Anyone who has ever had to tote around a heavy notebook will appreciate the merit of netbooks – smaller, light-weight laptops designed for easy connectivity and portability.

Netbooks are being released by most of the major notebook manufacturers- being one of this year’s must have gadgets it’s not hard to see why.

One common problem shared by most netbooks is the size of the keyboard. When the size of the notebook decreases, so does the size of its components. This often results in tiny keyboards that make typing a long, laborious process. MSI, fortunately, have managed to fit a decent-sized “Ergonomic Big-Size Keyboard” on the Wind which adds greatly to its appeal.

The Wind weighs just over 1 kg which means that carrying it around for extended periods is relatively effortless. It has three USB 2.0 ports and a 4-in-1 card reader that ensure easy data transfer as well as a 1.3 megapixel webcam. Wind stands for “Wi-Fi Network Device” and for good reason too. The Wind comes standard with 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in for easy access to available wireless networks which we were able to set-up and use with ease.

Other specs include an Intel Atom N270 1.6 Ghz Processor, 1GB of onboard memory, a 160GB SATA hard drive, and a 10\" 1024 x 600 resolution screen with the latest LED power-saving backlight technology which provides better colour fullness and brightness.

The only thing that really bothered us about the Wind was the touchpad which is rather small and can be so difficult to control at times that it almost has you crying tears of frustration. That being said the same holds true for every other netbook with a touchpad on the market. Other than the touchpad, we could find little else wrong with the Wind and we were rather taken with it.

The Wind netbook comes in black, white and pink and is preinstalled with Windows XP Home. It is the perfect tool for students or anyone who needs a highly portable laptop. You can get one from Computer Corporation for R4999.