U.S. PC-maker Dell said over the weekend that it would begin to ship in July a thumb-sized computer called Project Ophelia. The Android-based device as big as a USB stick, will sell for $100.

It features an HDMI port to enable it to run applications or access stores files remotely, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The target market of the tiny device is people who do the bulk of their computing on the Web.

The gadget could convert any screen or display into a PC, gaming machine or TV set-up box, according to Jeff McNaught, the executive director of Dell for cloud client computing.

Users could use the tiny device to download apps, movies and TV programmes from the Google Play store or run Android games or stream movies from Hulu or Netflix.

It will come with a keyboard-like technology to allow users to type when the device is docked to a screen. Dell will show how the gadget works on a 19-inch and 55-inch screen at the Citrix Synergy conference in Los Angeles this week, although the PC maker had actually introduced Project Ophelia to the public in January at the CES Show.

Project Ophelia's launch comes at a time that Dell, once the number one PC and laptop manufacturer in the U.S., suffered a plunge on its quarterly profit by 79 per cent. The preference of consumers for less expensive but more portable devices such as tablets, phablets and smartphones, has caused the tech firm's net profit to shrink to Ophelia-like proportions.

Reports aid that Dell's Q1 net profit tumbled down to $130 million, while earnings per share contracted to 21 cents, way below the Wall Street estimate of 35 cents.

Following the reversal of fortunes for the company, former Dell founder Michael Dell launched a $24.4 billion bid to regain the firm, but dissident investors are blocking his moves and instead pushing for a superior recapitalisation plan to keep Dell a listed company.