How big do you like your netbook screen?

I hope you said “at least ten inches” because there’s speculation that the industry is heading that way. If you recall, Asus shocked the world (well, the laptop manufacturer world, anyway) by introducing its Eee PC 701 netbook with a 7″ screen. They promptly sold them and started a frenzy and now everyone and their uncle makes a netbook, many with larger screens. That’s a good thing for us, the consumers, because it means we can buy one cheaper and with better options. This is all rudimentary. However, with changes in the industry and in costs, it might be uncommon to find the middle size, the 8.9″, in a netbook soon. Or subnotebook for that matter.

Apparently (and no sources are listed so I’m not sure how reliable any of this information is, although I bet one could sit down and spend some time on DigiTimes and find the information) the LCD manufacturers are shying away from the 8.9″ market and are moving onward and upward to the 10″+ market. This means it’s going to be difficult for computer manufacturers to find that middle sized screen, which could in turn mean we’ll basically be looking at two size options for netbooks: 7″ and 10″. I’m not sure this is a bad thing, but as an owner of both a 7″ and an 8.9″ netbook, I have to say the 8.9″ is very usable.

The larger 8.9″ netbook is enough to allow for a usable (and reasonably good) keyboard as well as a slightly higher resolution LCD that makes life better all of the way around. Moving up to 10″ doesn’t seem to gain much more in terms of screen resolution, and while it can give your netbook (or subnotebook, since that’s basically subnotebook territory) a better keyboard, I doubt it’s going to be the same difference as going from 7″ to 8.9″. It is only an inch, after all.

Granted, I say this without actually having a 10″ netbook (or subnotebook), so I can’t really say what the differences will be. However, if the LCD manufacturers do decide to push the 10″ market, we might be looking at a limited life for something like the Acer Aspire One, at least in its current form.

Damn, that combined with the MSI Wind and its 6 cell battery make me wonder. Never mind that Apple should be updating things soon (and it’s entirely possible I’ll get a MacBook Air).

Anyhow, for more on the LCD speculation, check out at Asus Eee Hacks (via GottaBeMobile).