Giada has a pretty strong showing at CeBIT this week. In addition to the slim nettop models I spotted earlier this year at CES, the company is showing off a new model with a dual core Intel Atom D510 Pine Trail processor and next-generation ION graphics. What’s really remarkable about the new Giada Cube-N7DT though is that it has a built in TV tuner and DVD drive, making it a a promising little media center PC.

The ION graphics processor should give the computer enough power to decode Blu-Ray discs as well, but it looks like Giada is only showing a model with a DVD burner for now — so you’ll need a USB Blu-Ray drive if you want to go that route.

The nettop supports up to 2GB of DDRE3 memory, and takes a 2.5″ hard drive. It has HDMI, DVI, and SPDIF outputs, as well as support for 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth.

No word on whether we’ll see this Giada nettop in the states anytime soon.

via Netbook News.de

So is the next-generation NVIDIA ION platform faster, slower, or about the same as the ION chipset found in notebooks such as the Samsung N510, Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and HP Mini 311? An early benchmark suggested it wasn’t quite up to snuff. But it turns out that test was performed on a pre-release netbook with the less powerful of NVIDIA’s 2 next-gen ION chips.

Now that NVIDIA has officially launched the platform and a number of new ION-powered devices are on display at CeBIT in Germany, the folks at Notebook Italia have had a chance to run a benchmark on the Asus Eee PC 1201PN. This machine features the new 16-core version of the next-generation ION chip.

And lo and behold, it did score better in the 3DMark06 benchmark than the Eee PC 1201N, a similar notebook with first-generation ION graphics. When I ran the benchmark on an Eee PC 1201N, I got a score of 1559. Notebook Italia reports that the Eee PC 1201PN scored 2013 on the same test.

The Eee PC 1201PN probably isn’t going to take on the Alienware M11x gaming ultraportable anytime soon. But it’s definitely a step above earlier ION-powered machines in the graphics department.

You can check out a video showing the Eee PC 1201PN in action after the break.

Update: Netbook News.de has the benchmark results using 3DMark03. The score? 4482. That’s noticably higher than the 3049 notched by the Acer Aspire One 532g with the less poweful version of next-gen ION.

via Netbooked

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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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It’s not just notebooks like the Asus Eee PC 1201PN on display at CeBIT in Germany that are getting the next-generation NVIDIA ION treatment. The folks at Engadget stumbled across the first all-in-one Eee Top desktop computer with next-generation ION graphics at the trade show today.

The Asus Eee Top ET2010PNT has an incredibly long and complicated sounding name. It also has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom D510 dual core processor and NVIDIA ION graphics which should give this machine enough power to play HD video and some video games without taxing the low power processor.

The computer also has a large touchscreen display and all the benefits of cramming an entire PC into the same case as the display… whatever they may be.

You can find a few more photos and not a lot of specs at Engadget.

Shuttle was making small form factor desktop computers long before the current nettop craze got started. But the company has been pretty happy to jump on the bandwagon with a number of tiny, low power desktops sporting Intel Atom processors. The latest is the Shuttle XS35, which should be on display at CeBIT next week.

The XS35 will have a 1.6GHz Intel Atom D510 dual core processor. It’s a barebones system, meaning the Shuttle XS35 won’t come with a hard drive, RAM, or operating system. But you will have room for a 2.5″ hard drive and a slimline optical disc drive. It also has VGA and HDMI output, Ethernet, and 5 USB ports.

But the exciting part is that the XS35 will also use NVIDIA GT218 graphics, which a Shuttle press release pretty explicitly says is synonymous with “NVIDIA ION 2.”

