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        Touchscreen PC has dual-core Atom

        Jonathan Angel | Date: Apr 2, 2009 | Comments: 1


        MSI has announced an all-in-one PC with an Intel Atom 330 processor and a 18.5-inch touchscreen display. The "Wind Top AE1900" includes a read/write DVD drive, a 160GB hard disk drive, a webcam, 802.11b/gg/n wireless, and uses under 45 Watts, the company says.



        (Click here for a larger view of MSI's Wind Top AE1900)

        With its white body and transparent acrylic frame, MSI's Wind Top AE1900 frankly resembles various discontinued Apple products, and "can be a home decoration," according to the company. The PC includes a 1.3 megapixel webcam, two stereo speakers with three Watt amplifiers, a optical disk drive for reading and writing DVDs, and a SD/XD/MMC/MS card reader, qualifying it as a complete home entertainment device.


        MSI's Wind Top AE1900
        (Click to enlarge)

        The AE1900 has a 18.5-inch display described as having WSXGA resolution (most likely, 1440 by 900 pixels, though this was not spelled out), and capable of touchscreen operation. The device runs the Windows XP Home operating system, dressed up with a custom program launcher that's said to sort available programs into "work, fun, tool, and web" categories.

        This device is one of relatively few employing Intel's dual-core Atom 330, as opposed to the single-core Atom 230 that's more common in "nettops." Both the 230 and the 330 use 45nm technology, feature a 533MHz frontside bus, and are designed to work with Intel's 945GC chipset (the 82945GC northbridge and 82801GB southbridge).

        Naturally, the 330 offers more processing power than the 230, though MSI makes no claim that the AE1900 is capable of playing HD video -- a weakness of the Atoms when they're matched with Intel's first-generation chipsets. The company does state that, with its integrated webcam, the AE1900 is "capable of broadcasting live at anytime, saving every moment and not missing a single frame."

        On its own, the Atom 330 is said to have an eight-Watt TDP. MSI says the AE1900, while apparently not fanless, runs quietly and uses a maximum of 45 Watts.

        Networking on the AE1900 includes a gigabit Ethernet port -- seldom, if ever, offered by Atom 330-based PCs -- plus 802.11b/g/n wireless. The PC also includes 2GB of RAM in a single SODIMM slot, 160GB of hard disk storage, four USB ports, a microphone input, and a headphone output, says MSI.

        Features and specifications listed by MSI for the Wind Top AE1900 include the following:
        • Processor -- Intel Atom 330 clocked at 1.6GHz
        • Memory -- 2GB of DDR2 RAM installed in single SODIMM slot
        • Display -- 18.5 touchscreen display with WSXGA resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio
        • Storage -- 160GB hard disk drive, plus read/write DVD drive
        • Camera -- 1.3 megapixel webcam
        • Networking:
          • LAN -- Gigabit Ethernet port
          • WLAN -- 802.11b/g/n
        • Other I/O:
          • 4 x USB 2.0
          • Mic in
          • Headphone output
        • Expansion -- SD/XD/MMC/MS card reader
        • Power requirements -- Includes 65-Watt AC adapter; uses 45 Watts in "full operation"
        • Dimensions -- 18.74 x 14.37 x 1.92 inches (476 x 365 x 49mm)
        • Weight -- n/s
        Further information

        MSI did not release availability information or pricing for the Wind Top AE1900, though it's rumored the device will sell for approximately $600.

        A Chinese review of the device may be read via a Google translation, here.


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