14 DAY TRIAL // One of the first companies to have released a product to compete with ASUS' Eee PC netbook systems was MSI, and it initially went for the 10-inch form factor. The Taiwanese netbook maker is now expected to expand its product lineup with a new system that will most likely go against ASUS' much anticipated Eee Monitor, the Atom-powered all-in-one desktop PC. Simply dubbed MSI Wind Neton, the upcoming PC is said to make its debut sometime during the first quarter of the upcoming year, providing users with features such as touchscreen and even Blu-ray options.
The move is not as surprising as we might think since, until now, MSI has often been quick to unveil a new product of its own, designed to compete with one from ASUS' product range. At the moment, MSI already has a netbook and a nettop of its own design, which, according to the specifications, could easily compete with the Eee PC and the Eee Box from ASUS. Be that as it may, said Wind Neton also comes to further expand the company's range of low-power and low-cost PCs.
MSI has recently unveiled the Wind Neton in China, with three new models coming with three different form factors, as well as three distinct configuration lists. The M22, M19 and M16 are to be provided with 22-inch, 18.5-inch and 15.6-inch displays, respectively, and all of them are based on either a single or a dual-core Atom processor. All Wind Neton systems are expected to provide touchscreen and TV tuner options, and to run on a Windows-based operating system, with the single-core Atom models boasting a Windows XP OS, while the dual-core Atom will provide a Windows Vista experience.
From the available specifications, we know that the M22 is set to provide a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels and to integrate an optional Blu-ray drive, while the M16 and M19 will be set to run at 1366 by 768 pixels. Price-wise, the M19 is expected to drop in January for $500, followed by the M16, which is slated for a February release with an approximate price tag of $400, while the high-definition capable M22 will surface as early as March 2009, priced at $799.