There’s no word on the price or exact dimensions, but Shuttle says the XSS35 will be just 1.3 inches thin, which ain’t bad for a compact system with a disc drive.

via SlashGear

Pioneer Australia offering an 11.6 inch laptop called the DreamBook Lite U11a which looks like it will be available with a discrete graphics option in the future. Right now, the only version of this laptop available for purchase comes with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor and Intel GMA 3150 intergrated graphics. But on the product page, there’s mention of two additional options:

• 1.83GHz Intel Atom N470 CPU
• Discrete graphic N11x

I’ve seen the N470 option mentioned before, although I’m not aware of any computers sold with this chip today. But the N11x graphics option is a new one. Sascha at Netbook News.de infers that N11x could be a code-word for NVIDIA’s next-generation ION 2 discrete graphics chip. And that seems likely, given that I haven’t really seen any other graphics card makers talking about discrete graphics solutions for Intel Atom-based systems.

The DreamBook Lite U11a has an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 2.5″ hard drive, 78-key keyboard, 3 USB ports, VGA and HDMI output, a flash card reader, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Ethernet, and a 1.3MP webcam. There are also optional Bluetooth and 3G wireless modules.

NVIDIA has yet to officially unveil its ION 2 platform. But based on a series of leaks, announcements, and the fact that the Acer Aspire One 532g with next-generation NVIDIA ION made a surprise appearance at Mobile World Congress in Spain last week, here’s what we know: ION 2 is basically a GeForce GT218 that can be paired with an Intel Atomor other CPU to offer higher performance graphics.

It doesn’t matter if the CPU has integrated graphics, like the Atom N450 with GMA 3150 graphics, because ION 2 uses NVIDIA’s Optimus technology to automatically switch between integrated and dedicated graphics depending on the tasks you’re performing. In other words, if you’re playing a game or watching a high definition video, ION 2 kicks in. If you’re surfing the web and battery life is more important than graphics performance, you’ll rely on the integrated graphics.

But how does the next-generation ION platform stack up against the first generation ION chipset available in a handful of netbooks and nettops today? And how does it fare against the GMA 3150 graphics that come standard with most netbooks?

It’s a bit early to make any definitive judgments. But the folks at Netbook News managed to grab some time with the Acer Aspire One 532g with ION 2 graphics and they ran the 3DMark03 benchmark. The verdict? It scored a respectable, if not spectacular 3049. The Samsung n150, by comparison, scored just 704 points. Higher scores are better. They tell me that they used the same test on a Samsung N510 with first-generation ION graphics and it notched a score of 3513.

Again, these scores may be due to a variety of features, and not just the ION chipset. But if you were holding out hope that ION 2 was going to be significantly faster than the first generation, that doesn’t appear to be the case. The Acer netbook actually got a lower score than the Samsung N510.

But while bleeding edge games might give the Aspire One 532g some trouble, the mini-laptop should have more than enough graphical prowess to handle 1080p HD video playback and some 3D gaming. The exciting thing about ION 2 isn’t that it’s faster than ION 1. It’s the fact that it exists at all. When Intel decided to combine the GPU and CPU into a single chip, NVIDIA could have just decided to drop its ball and go home. Instead, the company figured out a way to bring discrete, switchable graphics to low end mini-laptops.

We should have more details soon, when NVIDIA is ready to make an official announcement. And I’m going to withhold final judgment until I’ve had a chance to test an ION 2 system or two myself… or at least until I’ve seen test results for a few more systems.

You can check out the benchmarking video, courtesy of Netbook News, after the break.

Update: TG Daily got a a response from NVIDIA, and it boils down to this: NVIDIA hasn’t officially unveiled its next-gen ION platform yet and has yet to talk about its performance. Oh yeah, and Sascha benchmarked pre-release hardware, so you know, there’s that. via Netbooked

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It looks like Acer is getting ready to break the mold with its upcoming Acer Aspire One 532G netbook. Sure, it will look virtually identical to the standard Aspire One 532H which is already available. But the 532G will be one of the first 10 inch netbooks with NVIDIA ION graphics. Oh yeah, and we’re talking NVIDIA ION 2 here.

As far as I know, NVIDIA still hasn’t officially introduced the ION 2 platform, but with Acer putting out its press release for the Aspire One 532G, it seems likely that NVIDIA will make an announcement soon.

