices for Wind ULPC

Those who want to ride the Wind won't have to wait much longer: it will appear stateside on June 16 complete with Atom processor, 10-inch screen and 80GB SATA drive.

In what’s already turning out to be an eventful week for ULPCs (including a new entrant from Acer, new drives from SanDisk, and new screens for the Asus Eee), MSI continued the trend by finalizing specs, prices and a launch date for its already-announced ULPC, the Wind. The big news: it’s just around the corner.

As expected, the Wind will get a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 10-inch widescreen display, and LED-powered backlight. It will come equipped standard with an 80GB SATA drive, 1.3-megapixel webcam and three-cell battery that MSI claims should be good for three hours of operation. Quirkier features include magnifying software that will allow users to make the most of its screen, and a protective zipper sleeve.

While the Wind will debut in less than two weeks on June, it will only be available at that time with the Windows XP operating system, and will run for $499. A Linux-based version of the notebook will debut later this summer for a full $100 cheaper, at $399.