10-inch Advent 4211 netbook launches at PC World

£279 for ultra-portable

NEWS: 3 July 2008 9:24 GMT by Amy-Mae Elliott

10-inch Advent 4211 netbook launches at PC World image

PC World is offering its version of the netbook - the 10-inch Advent 4211.

Atom-based, it runs Windows XP, offers an 80GB hard drive, 1GB of memory and costs £279.

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Have Your Say

For those who have not twigged yet, this is totally IDENTICAL in form, function and specs to the MSI Wind which will not ship for a few weeks more and is over £60 extra. Not similar, but actually the same machine. Apparently people buying these have found a 'made by MSI' sticker on the base of the carton. Everything from the key legends to the position of the screw holes is the same as you can verify by checking photos of the Wind. Possibly the battery might be a lower rating, but surely not £60 worth! I very much doubt if the quality of the casing is different as it would not make commercial sense to redesign it just to make a lower quality.
A word to the wise, remember that you will need to add / borrow an external CD ROM drive to install your software if you buy one of these and have your own discs around. As for a case, I suggest one of those padded envelopes, then you can make the Mac Air brigade sick with envy for 30% of the cost they paid.

aj booker, uk
Just bought one today from PC World, they are in stock in some stores. Overall, a nice piece of kit. Screen nice and bright and good viewing angles. Runs video nicely. For example the HP 2133 mini note struggled with video playback such as Itunes moviews downloads. Plays movies nicely etc. Generally snappy all round.Only one major niggle so far, the speakers are really tinny and quiet, be warned!

It's £50 to £100 cheaper than the current MSI price postings on Play, Morgan Computers and Expansys.
Donderonda,
Bought one first thing this morning (3rd July) from PC World, Stockton. Only had 4 in stock, just got delivery today. Even the salesman didn't know it was same as MSI Wind, it even has MSI sticker on bottom of casing. So far so good, infact I'm typing this on it. Keys take a little getting used to after full size keyboard, but screen good, easy to read. Everything you want it does really and for the price is excellent value. Yes it only has lower power battery, but for the price you cant have everything. Build quality seems good, far better than eee pc as is the keyboard. Overall I'm very pleased with it.
Biggly, UK
I bought one these yesterday, I managed to source one in Glasgow PC World. I really like it, it is very light and compact. The screen is crystal clear for surfing the internet and using Works. I was amazed how quick this machine starts up and allows you to surf, it performs better than my pc which should be faster.

The only reservation I have is with the battery life, you roughly get around 2 hours out of a charge which is surprisingly low for a Atom based machine. Overall though I would recomend this machine to anyone wanting to travel light and suf on the move.
Bob Blair, Scotland
Baught one today from the east kilbride pcworld store, overall im very pleased with it, the only thing i could say against it is the speakers built into it, but it has realtek HD sound so a pair of decent headphones sorts that. I was amazed when i seen that it has a dual core atom in it, the guy at the counter said that there is no way that it would have anything other than a single core at that price, overall the performance is great, the screen is large enough to veiw without a strugle even with my terrible eyesight yet is still portable enough to take near enough anywhere, the cooling in it is one of the best ive seen in a laptop this size, it seems to draw air in from all over the laptop and let it all out the one fan, ive had this running and being used for about 6 hour and the air coming out of it is still cool and not had a single problem with it, even better when you hook it up to a big screen and use extended desktop, since it runs xp rather than vista it runs faster than most new desktops available, the only thing that lets it down there is graphics, it has 64meg of shared which is great for a laptop of this size but not so great for playing games, but it serves its purpose very well, i would recomend it to anyone whos looking for a new computer for general use such as internet messenger and videos and that and its good value, beats the asus eeepc by far in every way
s, scotland
The sticker on the bottom is only for BT module. Battery is 2200mAh (my eeepc has 5200) but MSI Wind will get the same. Anyway if you can't wait go for it. To be honest I will wait for white MSI Wind with 6 cells battery.
I just got white accessories coming from my eeepc :)
Martin, London
just bought one of these today as well,has anyone else got the advent welcome pack in their box ?
i.e instruction manual for the laptop ?
i was told by pc world customer services that they do not put them in anymore,all instructions are on laptop itself,even though contents leaflets in box shows advent welcome pack should be part of contents.thanks
rob, SCOTLAND
Got mine yesterday(3rd) and am very pleased with it so far, everything works as advertised and it is indeed a re-badged Wind. It's already sold itself to a couple of friends of mine and if anyone reading this is thinking about a machine of this type. It certainly gets my thumbs up.

