Buy the Wind 123 at Amazon or eBay.

Although not a well known manufacturer, MSI has had considerable success in the netbook category. The U123 takes the company’s previous laptop, and builds on it through a slightly faster processor and substantially better battery life.

The MSI Wind U123 includes many of the features common to 10 inch netbooks. These include a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM, and Windows XP Home. Complementing the typical features is the faster than normal Intel N280, running at 1.66 GHz. This is not a huge step up from most netbooks, but should provide a slightly smoother experience.

MSI took criticisms of the original Wind to heart, including a much higher capacity battery in the U123. The computer is available with either a 6 or 9 cell battery, the 9 cell running at a somewhat higher price. Both computers are rated at about 1 hour battery life per cell.

The MSI Wind 123’s include a few additional features, such as a built-in microphone, 1.3 megapixel webcam, 4-in-1 card reader, 802.11G wireless networking, and 3 USB drives.

Although the Wind does not stand out too far from the pack, it includes all the features most people are looking for in a netbook – combined with an attractive shell and sub $400 price.

Check out all the Wind 123 models at eBay, or in Blue and Red at Amazon.

The U100 is based around Intel’s Atom processor, running at 1.6 Gigahertz.  It has a 160GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM, Windows XP, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. This is a pretty typical 10 inch netbook featureset – which isn’t too surprising considering that this computer probably served as the model for many other netbook designs.

When the U100 first arrived, it’s greatest improvement on other netbooks was probably the computer’s sleek design. Asus took some time before the Eee developed into an attractive machine, but MSI put serious effort into making an appealing laptop right from the get-go.

Today, the MSI Wind U100 is available both new and used. New models are approaching $300, with used computers going for somewhat less. You can see its listings at both eBay and Amazon.