Although Intel is one of the main beneficiaries of the success that has been recorded in the netbook market, the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker has reportedly imposed a number of guidelines or restrictions to netbook manufacturers. However, according to recent reports on the Internet, citing sources in the Taiwan PC industry, Chipzilla has recently made some modifications to these guidelines, enabling manufacturers of netbooks to equip their systems with some higher-quality components.

 

In a recent news-article on HKEPC, the chip maker is said to have reconsidered the maximum allowed resolution for this PC segment, enabling users to take advantage of higher-quality 1366x768 pixels. This is a considerable improvement over the previously allowed maximum resolution of 1024 x 600. In addition, this will also allow Sony to provide its customers with a higher-resolution panel for the recently announced VAIO W-series, a 10-inch system featuring the same technical specifications as the majority of netbooks on the market.

 

Prior to this decision, netbook makers looking to build a system with a higher-resolution panel were subject to restrictions on Intel's part, meaning that they had to choose from the Z-series processors for such systems. Models featuring any of the N-series ATOM CPUs, including the vastly popular N270 and the more recent N280, were subject to limitations, due to Intel's plan to draw a distinguishable line between netbooks and mainstream notebooks.

 

Apparently, this is the only change made by the chip maker to its list of restrictions, as it appears that manufacturers will have to limit their designs to the 10-inch chassis. Breaking this limitation is apparently the cause why Lenovo and Samsung will no longer receive the preferential N-series pricing, with both companies having already released netbooks with larger displays.