The Acer press release doesn’t specifically refer to the chipset as ION 2, but it does mention a “next-generation NVIDIA ION GPU with dedicated 512MB memory. NVIDIA’s current ION technology uses an Intel Atom processor and replaces Intel’s integrated graphics with an NVIDIA solution. That’s not possible on computers with Intel Atom Pine Trail chips like the Aspire One 532G, because the graphics and processor are on the same piece of silicone. Instead, ION 2 will pair the Atom N450 chip with a switchable graphics card that will let you watch 1080p HD video on the netbook.

There aren’t a lot of additional details about the Aspire One 532G, but I’m pretty sure it will have a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 HD display, since the press release mentions playback of 720p video on the display and 1080p through an HDMI output. Update: Blogeee reports the notebook will have a 1024 x 600 pixel display. But that’s based on a tip from a “source,” so let’s take it with a grain of salt for now.

Sascha from Netbook News.de apparently got his hands on a demo model briefly this morning, and he posted an image of the device manager to TwitPic. And Notebook Italia has a hands-on video of the laptop playing HD video. You can check it out after the break.

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NVIDIA is introducing a new technology that allows computers with integrated and dedicated graphics cards to seamlessly switch between the two. If you’re surfing the web, you probably don’t need your high performance, energy-hungry NVIDIA graphics card to kick in and suck your laptop’s battery dry. But when you’re watching an HD movie, playing a game, or performing other actions that would benefit from a graphics boost, NVIDIA’s new technology will automatically switch to the higher performance graphics card.

NVIDIA calls the system Optimus, and it’s designed to work with GeForce 200M, 300M, and GeForce M GPUs as well as the as-yet-unannounced NVIDIA ION 2 graphics processor. It supports Intel’s Core 2 Duo, Core i3, i5, and i7 processors and Intel Atom N450 CPUs.

The move makes a lot of sense for a few reasons. First, since Intel’s latest processors integrated the graphics and CPU functions on a single chip, there’s no way for NVIDIA to simply replace the integrated graphics processors with its own chips. And second, on existing systems that have two GPUs, you have to toggle between them manually which takes time and sometimes requires you to close applications.

The Optimus system will let users manually switch graphics. But for day to day use, it will automatically determine which graphics solution meets your needs.

The first laptop equipped with the new Optimus technology is the Asus UL50VF, a 15.6 inch laptop with a 1.3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics and NVIDIA GeForce G210M. Engadget’s Joanna Stern has been testing the laptop for a few days. She says it made the switch seamlessly when she wanted to watch HD YouTube or local videos. But the Optimus software didn’t recognize the video game she fired up during her test, which meant that the switch wasn’t automatic.

Gizmodo  reports that as many as 50 notebooks with Optimus should be available by this summer. Hopefully that list will include a few Atom-powered netbooks, or better yet, 11 or 12 inch notebooks with CULV processors and NVIDIA graphics.

Over the past month or so we’ve seen a number of PC makers introduce new netbooks with Intel’s latest Atom N450 Pine Trail processors. But what about the desktop equivalents? Asus, MSI, ASRock, Zotac, Shuttle, and a number of other nettop makers are still selling mini-desktop PCs with Intel Atom 230 and 330 processors which are starting to look a little dated.

But according to Sascha at Netbook News.de, we should start seeing new nettops from major PC makers soon. Sascha spends a fair bit of his time talking to the Taiwanese companies that make these products, and he thinks he knows what they’re all waiting for: NVIDIA ION 2.

While NVIDIA pushed its Tegra 2 platform pretty hard at CES in January, the company hasn’t really been talking about ION 2 yet. And that’s largely because PC makers wanted to give existing ION netbooks and nettops a little more time on the market before bringing out something new. But NVIDIA is widely expected to introduce its next generation ION platform at CeBIT in March, and that could open the floodgates.

Until we have more details about ION 2, it’s a bit too early to say how the new nettops will perform in terms of graphics capability, overall performance, and energy consumption. But if you’re looking for something with a little more oomph it might be worth waiting a few months. On the other hand, there are plenty of nettops available today for under $400 that would make excellent home theater PCs or inexpensive gaming machines.