Shuttle is showing off a new 10 inch netbook with an Intel Atom N450 processor. That’s not the interesting part. This is: It has a GXT jack for connecting an external video card to the netbook. It’s either the poor man’s version of NVIDIA ION, or an excellent way to have a light weight, inexpensive netbook that gets great battery life most of the time, but which allows you to plug in a high end graphics card when you want to do some serious gaming.

Roland from Netbook News got a good look at the netbook at CeBIT in Germany, and he’s posted a video which you can watch below.

The demo unit had a 3 cell battery, 3 USB ports, a card reader, webcam, and Ethernet jack. There’s also a SIM Card slot, which means that there will at least be a 3G option for this notebook. It’s due out in the third quarter of the year.

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NVIDIA has officially lifted the thin veil of secrecy that hadn’t really been covering the details about the company’s next-generation ION platform. NVIDIA ION pairs a low power Intel Atom-powered notebook with NVIDIA graphics to deliver higher performance HD video playback, 3D graphics acceleration for games, and CUDA technology for GPU-accelerated video encoding, recording, and some other tasks.

There are a few things that make the next-generation ION platform different from the chipset found in older computers such as the HP Mini 311 and Asus Eee PC 1201N.

Here’s the bullet point version, but you can find more details below

• The platform comes on a PCI Express card
• ION systems will typically have 512MB of dedicated memory and HDMI output
• Supports netbooks with 10 and 12 inch screens
• The 10 inch model has 8 CPU cores, while the 12 inch version has 16
• The reason the 10 inch chip is less powerful is because there’s a tighter space with less thermal cooling in smaller netbooks
• Next-gen ION chips will support Optimus technology for automatic graphics switching, which means better battery life
• Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, and Zotac are among the launch partners with netbooks, all-in-one desktops, and nettops built around next-generation ION
• Next-generation ION systems should be priced about the same as first generation ION computers
• It’s not called ION 2

OK, now for some details. First, because Intel went and combined the CPU and GPU onto a single chip, NVIDIA couldn’t just take over the graphics and memory control functions anymore. Instead, the new ION processor is a separate video card, similar to a discrete graphics solution. The next-generation ION GPU will come on a PCI Express card that fits into mini-laptops with 10 or 12 inch screens. Yep, that’s one of the other differences, for the first time you’ll see 10 inch netbooks with ION graphics. This isn’t a huge surprise, since Acer already introduced the Aspire One 532g netbook with next-generation ION graphics.

Here’s what you might not have known, though. NVIDIA will offer two different versions of the new ION platform. The version that fits in 10 inch netbooks has 8 GPU cores, while the 12 inch model has 16. The result is that 10 inch netbooks with next-gen ION will perform about as well as laptops with first generation ION. Larger laptops, nettops, and all-in-one PCs with ION graphics will be much faster. NVIDIA says the 16 core version of ION scores about twice as high as first generation ION on benchmarks such as 3DMark06 and 3DMark Vantage.

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The vast majority of 9 and 10 inch netbooks with Intel Atom chips and GMA 950 graphics have the same native screen resolution: 1024 x 600 pixels. While that’s generally good enough to view most web pages, some web content doesn’t really fit on a display that small. And some programs won’t even run if you don’t have a 1024 x 768 pixel or higher resolution display.

Asus offers software on its Eee PC netbooks that lets you virtually turn the screen into a 1024 x 768 pixel display in one of two ways. You can choose one mode that will let you slide up and down to see the bottom or top of the screen. Or you can emulate a 1024 x 768 pixel screen by those extra 168 lines into a space that wasn’t really built for them. The result is that text tends to look a little funky, but at least you’ll be able to run programs that require a higher resolution display.

Now it looks like there’s a way to increase the virtual display resolution without using the Asus software. Netbook News reports that there’s a new Windows 7 driver for netbooks with GMA 950 graphics that lets you adjust the screen resolution to 1182 x 864 pixels.

Bear in mind, this doesn’t actually increase the number of pixels that your netbook can natively display. And that means that increasing the resolution will effectively make text and images on your netbook look kind of crappy. But if you absolutely need to be able to squeeze more content onto your screen, it could come in handy.

You can check out a video demo from Netbook News after the break.

You can download the GMA 950 Windows 7 driver version 8.15.10.1912 here.

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NVIDIA’s ION platform combines an Atom processor with NVIDIA GeForce graphics. The result is a computer platform that gives you notebooks and desktops with low power processors and the ability to handle 1080p HD video playback, Blu-Ray decoding, and a fair amount of 3D graphics processing for modern video games.

You also get CUDA support, which means that some GPU-accelerated applications, such as media transcoding utility MediaCoder can perform much more quickly on low power machines than they would if they relied solely on the CPU.

You know what Intel calls that? Overkill.

In an interview with Laptop Magazine, Intel netbook marketing director Anil Nanduri said that there are better ways to add HD video playback to a netbook, including the Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator, which is cheaper than ION, but which doesn’t offer all the same functionality.

