MSI Planning To Release 10-inch, $499 Tablet [MSI Tablet Powered By Tegra, Specs Still Up In The Air]

Tweet

Despite the 10-inch $500 tablet market tablet getting a strong entry yesterday, MSI is planning to solider on with their own 10-inch touchscreen tablet which will sell at a $499 price. The device will come out in the second half of 2010 in the United States, and will be priced at $500.

MSI’s tablet will be powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 technology and will be running MSI’s own flavor of Linux. MSI demoed the device at CES to the press, but only after Apple’s announcement did they announce their prospective release date and pricing. It’s a bit odd that they would go head-to-head with Apple in the price.

Don’t write this off as an iPad rip-off. The iPad isn’t perfect, and if Apple faces competition from more well-equipped rivals (ahem, Nexus One) it could drive them to improve the second edition of the iPad.

Despite showing prototypes at CES, MSI isn’t ready to confirm what internal specs the new tablet will have, other than it’ll have the Tegra 2 chipset. MSI is hoping to adjust hardware based on market demand, and they’ll include different models of their new tablet line.

One place Apple might have an advantage over them is the dimensions of the device. We’ve seen the iPad is thin and light. People who tried the MSI tablet prototype at CES report that it’s “thicker and heavier” than it looks.

No word on an exact date, but keep your eyes peeled for the MSI tablet sometime in the second half of this year.