Intel's impending release of their low-cost PC platform was originally scheduled for the latter half of this year. Production has gone better than planned, however, and according to some, Intel will be pushing the release up quite a bit all the way to May. Intel themselves did not make an announcement on the new Shelton platform, but the sooner they can get it out the door, the better chance they have of taking over the low-cost PC market altogether.
As the article mentions, Intel has massive capital behind them and a host of their own components that have been proven in the mobile field. They have also proven themselves to actively compete with low-cost projects like the XO laptop. With Shelton, Intel is hoping that no matter which vendor's low-cost PC products gain the largest market share, they'll still be the biggest winner.