Judging by general opinion, the MSI Wind seems to be one of the most highly regarded netbooks out there. It also happens to one that is widely available in a re-badged version, selling as the Akoya Mini, the Proline U100, the MyBook M11, the Tsunami Moover, the Axioo Picoo, and around 15 other names all over the globe.

The system is also available from Dixons Group stores in the UK as the Advent 4211, and this is the netbook I’m going to be reviewing over the coming weeks. It also happens that we currently have a HP Mini-Note here at TTB HQ, a high-end netbook available at a much higher price, so it’ll be interesting to see how the two machines compare.

On the subject of price, DSGi are already on to a winner with the Advent, as the MSI Wind costs upwards of £330 in the UK, while the 4211 (exactly the same system with an Advent badge on the back) goes for £280. It also comes with support from The Tech Guys, PC World’s own in-store tech support and repair service.

The Advent 4211 that I am reviewing comes with XP Home Edition preinstalled, the Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM, an 80GB mechanical HDD, and a 10″ widescreen display. Here are my first impressions of the machine:

• The Advent 4211 is solidly put together and has a good selection of ports, with 3x USB, an SD card reader, and the usual VGA and audio in & out ports. It doesn’t come with an ExpressCard slot like some of the higher end machines, however.
• The keyboard is a very nice size, with the keys having a traditional laptop feel to them. They are well laid out and the keyboard feels solid when typed on. The wrist rest area is nice and big too.
• The trackpad is a little strange as it only appears to have one button, although pressing either end results in the relevant right/left click. The touchpad is very good and a nice size, too.
• The screen is very good quality, and although the 1024×600 resolution isn’t very impressive on paper, it makes perfect sense with such a small screen as text is very readable. Also, the matte finish is very nice and reduces reflections.
• The Advent is very light, weighing in a 1.2KG. Coupled with its small size, it makes for an excellent portable machine. We shall have to see how the battery life and wireless networking capabilities measure up over the coming weeks.
• The machine is very snappy indeed, with a boot time of around 30 seconds. Programs pop up quickly and the machine feels very responsive to use.

As you can see, my overall early impressions of the Advent 4211 netbook have been extremely positive. I can’t think of a single bad thing to say really, although XP Professional would’ve been nicer than XP Home. Although that’s mostly just misguided fanboyism, I think that XP Pro’s Active Directory support is an essential feature for corporate users.

Check out the gallery above for some of my early experiences with the machine.

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