Bigger is not necessarily better anymore. Lugging around a heavy notebook is becoming a thing of the past as users lean toward lighter, smaller netbooks.
But Microsoft and others could control the netbook market by changing the specifications and pricing. Depending who provides the specs, a netbook has a screen size as large as 13 inches or as small as five inches, weighs two to three pounds, and has a 160GB hard drive, or 32BG if it’s a solid-state drive, to 250GB and 64GB for a SSD.
Deloitte, a research and consulting firm, early this year defined a netbook as a mobile computer with a low-powered x86-compatible processor, a screen no larger than 10 inches, and a small keyboard. To meet the definition, the device had to be equipped with wireless connectivity, weigh less than three pounds, and have no optical disk drive.
Speculation has surfaced on the Internet that Microsoft may join with Intel to keep netbook screen sizes at 10.2 inches or less. Companies making netbooks with a larger screen might not be eligible for the lowest licensing rates when Windows 7 is released, the rumors say. As a result, devices with a larger screen might cost more.
Despite a weakening of PC sales this year, 10 million netbooks were shipped globally last year, according to IDC. Microsoft dominated that market, with 90 percent of the netbooks shipped as of January running Windows XP, and it likely wants that to continue with Windows 7.
When netbooks first arrived, Linux was a popular choice, something Microsoft could not allow to happen, according to Mikako Kitagawa, a Gartner analyst.
“They were afraid of losing their share in the market,” she said. “So they decided to put XP Home edition at a really significant price for the netbook segment, but we really don’t know…