MSI will be competing with Acer, Dell, Quanta and others soon as they prepare to enter the low-cost PC market. With a new unit based upon Shelton-core Intel processors and a tiny 7-inch display, MSI might have a new line of product as early as June of this year. Details beyond that are slim, aside from it using Linux for an operating system. Other hardware details have yet to be decided. The units are expected to retail for a little over $300.
The reasoning for entering the low-cost PC market may be related to growing business elsewhere, with MSI seeing higher sales for motherboards in 2007 than in years prior. The same rang true for graphics cards, and with boosts in sales comes opportunities for expanding even further. They did state, however, that they will be cautious with introducing a low-cost PC and may cancel or hold off if demand doesn't meet their expectations.