Are Sony on the verge of entering the netbook market? This leaked FCC evidence via Engadget would seem to lend credibility to the rumour that a netbook from the powerhouse brand is on its way. The photo shows the reverse side of a “notebook PC” that uses the uses the Qualcomm Gobi WLAN chipset and measures about 9.5 x 4.5-inches. At that size, this model would be even smaller than the HP Mini 1000 and surely a netbook.

Sony has been in a state of denial for months about whether it plans to enter the netbook fray, but has hinted that it would like a presence in the market that both Intel and AMD seem convinced doesn’t have much of a future, and if they are planning a release, pricing for the model would probably be very high.

Back in the day, Sony had what many consider to be the predecessor or origin of the netbook in the form of its Vaio Picturebook series, and a return (or entry, depending on what you considered the Picturebook) to the scene would surely bring with it plenty of attention to the genre.