A couple of points I would mention though, There is a different bios version in the Advent and there does not appear to be an overclock button combination. (unless I managed to miss it)

Ps.
Its not a dual core, the Atom has hyper-threading so it appears as two cores in windows.
Severin, uk
Contary to what is suggested you don't need an external cd rom/dvd, there are applications like magic disc with will mount an ISO file as a drive... so simply make an ISO image of you disc whack it on a usb stick and use magic disc an thats it
phil, UK
Does the Advent 4211 also include the turbo boost and energy saving modes like the wind? Can you over clock the atom to 1.9 GHz with the F10? and does it automatically underclock to 1.2GHz when it switched to battery?

If anyone who already has one it would be great to know!

Thanks

Matt, UK
Got one yesterday from PC world, just to buck the trend I got the Vista ultimate upgrade as well (sorry XP diehards) used original MSI drivers from XP applications folders for Wifi and Bluetooth etc:

Nice little Vista machine! First run Windows experience score with drivers installed 2.6 overall. Generally nippy, processor scores 3!

Plays World of Warcaft at 10 FPS....
ralphy, UK
No overclock function - but on the wind forums out there it seems that NONE of the winds are shipping with this.

It underclocks to approx 800mhz when on battery
Paul, UK
how do you get the bluetooth to work or switch on?? thanks
Altaaf, uk
Can anybody comment on battery life?
Ted, UK
What's missing from this Advent 4211 is an ExpressCard/5 4 slot, which is potentially quite a serious omission. Secondly, it's 10″ WSVGA screen (1024 x 600 resolution) is not as large as the HP 2133 mini note's WXGA (1280 x 768). In my opinion, what the HP Mini Note really needs to compete is an Intel Atom processor, but it's interesting to discover that although HP's 2133 Mini Note is currently on sale in the USA, unsuspecting UK customers only get a weedy little VIA 1.2Ghz version, providing yet further proof that Rip-Off Britain is still in business ! The reason I say this is that US buyers annoyingly get a more powerful 1.6Ghz VIA C7®-M ULV Processor in their Mini Notes......C'est la vie !

Richard, UK
In response to the question about bluetooth - Toggle Function F11 and it cycles through wireless / bluetooth / single / both / either.
I bought my machine yesterday to replace an eee 900. There is no comparison, the advent is far superior in evey way. Performance is much better, storage is great, build quality is better,the keyboard is great, the power saving options (turbo toggle function F10) is clear and easy to use giving me 3+ hours on a standard battery. To me this kills my EEE stone dead, I will doubtless have to sell the EEE to a friend who has been coverting it, I'll have to make sure I don't show them the advent first though.
Gasman61 - Cardiff
Gasman61, uk
Noting Richards comment on the HP2133, this is a good alternative to the Avent if you have either 1) asbestos trousers to prevent the heat of the processor burning your legs, or 2) a need to fry eggs where ever you are. I note the HP2133 also comes with a handy little loop you can use to attach your reading glasses, you won't be able to use the screen without them :-)
Gasman61, uk
I bought 4211 yesterday, got a free carry case too, and first months cover paid for . . Result !
I seem to be lucky as mine has 1.6 GHz doo dah wassaname.
I chose it over the asus dinky dot, smart move, I have found it NOT wanting !!
I would highly recommend one to anyone looking for mobility.

Oggydoggy, England
HI

Is anyone have problems with the wireless on this? MIne keeps connecting and disconnecting and im sitting right next to the router.
Steve, UK
Can anyone please tell me whether it supports dual screens - meaning a second monitor running a second half of the desktop - rather than just a copy of the Advent's own screen? If so, what res does it support?

BTW: I read elsewhere that someone had flashed their Advent bios to the latest MSI Wind version.
Lee Oades, England
HI,

