Medion Akoya Mini E1210 review

The Medion is among the larger netbooks, with a 10 inch screen that makes the Windows Desktop feel a bit more roomy than on the 8.9 inch models, and a correspondingly wider keyboard thanks to the slightly enlarged chassis.

In fact, it has exactly the same keyboard as the MSI Wind, and on closer inspection the whole machine is essentially a rebadged version of that system.

Where there are differences between the two, they're not in the Medion's favour. Its 80GB hard disk provides only half the capacity of the 160GB drive in the Wind. Similarly, the supplied battery is rated at just 2200mAh, compared to the Wind's 4400mAh, and accordingly lasted only two and a half hours in our light use test, almost exactly half the time we recorded for the Wind. It also weighs fractionally less, but we don't think that's a good trade-off.

The Akoya - it's a type of pearl, in case you were wondering - has the built-in 802.11n WiFi that the Wind lacks (MSI only supports the slower b and g standards), a significant advantage, but unlike the Wind it doesn't include support for Bluetooth, which means you'll need an annoying USB dongle to add short range wireless accessories such as a mouse or Bluetooth headset.

Still, the chassis and appearance remain the same as the Wind, making the Medion one of the more stylish machines on test. The Samsung and Eee PC 901 narrowly win on style overall, especially since the latter comes in a choice of colours.

Considering that this is basically the same machine as the Wind except that several of the specifications have been halved, it would be reasonable to assume that the Medion would be substantially cheaper than the MSI. In fact, the gap is only a little more than £40, which is significant in this price range but not enough to make up for the shortcomings. The Wind stands out as the better value of two very similar options.