MSI planning 10-inch Eee PC rival

MSI shared some of its plans for 2008. One of the things the firm is working on is a low-cost notebook with a 10" LCD display. This computer will compete against the Asus Eee PC and will be presented at CeBIT 2008.

Few details are known except that the device will use the Intel Basic Platform which features a 45nm Diamondville processor and the 945GSE chipset.

MSI's main motivation for increasing the panel size to 10-inch was that the smaller 7-inch panel used in current Eee PCs is regarded by many consumers the major drawback of the device. The larger screen size should help MSI's low-cost contender stand out against the Eee PC while forging its own path in the market, said Hsu. MSI will also differentiate its line up with added functions depending on the demands in the different markets, and unique designs for the PC's case, noted Hsu.

Hsu expects company revenues in 2008 will enjoy a boost of 20% compared to 2007 with the help of its notebook segment. By 2010, MSI plans to have its notebook shipments break 4.5 million units, placing the company among the worldwide top-10 notebook vendors.

In addition to healthy growth in notebooks, Hsu also expects motherboard and graphics card shipments in 2008 will increase around 10% compared to 2007.

Currently, MSI's notebook business is mainly focused on own-brand shipments, and the company has not considered competing with other notebook makers for OEM orders. This strategy goes the same for the motherboard and graphics card business also, Hsu pointed out. However, MSI does have a small volume of OEM-based orders which includes notebook manufacturing for Korea-based LG Electronics.

Additionally, MSI's consumer electronics division recently scored a Windows Mobile 6.0-based Smartphone OEM order which is expected to start shipping in the first quarter, revealed Hsu. The reason the company accepted this order is to gain experience in a brand new technology which it will later integrate into its notebook and GPS products, Hsu said.