CES 2010: MSI shows off Wind U160 netbook

The Wind U160 is expected to cost just under £300

Notebook maker Micro Star International (MSI) has showcased an update to its Wind U100 netbook chassis at CES in the form of the Wind U160.

The new flip-box will represent the high-end of MSI's netbook offerings, with pricing coming in at just under £300, although an MSI spokesperson said that it might be cheaper once on the shelves.

The U160 will be the first update to the original MSI Wind U100 chassis which debuted with a 10in screen, a first at the time for netbooks. While 10in screens are now standard, MSI has tried to emulate premium netbooks in glamming up its own offering.

The model on display had a bronze/brown lid with a trackpad which was flush with the pearlescent finish wrist-rest.

Under the revised exterior you get Intel's latest N450 'Pine Trail' chip coupled to 1GB of RAM and a 250GB SATA drive. MSI has also made things easy for those who want to upgrade the RAM by allowing a single hatch to be unscrewed rather than the whole bottom half as before. The maximum RAM supported is 2GB.

MSI said that the screen panel has been updated with faster response times, but the resolution remains the same at 1,024 x 600. The U160 is fitted with a six-cell battery which the firm said is good for up to nine hours.

The MSI U160 netbook should hit retail shelves by 2 February.