Intel spent some time convincing the world plus dog that $299 should be the top price for netbooks, while the more expensive market segment should be reserved for the real notebooks with bigger screens and higher prices.

This strategy was developed to preserve Intel’s margins and prevent them to go down due to low pricing of Atom based netbook systems. After a year of playing a cat and mouse game with notebook manufacturers, Intel has finally given up and said that a price of up to $400 is ok for netbooks.

Intel does have exact guidance on what a netbook is and it demands that netbook is an “Internet companion device with screens 7”-10.2””. We are not sure what happens to Dell's 12 inch Atom-based Mini 12 and some others as they obviously don’t fit this category.

The netbook should cost up to $400 and we’ve seen this rule bent for far too many times, as many netbooks are selling over this price. While Intel was suggesting a price of up to $299, you could find Atom-based systems selling for over $499.

Intel believes that netbooks should be compact, lightweight, and offer great battery life (cough), fit for travel and built for the internet. Intel also suggest that this machine should be good for email, instant messaging, social notworking and Internet content consumption including watching videos and listening to music.

The funny part is that they suggest that netbooks are for occasional use and that they offer a basic media experience. If you want more than that Intel suggest that you go for a regular notebook that starts from $399 and goes to $1500, or a thin and light notebook that should sell between $499 and $1300.

Also read:

Intel wants to keep netbooks under 10.2 inches