The Microsoft $500 PC

Microsoft will sell a $500 PC in India, but the motives of this move are being questioned in the business press. Low-cost PCs sell for around $300 in India, the AP reports, and even at $300, a PC is often unaffordable for most low-income families. Some are speculating that Microsoft's goal is really to entice more users in India to move to Vista.

Also interesting is that if a Microsoft-branded PC were ever released here in the U.S. it would have the operating-system giant be in direct competition of some of its largest customers, Dell and HP. But by dubbing such a move as a "low-cost PC" for a developing nation, Microsoft seems to sidestep that complication.