Analyst: Netbooks to stick with 10-inch screens

For one, 12-inch screens detract from a netbook's portability, which is "one of its biggest selling points," she said.

Another limiting factor is that Korea's LG Display is the only vendor actively marketing 11.6 or 12-inch displays for netbooks today, she said. As a result, 12-inch displays remain much pricier than 10-inch ones, which as of January were selling to PC makers at about $40 per screen, according to iSuppli figures.

Wireless carriers were likely to . Reports say Asus will continue to build 7-inch netbooks for the phone companies.

While netbook screens may not be growing, some vendors are increasing the number of pixels per inch of screen size.

HP's Mini 2140 comes with the option of a