Well this is new. A computer/electronics maker is saying that it will not release a netbook. Low cost ultraportable computers or netbooks are hot right now. Like, 8 out of the top 10 computers on Amazon’s charts are netbooks hot. So it’s rare to see a company definitively state that it does not plan to enter the netbook market. But that’s exactly what a Panasonic official recently did.

When asked whether Panasonic would be producing a netbook, an official from Panasonic’s Kobe manufacturing center said that since the company is focusing on corporate computers, not consumer laptops, the company has no plans to offer a netbook.

Of course, he went on to say that the reason is that the performance on Intel Atom powered devices is “too low to work with office documents or other applications,” which is kind of untrue. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had problems working on a text, spreadsheet, or presentation document on a netbook. You could, however make the case that the low screen resolution and smaller keyboards make netbooks good for traveling or personal use, but less than ideal for business use.

Of course, Panasonic’s position could change over time. Once upon a time it looked like Sony might stay out of the netbook game. Now it looks like Sony is just biding its time, waiting for the market to settle a bit before swooping in with something that will stand out from the crowd.