Really!?! Microsoft Says Netbooks Are Now Low-Cost Small Notebook PCs

Just when you thought it was safe to use the word netbook, Microsoft is looking to move away from the term. And there is plenty of speculation as to why.

According to Digitimes, the software giant wants to replace the term “netbook” with “low cost small notebook PC. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

So why is Microsoft doing this?

According to Microsoft, it wants to recognize that netbooks can do more than surf the Web. However, “market watchers” believe that the company wants to create two tiers of netbooks, with 10-inch models (and smaller) getting the low-cost Windows 7 ($76.54) Starter Edition. Larger 11- and 12-inch systems like the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 ($449.00) would presumably be forced to run the pricier Windows 7 Premium.

In other words, larger netbooks would become more expensive overnight because of the OS inside. How much more expensive is not yet known.

Microsoft did tell us recently in a recent interview that it considers machines with 12-inch displays “outside the bounds” of what it considers a netbook.

If the rumors are true, consumers will lose. Why not just call larger netbooks  “higher cost operating system mini-notebooks”?