Netbook computers have quickly evolved to strike the right balance of size that appeals to consumers and economic feasibility that appeals to the OEMs/ODMs making them. That appears to be around the 10-inch screen mark.

Research from the Taipei-based Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) found a significant change in demand for certain size netbooks, the small-size notebook computers with a low-power processor like the Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) Atom instead of an Intel Core 2 or AMD Turion.

MIC reported that in the first quarter of 2009, shipments of netbooks with 7-inch and 8.9-inch netbooks fell rapidly while 10-inch models quickly became the market leaders. The research focused on China, but also examined other parts of the world.

The firm found that sub-10-inch notebook sales fell 11.8 percent sequentially in the first quarter of 2009. However, Acer, Dell and other players launched 10-inch products in the first quarter of 2009, cut production of 8.9-inch devices and, as a result, 10-inch products accounted for about 70 percent of

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