NVIDIA Ion 2 to be compatible with Pinetrail, coming in early 2010

Good news for those who eternally swear against Intel's GMA graphics which is still being used in its latest Atom platform. NVIDIA has revealed that its upcoming Ion 2 chipset will be compatible with the new Pinetrail Atom platform as many had hoped, and that it will be available some time in early 2010. No word on whether it will come in the form of a mini-PCIe card or not, but it's coming. And it's going to be great. Well, great compared to Intel GMA graphics, anyway.

Source: [Engadget]

Intel says NVIDIA's Ion platform overkill for 3D gaming, suggests upgrade to Clarkdale and Arrandale instead

Intel's stance on 3D gaming and multimedia consumption on netbooks is a bit hard to comprehend. On one hand, they think of NVIDIA's Ion platform as overkill for applications such as 1080p video playback and light 3D gaming. This is according to Anil Nanduri, Intel's netbook marketing director who said in an interview with Laptop Magazine: "We believe (Ion) adds unnecessary additional cost and the other trade-offs make it less desirable."

However, writing on one of Intel's own blogs, corporate communications manager Bill Calder says, "[Netbooks] aren't for 3D gaming and multi-tasking. For that Intel offers a wide range of full-featured laptops including some exciting new Intel Core systems based on our latest 32nm process technology coming soon." Then he links to a report on CNet where it says that Intel's upcoming Clarkdale and Arrandale family of processors will be on the market very soon.

So, they think the combination of a good enough processor in the form of the Atom coupled with a great mobile graphics processor in NVIDIA's Ion platform is too much, and yet go on to suggest a move to full-featured laptops which are far more overkill and overpriced for the tasks that Ion is able to achieve, for less money. And they say, "the market is going to decide." Well, who do you think is deciding now?

Source: [LaptopMag, Liliputing, Technology@Intel]

[Press Release] ASUS Shatters Conventions with High Performance Eee PC 1201N Multimedia Netbook

Multimedia-minded consumers who prize the portability of netbooks but lament the typical lack of processing muscle now have a reason to rejoice. ASUS has launched the Eee PC 1201N, a multimedia netbook sporting an Intel Atom 330 dual core processor and an NVIDIA ION graphics processor that delivers a level of performance never before seen on netbooks. The stylish Eee PC 1201N also offers exceptional typing comfort through a full-sized ergonomic chiclet keyboard, and comes with a total of 750GB hybrid storage to house and host massive multimedia collections.

The Eee PC 1201N marks a radical departure from other netbooks that usually feature single core Atom processors. With its Intel Atom 330 dual core processor, NVIDIA ION graphics, and two-DIMM, dual-channel DDR memory architecture, the Eee PC 1201N will set new netbook performance benchmarks. More importantly, this combination shatters today's netbook conventions by delivering a rich multimedia experience.

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