Report: Netbook prices falling, falling, falling...

I must have missed this while I was busy searching for a mouse last week (stay tuned -- an answer coming soon!), but The New York Times Bits blog reports that Netbook prices are headed south for the winter:

“Dozens and dozens of netbooks were shown,” said Richard Doherty, research director for Envisioneering, an electronics market research firm. The computer makers saw for the first time “just how many competitors they have.”

Mr. Doherty said the netbook makers realized something else: “It was a time for reflection that maybe they need to be more aggressive on price.”

That's Envisioneering research director Richard Doherty, by the way, sounding off at the Intel Developer’s Conference in San Francisco.

Apparently, that translates to Acer slicing the price of its Aspire Netbook to $349 from $399 and the Linpus Linux Lite, to $329 from $379. The Times' Matt Richtel concludes that Netbooks are on their way to selling regularly for $299, with a shiny $249 price tag for the holidays.

Happy holidays, indeed.