He does have a bit of a point. ION does add to the cost of a notebook. And while a typical netbook with integrated graphics can’t handle 1080p video playback, most can deal with 720p video and some older, and even recent video games.

But overkill? Really? There are definitely plenty of people looking to push the limits of what a netbook can do with higher resolution displays, faster graphics, touchscreens, and other features.

But it’s pretty clear that Intel wants you to buy a more expensive computer with a pricier chipset to perform those tasks. That’s probably why there’s no support for H.264 video acceleration in the recently announced Intel Atom Pine Trail platform, which means that HD and high quality Flash video is going to be a no-go on computers with next-generation Atom chips unless they have a dedicated graphics chip. Like the ones that Broadcom and NVIDIA are offering.

You might wonder why anyone would need to watch HD video on a device with a 1024 x 600 pixel display, but more and more video content is being delivered in high definition. The ability to watch it without transcoding it to a lower resolution first is key. And while much Flash video is available online in both HD and standard definition formats, that might not always be the case.

What do you think? Is the NVIDIA ION platform overkill? Is it a must-have feature for you? Or is it a nice option to have, and one that you hope Intel doesn’t squash with its recent move to combine the CPU and graphics processor onto a single chip?

Update: Bezinga’s NJ Beachum puts it best, when he says  “It is almost as if Intel is saying, ‘How dare people use a netbook like it’s an actual computer, for multimedia, music, word processing, video games, and other purposes? We will not have it!’”

Theres a rumor going around that NVIDIA’s next-generation ION platform could be available on a PCI Express card. French netbook blogger Pierre Lecourt reports that while he hasn’t seen any confirmation, he’s heard from several sources that NVIDIA will be taking a PCIe approach for the ION chipset in the future.

And I have to say, this rumor makes sense. Right now, here’s the recipe for building the ION chipset: Take an Intel Atom processor, disregard the integrated GMA 950 graphics that Intel usually bundles with the chip and replace it with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. But Intel’s next-gen Atom processors don’t include a separate graphics chipset. Intel Atom Pine Trail chips will bundle the CPU, graphics, and memory controller functions all onto a single chip.

In other words, creating a standalone video card that can easily be slotted into a netbook might be the smartest way for NVIDIA to go. As an added bonus, it could mean that devices with ION 2 graphics might have switchable graphics, meaning you could use the Intel graphics for day to day computing tasks and turn on the NVIDIA GPU when you want to watch HD video or play a game.

We’ve also heard that NVIDIA plans to make the next generation ION platform compatible with non-Intel chips. A PCIe solution would certainly make it just as easy to throw an ION graphics card into a PC with a VIA Nano processor as an Intel Atom based system.

While I’m guessing that NVIDIA’s primary customers for any such PCIe graphics card would be computer system builders, the move would also open up the possibility of NVIDIA selling ION graphics as a third-party add-on. A fair number of netbooks and mini-laptops ship with an open PCIe slot which may be intended for use with a 3G modem or other module. If you happen to have one of those systems, it would be relatively simple to open up your laptop and insert an ION PCIe card. On the other hand, because that would be an internal-only modification, you wouldn’t get an HDMI port that way.

Of course, this all just a rumor for now. But we should know more early next year.

via Minifrag

The Intel Atom Pine Trail chips that are due out in early 2010 will combine processor, graphics, and memory functions onto a single chip. This is designed to help save power while offering perhaps a slight performance boost. But Pine Trail chips aren’t supposed to be speed demons, and they won’t be that much more powerful than today’s Intel Atom Diamondville chips. But in another year or so, Intel is set to launch the next, next generation platform code-named Cedar Trail. And at that point, Fudzilla reports you can expect a performance boost.

Intel will use a 32nm process for the Cedar Trail chips, instead of the 45nm process using in the upcoming Pine Trail platform. Intel also plans to boost the graphics performance, so that Cedar Trail chips will get about twice the graphics performance of Pineview processors.

That should give the next-generation platform enough oomph to handle 1080p HD video playback. Unfortunately, it’s probably not going to help you play GPU-intensive 3D video games. Right now computers with Atom processors and integrated GMA 950 graphics score pathetically low on 3D graphics tests such as 3DMark06. Doubling a score of 100 still won’t be enough for Intel’s integrated graphics to compete with dedicated solutions such as NVIDIA ION, which provides more than 10x more powerful graphics.

via Netbook Choice

According to a report from DigiTimes, Acer has placed orders with NVIDIA for the company’s upcoming ION 2 platform. The current NVIDIA ION platform consists of a low power Intel Atom N270 or N280 processor and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics.

It’s not entirely clear how ION 2 will work, since it’s designed to work with Intel’s upcoming Atom Pine Trail platform which will combine graphics, memory, and processor functions onto a single chip. In other words, NVIDIA won’t just be able to replace Intel’s graphics solution completely. Instead, DigiTimes suggests that NVIDIA’s ION 2 platform may work more like a discrete graphics card, allowing users to switch between integrated and dedicated graphics depending on their needs.

