Asus roadmap shows

A leaked product slide shows Asus planning a 12in screen with Ion powered chip.

Size and price are above the netbook level but in line with larger this and larger that wanted by some.

The future of the Asus 1000HE is in doubt too. My personal copy is working fine so I guess I'll keep it.

[ThisIsNot]

Yeah I saw that. I guess those not-a-netbook netbooks will have to run something other than Windows 7 Starter (which won't be a problem as Windows 7 Home Premium runs fine on the Atom N270 and N280 processors even with 1GB of RAM along with the GMA 950).

I still think it is strange that companies are moving to netbooks (despite what they may call them, they are still netbooks) with screens larger than 10". To me, 10" is the perfect size for a netbook screen. The actual netbook still remains quite small and won't take up more space due to a 1.6"-2" larger screen. I think that 12" screen sizes encroach on the ultra-portable notebooks out there (many of them having 13" screens). The advancement of the ULV and CULV Intel Core 2 Solo processors mean that manufacturers can now include an inexpensive processor solutions along with HD video capabilities (the Intel GMA X4500, GMA 4500HD, and 4500MHD are all 1080p capable) in packages that are about the same size as a 11.6" netbook.

We will see where these not-a-netbook netbooks go. I wonder if manufacturers are trying to phase out netbooks in general to go with these larger screened units.

Originally Posted by ThisIsNot

I still think it is strange that companies are moving to netbooks (despite what they may call them, they are still netbooks) with screens larger than 10".

We've both posted about not-a-netbook from your point of view and what is the functional netbook definition from my point of view. The longer I work with a netbook - in my sixth month now - the closer I come to your hardware definition.

I'm starting to get more and more personal use out of my Asus 901 smaller size. Yes, the MacBook is still the smallest of my work computers. Yes, my wife took the Asus 1000HE for her own use. I could buy another netbook but I like the utility of the 901, 16GB SSD with XP Pro, 2GB RAM, SD card use.

There's room for all sorts of portable sizes in the computing world. We'll just have to keep focused on what is a netbook.