Medion Akoya Mini E1210: reviewed the clone of the Wind

Many consider the MSI Wind as one of the best upcoming Netbook marketing (now waiting for months) due to its excellent technical features and a lower price than the competition.

Today we offer a review of one of the many brothers of the twins Wind, a device identical to the full (or almost ...) to the original, even the price of € 399, but Brandizzo from Medion with the Akoya name.

Outside

The case of the forward from the first touch a feeling of solidity and high quality construction and is accompanied by a very simple design, simple and clean-up by the rounded lines of the structure; positive note coming on the type of paint used for houses, a coating of black mat that allows you to use the device without too afraid to fill it with dirt and fingerprints.

The hinge appears very solid, but with a single "default": not possible to reach an opening angle of the greatest; suppose this is still a choice from the same manufacturer time to maintain them a perfect balance of the device.

Keyboard

Good news from that front: the keyboard has a 'good usability and is pleasant to use even after several hours of typing, and would like one of the best keyboards seen to date in machines of this kind. Of course the small size make it less easy to use for people with large fingers, but we want to emphasize that we are talking about really special cases not relevant to most users.

Screen

The screen is also excellent, with a brightness and a contrast to the situation that the user offono one 'excellent viewing experience. One negative point is the presence of an annoying flickering of the model tested in this, but it is certainly a problem easily solved with BIOS updates.

Computing power

With all the devices tested in the past it was always necessary to highlight the serious limitations due to processor performance "not exceptional", as the good old Celeron or the Via C7.

The speech seems to change with the processor market of recent home Intel 's Atom, which, although its limits, however, can fully meet the needs of any user. Here are the results of CrystalMark 2004:

Do not expect excellent performance in gaming or the possibility of holding dozens of applications running simultaneously, but you will still be a more fluid and usable than before: the navigation is flowing nicely, with Skype video does not create any problems, running applications such as iTunes and Google Earth does not require long waits and you can even play movies calmly up to 720p. It seems to me there seems enough? ;)

Battery life

Unfortunately from this point of view, the device is somewhat lacking in comparison to aggressive competitors like the EEEPC 1000h. The battery provides a range of about 2 ½ hours with a traditional use, including Web browsing with Wi-Fi assets and the use of an office suite; quest'autonomia is consistent with that of a normal laptop, but it is somewhat reduced compared to about six hours offered by the competition.

Comuque are available batteries with greater capacity, but this requires an additional outlay of between 80 and 100.

What is missing?

As you may have read so far this year, the Medion is a device to convince a lot and basically good in every respect. But, if we wanted to find the hair nell'uovo, here are some of its shortcomings:

• Bluetooth module: despite the original MSI is present in this form, we unfortunately have to simply add it externally.
• Module 3d: yet in reality no device is equipped, but there you mind if things began to evolve in this field.
• Wi-fi 802.11 N: the new standard, which ensures greater signal range and greater speed, it is unfortunately not supported.
• Upgradabilità: it is virtually non-existent compared to what the new offer EEEPC or the Dell Mini.
• Express Card Slot
• Audio quality: the decidedly low-quality integrated speakers.

You finish the trial. :)

Source: UMPCPortal

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