Yes Steve my wireless does that too.
Dave, uk
Loaded the latest MSI wireless driver last night & its been connected solidly ever since!
Dave, UK
Can it be used to 'remote desktop' into another PC? I nearly bought one but the staff at PCW didn't know if XP home would do it. I could have the use of my muli-core monster in the garden - sweet.
Andy T, UK
Advent 4211 does dual monitor. Am running it at the moment with a 24" 1920 x 1200 monitor from www.overclockers.co.uk ( value range £220 delivered!) which has the same nonreflective screen type as the advent. Quality on the VGA cable is good and display solid. the 945 Intel graphics chipset seems fine supporting and surprised me by running Google Sketchup at a decent rate with reasonably complicated 3D models in the HD monitor (Though Sketchup displays models at a slightly lower resolution in its window normally). This is NOT a games machine for modern games, and I am certain it will not drive the external monitor with recent games, but mine runs Quake 3 perfectly in 800 x 600 mode and the lighting effects and transparency looks fine. i highly suspect it will also do the original Half life and possibly UT2003 in low quality.
Have had same problem with wireless as others. i put this down to a weak antennae in the lid and suspect a bios fix or driver update sometime soon will fix it. I don't get wireless drops when i am close to the router though.
Watch out for the battery life with wireless turned on. it seems to sap about 20% more power then. Also, those huge slots underneath are the reason it has such a quiet fan normally. Put it on your lap or on a soft surface and the fan speeds up, the machine heats up and things are a bit warm if the slots are too obstructed.
Have got BBC Iplayer on mine running perfectly, and also all my standard XP software. can't see the point of putting Vista on until drivers and mor ememroy cheaply has been available for a while.
Using Function F10 to declock it works fine and does extend battery life it seems, but not much, but turns screen brightness down as well so maybe thats where most of the saving comes from.

Still, end july, no decent slipcases on market, but suspect accessories will start shipping when MSI Wind finally sees shop shelves.
The best thing I can say about this is that everyone who sees and uses it , gets it, that is to say, they recognize it is a totally standard XP machine, just in miniature.. For the incredibly low price point, that is the real revolutionary thing about it. Just wish the battery was a 5/6 cell and did 4+ hours like the EeePC 901, being so portable, you are far more likely to use it away from the mains so recharging is a chore, but i think that will be available as an option / upgrade in the autumn.

Finally, PC World really need to sort their customer service out. Staff often do not know much, if anything, about the machines they are selling, they tend to be aggressive when there is a problem, and they automatically seem to suspect customers of breaking / exaggerating / being incredibly stupid when a problem occurs. this is my second advent 4211 as the first heated up , screen blanked and fan whirred at random, i suspect something internally blocking the fan, and I had extremely poor experience getting them to swap it in store, even though I am a regular business customer and had arranged everything over phone after realizing machine was faulty. If this was available at John Lewis for same price, i would fa rrather go there!
AJ Booker, Nottingham UK
I Purchased an advent 4211 from PC World, two days later the cooling fan started to get very noisy. It sounded like it was touching something inside as it was spinning. I returned it to PC World and after some haggling managed to get a refund.

Mark, UK
It comes with 1Gb RAM, can this be upgraded?
Dan, UK
Ram can be upgraded, you need to remove 9 screws and then plug it in :) Got mine from Play.com (1gb) for £12.99!!
martin, UK
My Advent 4211 , which I have had for 1 week started ( today ) to have an extemely noisy fan , as documented in other posts here . As I had already upgraded the ram to 2 gb and therefore had the machine open , I decided to have a closer look inside to see what was happening . I removed the fan assembly and noticed that 2 of the 9 screws that hold it together also held the fan in place with just a single screw remaining . When spinning the fan manually no noise or grating was exhibited so I concluded that it was just a bit loose . I reassembled the laptop making sure that the 2 screws that held the fan were in sufficiently tight and replaced the battery and power and booted up again , and voila , I have a quiet 4211 again .
Ash, Uk
I've bought 2 of these this week (01/08/08), one for myself and one for my son who wanted one instantly when he saw mine. Interestingly mine has been working fine but his displays the wireless problem described above, i.e. it keeps losing the wireless connection and then reconnecting (sometimes). I was about to take it back to the store (reluctantly given PC World's reputation for customer service) but I think I'll try the driver update first. Otherwise much impressed but beware programs that require a bigger screen resolution. I use photoshop and some of its windows are too big for the screen and I can't access the OK and Cancel buttons.
Dave, UK
Tried the driver update for the wireless and seems to be working ok now.PS I'm not the same Dave as the first Dave with the wireless problems ;-)
Dave, UK
What type of hard drive is fitted and is it possible to upgrade
keith taylor, United Kingdom
Seen in PC world, wanna buy but i need to know if it can handle video streaming i.e. WINAMP and other streaming programmes, is the video memory good enough?

This sytem runs very fast, opened up all the programmes on the demo one in the store and it ran very fast!
p, uk
I got mine 3 weeks ago (mid july) - still cannot believe the level of performance you get nowadays for £279. I experienced a little problem though - the system powers down a few seconds after switching it on. If you switch it on again, it usually starts up fine (no error) - twice it stopped again straight away. It did happen a few times with or without the battery connected.

Cedric Lempereur, UK