By Darius Chang, CNET Asia
30/10/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050488,43826587p,00.htm

Stop rubbing your eyes. If you find the Axioo Pico looks strikingly similar to the MSI Wind, that's because both have essentially the same design, features and even hardware. Where they are different is in the price. While the MSI Wind is snagging S$859 from your pockets with two batteries bundled, the Axioo Pico demands a mere S$699 for pretty much the same configuration albeit with a single power cell. So unless you hanker for an MSI logo on your Netbook and need more batteries, the Pico provides the same computing experience for less.

Design

Like most Netbooks, the Pico is built from thick plastic which saves cost, but does little for its aesthetics. That said, we found the unit to be sturdy with no flex on the body and tight hinges (a good thing since there is no latch to keep the unit closed). Unlike the MSI Wind, there is no other color options available.

At only 1kg with the standard three-cell battery, it takes a little more real estate compared with other 8.9-inch Netbooks at 260 x 180 x 31.5mm. However, the additional dimensions are required to fit the generous 10-inch display. Another positive side effect is that the Pico can fit in a larger keyboard. With the exception of the HP Compaq 2133 Mini-Note and the just-released HP Mini 1000, the tiny keyboards on most Netbooks make data entry a finger-numbing exercise. Not so on the Pico which can be used for long periods without ill effect. The touchpad is a little small for our liking, but most would prefer attaching an external mouse anyway.

Features

Though it's larger than the standard 8.9-inch Netbooks out there, we prefer the generous 10-inch display on the Pico for more serious work, especially when dealing with spreadsheets. The native resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels is nothing to shout about, and the integrated graphics processor in the form of an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 is hardly gaming grade. However, this combination is more than competent when rendering Web pages and standard-definition videos. With a set of stereo horns on the bottom of the unit, the audio quality is rather good for a Netbook, though care must be taken that the speaker grills are not blocked.

Connectivity-wise, the main things we miss are Bluetooth and HSDPA radios, both which are not available even as options on the Pico. Fortunately, a wired 10/100 Ethernet port and wireless 802.11b/g radio are onboard for Internet connectivity. Three USB 2.0 ports handle external peripherals, while a VGA output allows linking with larger displays. A 1.3-megapixel Webcam is located above the display for video conferencing and the occasional snapshot, though don't expect fantastic picture quality. To round it all off, a 3-in-1 memory card reader handles SD/MMC, SDHC and Memory Stick formats.

An interesting feature of the Pico is its ability to instantly underclock its 1.6GHz Atom processor to 800MHz by pressing the Fn and F10 buttons together. This allows the machine to save battery life by running at half speed when the user is performing simple tasks like emailing or writing Word documents.

Performance And Battery Life

The Axioo Pico comes with 1GB of onboard RAM and a 160GB harddrive. If you need a little oomph, the memory can be bumped up to a maximum of 2GB, though this D.I.Y. will require a little technical know-how as you would need to remove the base of the unit. However, we were a little disappointed that solid-state drives are not an option for the Pico.

With the Intel Atom processor running the show, the 1.6GHz chip provided a snappy performance on the Windows XP Home operating system. Unless you are into heavy image and photo editing, or believe you are not working unless you have over 10 applications running simultaneously, the Pico should be able to satisfy your needs.

The bundled three-cell battery was a little disappointing. Running on half-screen brightness with the wireless radio on, we managed just over 2 hours of uptime before the battery charge was used up. If you need more time away from the outlet, a six-cell version is available for S$100 more, though this will add to the size and heft of the Pico.

Service And Support

THe Axioo laptop comes with a standard one-year return-to-depot warranty. On the support Web site, drivers and user manuals can be downloaded while replacement parts may also be ordered. A telephone line and email are available for simple troubleshooting, though hardware faults and more detailed diagnostics require the unit to be sent to the service center. Depending on your region, Axioo may provide a backup notebook during the period when your machine is being serviced and repaired.