Minix M1000 Netbook Review

The very first time I opened a box of the Minix M1000 u-note, it reminded me of  the MSI Wind. Check out the full review after the jump.

Design and construction is somewhat a cross between the HP Mini 1000 and the MSI Wind U100. The lid cover is glossy with a wallpaper design so it’s a fingerprint and smudge-magnet. The keyboard layout and orientation is identical to that of MSI Wind so my earlier problem with the positioning of the Fn and Ctrl keys are the same.

Unlike most other netbooks I’ve tried and currently use, the Minix has a really nice, spacious trackpad (I reckon it has around 25-40% more in size compared to others in the 10-inch category) so I don’t normally get the urge of hooking it up with an external USB mouse even on extended use.

Since the Minix M1000 didn’t have any OS pre-installed (just FreeDOS), I immediately loaded it with Windows 7 RC. It runs on an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz with the GMA 950 chip so performance is fairly normal. Windows Experience Index rates it at 2.0 (based on the lowest subscore attained by the graphics on Windows Aero performance).

The other specs are also fairly standard — 160GB 5400rpm HDD, 1GB RAM, WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, and 3 USB 2.0 ports. The built-in card reader supports 6 different card types (it’s normally between 3 to 5). It also comes with a 1.3MP webcam.

The 10.1″ screen can be had in glossy or matte finish (the black model has a matte finish while the white one has glossy finish). Of course, the one with the glossy screen has brighter and more crisp display but you also suffer from glare when using it outdoors or against some other bright light source. What’s a bit disappointing is that the screen resolution is only 1024×576 pixels (I expected at least 1024×600) and that couple of dozen missing pixels do matter (the HP Mini 1109TU has the same low resolution).

The standard configuration comes with a 3-cell 2200mAH battery so normal usage time is just around 2 hours on a full charge. I hope that optional 6-cell battery is rated somewhere around 5200-5800mAh and isn’t too expensive.

Suggested retail price of the Minix M1000 netbook is Php17,500 with the 1GB RAM and Php18,000 for the 2GB model. However, it’s selling for just Php15,000 over at TipidPC which I thought is a good bargain (at that price, it’s the cheapest 10-inch netbook in the market). And one more thing — they currently don’t come with any pre-installed OS (Windows XP and Ubuntu will come later according to PC Trends) but that shouldn’t stop you from downloading a copy of Windows 7 RC and use it for free until June 2010.