Microsoft and Intel may trim netbook sizes with Windows 7

One of the more fascinating aspects of the netbook phenomenon today is how the market segment has grown and adapted over the last couple of years. Originally all netbooks were humble laptops with tiny, 8.9-inch screens and baby-finger-sized keyboards, but recently manufacturers have been pushing those machines and screen sizes larger. 10.2-inch became the new standard late last year, and now 11.6- and 12.1-inch screens are becoming popular -- namely because they're large enough to substitute for a regular laptop on which you can do "real" work. From there it's only a quick hop to 13.3 inches, which is the realm of the mainstream, ultralight PC.

Now comes news that manufacturers may have a hard time making larger netbooks if Intel and Microsoft have their way. According to one source (unsubstantiated at present), the two companies are conspiring to limit the maximum size of what qualifies as a netbook to machines with a 10.2-inch screen.