The ION 2 graphics chipset is also expected to be available bundled with processors from chip-maker VIA.

For its part, NVIDIA isn’t sharing any details about its next-generation ION platform for ultraportables, but the company has confirmed that it has something new in the works. Hopefully I’ll get more details at CES in January.

Acer doesn’t currently offer a laptop with current generation NVIDIA ION graphics. Asus, Lenovo, HP, and Samsung do. But Acer was one of the first companies to launch a desktop equipped with NVIDIA ION graphics.

Been wanting to purchase a Gigabyte netbook, but you wanted to hold off for a model with cutesy vectors on the lid? Your wait is over!

So long as you’re heading to Taiwan, that is. The cutesified M1022x pictured above is only available there – and while I’m not sad about missing out on this particular version, it sure would be nice if manufacturers would start offering more personalization options.

It can’t really be that hard – most screen bezels are held on with four screws and come apart in a matter of seconds. And I’d be willing to pay Dell-esque prices if it meant I could pick up a snazzy lid like the ones they offer for their Inspiron laptops.

What about you? Are you willing to shell out a few bucks in exchange for a little personality?

via Netbook News

The Asus UL30VT is a 13.3 inch thin and light laptop with switchable graphics. That means you can either use the integrated GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset when battery life matters more than performance. But you can turn on the NVIDIA G210 discrete graphics processor with 512MB of DDR memory when you need a boost for playing 3D games or other GPU-intensive tasks. And the Asus UL30VT is now available from Amazon for $799.

I don’t spend a lot of time covering laptops with screens larger than 12 inches on this site. But ever since I reviewed the Asus UL30A people have been asking about the UL30VT. The UL30A is basically the same computer, except that it doesn’t come with the dedicated graphics option. I was pretty impressed with the computer I reviewed in terms of overall performance, aesthetics, and keyboard layout.

Most of all, I was impressed by its battery life. I was able to get nearly 10 hours of run time. Clearly, you’ll lose some battery life if you use the UL30VT with the discrete graphics for extended periods. But aside from the GPU, the new model is pretty much the same as the notebook I reviewed, which bodes well for things on the battery front.

Of course, if 13.3 inches is still too large, you can also pick up a 12.1 inch Asus UL20A. But that model ships with a lower capacity battery, less RAM and hard drive space, and no option for discrete graphics. On the other hand, it’s significantly cheaper, running just $609. And Amazon is still running a promotion allowing you to snag a $75 gift card when you purchase the UL20A. In fact, I picked one up for myself a few weeks ago because the effective price of just over $500 was too good to pass up. (The computer was selling for about $30 less when I ordered it).

You can also pick up the Asus UL30A with integrated graphics only for for $691.55 from Amazon.

via Engadget

Flash video is tough on CPUs. Netbooks have relatively slow CPUs. As a result, netbooks and desktops with low power Intel Atom processors have had a tough time handling some high quality and high definition Flash video since day one. Well, today is officially day two, thanks to the beta release of Adobe Flash Player 10.1.

OK, that might be an overstatement. But here’s the thing: Flash Player 10.1 includes support for GPU acceleration for H.264 encoded Flash video. That means if you have a supported graphics processor, you should be able to watch 720p and even 1080p Flash video smoothly without overtaxing your CPU. Two of those supported processors are becoming increasingly common in netbooks and thin and light laptops: NVIDIA ION and Intel GMA X4500MHD.

The NVIDIA ION platform combines a low power Atom processor with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. The result is a low power laptop that might seem a bit sluggish performing some everyday tasks, but which can play some modern video games and decode Blu-Ray video. And thanks to Flash 10.1, it can also handle 1080p Flash video playback.

Intel’s GMA X4500MHD shows up in laptops using the Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) platform. That includes the Acer Aspire 1410, 1810T, and Asus UL20A, although the only laptop I’ve had handy to test Flash Player 10.1 beta with was the UL20A. It handles HD Flash video beautifully.

The folks at NVIDIA sent me an ASRock ION 330 nettop with ION graphics to test HD Flash performance, and the results are pretty impressive. You can check out my before and after videos after the break. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 should work just as well on laptops with the NVIDIA ION platform including the HP Mini 311, Lenovo IdeaPad S12, and Samsung N510.

Unfortunately, Flash Player 10.1 will not work with the GMA 950 graphics that come with nearly every other Intel Atom powered netbook on the market. I’m actually not sure about compatibility with Intel’s GMA 500 graphics, but I wouldn’t hold my breathe.

NVIDIA also cautions that while an ION-based notebook supports full GPU acceleration for HD Flash video, the CPU still has to be able to keep up with all the disk and network activity, and you may notice some stuttering because of that. You should be able to get around this in most cases by hitting pause on the video a moment after you hit play and letting it buffer briefly before you start playing the video again.

You can download Flash Player 10.1 from the Adobe Labs web site.

Update: The release notes are now available (PDF link), complete with a list of supported graphics cards. Flash Player 10.1 beta is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. But the hardware acceleration features are only available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 right now. You can find a list of supported hardware after the break.

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