MSI Wind $499 with 6 cell on msimobile.com

People probably already know this but...

According to MSI's site the XP version with 6 cell battery is supposed to be $499. I kept seeing it around the net for close to $550. I thought they were going to sell it on that site too... but I don't see a buy option on msimobile.com

"The Windows version of the Wind is priced at $499 MSRP, and will be available for purchase starting June 16th, 2008 at www.msicomputer.com. The Linux based models of the Wind will be available at the same site later this summer for $399 MSRP."

http://www.msimobile.com/library/2008/0603.aspx

Krista

 

Ah ha! Looks like they will be selling it on the MSI site on the 16th, perhaps starting at exactly 12:01 AM. They're on PST. I'm going to be up

Krista

 

Unfortunately that is only the press release. At this moment it's unlikely that it will be sold for $499 with 6 cell.

There has been a discussion about this in one of the other threads but I forgot where.

 

apparently, there have been some delays with being able to get the WIND out on time... I called MSI's office in City of Industry and they said that it won't be available till the end of the month / beginning of next month.

But they will be taking pre-orders on their website

 

Ah, that press release was dated like June 2, I assumed they had a clue. Dang.

Krista

 

Looks like this is the link: https://shop.msicomputer.com/App/StoreFront/StoreProduct.aspx?PID=107

and yeah, looks like only 3 cell. If it's only 3 cell, I want the linux version.

 

well, I saw that their website (with WINDs in stock) went up for about 15 minutes before being completely sold out. I tried ordering online, but kept on getting errors whenever I tried to submit my payment info. I've been trying to call their customer service for about 1 hour now and it's blatantly obvious they were not prepared for this...

 

It's unfortunate, but MSI wasn't able to meet the release date with sufficient stock.

I read they only had 200 units available today, and only with 3 cell batteries. But hey, that's life. If they could've had enough to sell to everyone they would have, of course.

Hopefully this all changes for the better over the next few weeks, because I'm all set to buy a white Wind with 6 cell battery and XP.

 

It looks like they have 70 black / 32 white in stock right now, but still just the 3 cell. I'm waiting.

Krista

 

They're gone now.

@ Krista, you may have to wait longer than one month, don't know if that is a problem to you.

 

Their website is a little glitchy... I kept on trying to order it (the 6 cell doesn't quite matter as much to me for my needs) yesterday and today and every time I kept on getting error messages and no confirmation. I tried calling their phone # and was literally on hold for like 2 hours yesterday before I finally gave up. They are ridiculously busy I guess. Tried again today when I saw that they had more units available. Again same story - problems with the website and problems getting through to the sales rep.

Finally called their number and pressed 0 for the receptionist (who then transferred me to x163) - and I got to speak to a real person. Apparently, I had like 20 orders in the queue and they said their system was overloaded, which might have accounted for the website errors (uh.... yeah... ok)
Anyway, they were able to complete one of them and cancel the others and emailed me my confirmation finally. Yeah!

BTW, I think that means that another 19 units just became available

 

I have a good notebook, and an ultraportable nokia 770, so that's okay, I'm waiting I really really want one, but if I can't get the 6 cell battery, I'll get the linux version. If I'm going to shell out that much for the XP version it has to have the 6 cell. Battery power is what I'm lacking in a decently powerful device.

Krista

 

Now there are some 33 black Winds and 3 white Winds available with the 3 cells.

 

Well, apparently Shop@MSI website has taken off the Wind!

 

Hmm is the shop already back?

 

Looks like Aldi Süd (big discount supermarket chain in Germany) will be selling the Medion Akoya Mini on July 3rd. Not online but in the stores. They say nothing about the battery but weight is listed at 1.2Kg which is more then the Wind with the 3cell.
The Medion version is the same except for the paint job and that is has b/g/n wifi (wind has b/g) and the Medion version has no bluetooth.

Here is the source (german)

 

It seems like it has a 6 cell according to Chip.de. It also has N-draft. And 3 years warranty. Making it a better deal than the MSI.

The Medion site makes no mention of the 6 cells, nor of the LED screen.

 

What sucks is that some sites are reporting the MSI wont come to Germany till September. There is speculation that Medion has an exclusive deal for Germany (and Austria) for a few months.

The Medion version also seems to have gigabit ethernet. If it really has the 6cell battery then we know where all the batteries went... They are expecting 15,000-20,000 Medion Winds to be sold the first day at Aldi. Many more will be ordered online through Medion.

 

Seems like a great deal. Are you getting it?

Edit: it turns out the Medions will also have a 3 cell in the beginning.

 

Yes the medion has a 3cell. Medion said they will sell a 6cell battery as a spare.
Retailers in Germany are now saying it might be September till the Wind becomes available.

No sign of any atom netbook being in stock in europe. I am thinking about buying a Sony TZ. A lot more money but available now and better performance too. Maybe a FSC P1610.... I can wait till mid August. Then I am buying something.... Anything

 

Well John found this UK reseller that says to have the Wind in stock:
https://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=4828

 

Hopefully Dell gets the hint that they should have enough in stock when their E comes out...

Unless MSI is pulling a Wii incident...

 

I'd like to ask if the price will ever drop?

 

Probably not if demand stays high...

 

From what I have been buying in the past, asian manuafacturer prices will not drop. If other mini-notebooks come out with better features and prices more comparable, MSI will replace them with newer models with better performances, features and prices when the demand for the Wind becomes low.

I know MSI Wind will be a big success and comparing the prices with 15.4" laptop notebook features and performances, MSI will make a lot of profit.

 

MSI will be very stupid if imitating a Wii incident. Wii has proprietary (?) features (one of them, get the players off the couch) that XBox and PS3 do not have and people are willing to wait or spend time to search every Wal-Mart, Target stores to get one. There will be many many other models coming out with equal or better features with comparable prices with the Wind in the next few months.

 

Looks like the 3-cell XP is available to order, plus you can get a 6-cell later on: Engadget. (Looking at Amazon, the shipping is 3-5 weeks!)

How much do you think it would cost to get the 6-cell battery separately? It should be easy to install, right?

 

You should be able to get it serperately, and installation should be quick and easy as putting in any battery... should take maybe 5 seconds. lol