Mixed messages?

Intel appears to have relaxed its attempts to control how netbooks are made.

"The guidelines are still in place. Those are our recommendations, but OEMs may decide to do something differently," an Intel spokeswoman said.

A bigger question for OEMs: If they built netbooks outside of Intel's "recommended" limits, would they still buy them directly and cheaply from Intel? "OEMs ultimately choose to make their designs however they wish, and yes, they can still buy from us," the spokeswoman said.

Trying to keep netbook makers in check was probably unrealistic, said Solis. PC makers have long been conditioned to compete by continually adding new features whenever they are available.