As I have mention before, I had a christmas wish list of a getting a nettop, MSI Wind in particular. I decided not to get it because it lacks of built in mobile broadband(very important), the latest generation of Intel Atom CPU (important), built in CD-ROM(not so important but good to have). Im still in the market of gettin a nettop, but there is just no good options available at the moment. In case you haven't notice, the current generation of nettops pretty much offer the same specs. Intel Atom N270, 9-10 inch screen, 1 Gb Ram (upgradeable to 2Gb but will void your warranty if done by yourself), 3 cell battery, and wireless BG. Regardless what model you choose (MSI Wind, Asus Eeepc, Dell Mini 9, etc), the only variations you might get is 6 cell battery and wirelss N.

In CES 2009, which was held in Las Vegas, Dell and MSI introduced new nettop models. MSI introduced the MSI Wind U115 Hybrid nettop and Dell introduced Inspiron Mini 10. From the pictures I've seen on the web, MSI Wind U115 looks very similar, if not the same as MSI Wind 100. Comparing the specs of the U115 with U100, the new version sports Intel Atom N530 and Hybrid storage system. Hybrid storage system basically means the nettop has both SSD and Harddisk install in it. The idea behind this is to put the operating system in the high speed SSD for better performance. Very interesting concept, especially for a nettop (even laptops never had this kind of storage before). And since SSD doesn't weight much, this should not add much to the nettop total weight.

Now for the Dell Mini 10, it has some interesting features that you've never found in a nettop before. Appart from the usual Intel Atom Z530, wireless b/g/n, and built in mobile broadband, it sports the following features:

• 720p 10 inch LCD screen (16:9 ratio, 1280x720): better view when watching movies
• Built-in TV Tuner: well you can watch TV programs
• Multi-touch and Gesture touchpad: mac-like gesture?
• Built-in GPS: handy for road warriors

I have to admit the first three features sounds very appealing especially the touchpad (assuming if it works well). As I said earlier the lacks of built-in mobile really put me off buying the MSI Wind U100, but this Dell Mini 10 really fills in the gap (except for the CD-ROM bit). Now you can say that Dell Mini 9 has a version with built-in 3G, but the problem is that it is not available here in Australia. Moreover, I HATE 9 inch nettops. Why? Because small screen and cramped up keyboard sucks. If this beauty doesn't cost more than $AU 800, I will definately buy it. Can only hope it comes out before my trip to Japan.

RWendi