Con il comunicato stampa di seguito allegato, NVIDIA ha annunciato la piattaforma Ion di nuova generazione, che, in accordo al chip maker, rende possibili in ambito netbook prestazioni superiori con gli applicativi grafici (fino a 10 volte rispetto alla precedente generazione) e permette di ottenere una durata della batteria che, in virtù del supporto della tecnologia NVIDIA Optimus, può raggiungere anche le 10 ore.

I sistemi a cui la piattaforma Ion di nuova generazione è rivolta sono molto variegati: più in dettaglio, Ion 2 può essere impiegata per l'equipaggiamento dei netbook, dei nettop e degli all-in-one (come il C200 di Lenovo mostrato di seguito).

NVIDIA garantisce performance nettamente superiori a quelle ottenibili con le soluzioni analoghe di Intel sia in ambito gaming che video playback; ma è la riproduzione in Full HD il vero punto di forza della nuova tecnologia che sarà commercializzata a breve da un gran numero di partner, come AOpen, AsRock, Asus, Foxconn, Giada, J&W, Jetway, Pegatron, POV, Shuttle e Zotac.

All-in-one Lenovo C200

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CEBIT - HANOVER, Germany - Mar. 2, 2010 - NVIDIA introduced the Next-generation NVIDIA ION graphics processor today, which will supercharge netbooks with 10 times the graphics performance of standard netbooks and enable up to 10 hours of battery life thanks to NVIDIA Optimus technology.

The new ION graphics processing unit (GPU) vastly outperforms basic netbook graphics by delivering rich HD media in games, movies, and Internet-based video. Unlike netbooks with Intel integrated graphics, ION netbooks have the power to play amazing HD video smoothly from sites like YouTube and support popular PC games like World of Warcraft.

The new ION netbooks also feature NVIDIA’s highly acclaimed Optimus technology, which automatically selects the best graphics processor for running any given application – seamlessly routing the workload to either an NVIDIA discrete GPU or Intel integrated graphics. The result is great battery life and superior performance when you need it.

More than 30 products featuring the new ION GPU are expected to launch by this summer including netbooks, small form factor desktops, "barebones" systems, motherboards, and discrete add-in cards. The Acer Aspire One 532G (10-inch) and ASUS 1201PN (12-inch) are expected to be the first new ION netbooks to be introduced. New all-in-one PCs powered by next-generation ION will include the ASUS EeeTop 2010PNT and Lenovo C200. Channel partners including AOpen, AsRock, Asus, Foxconn, Giada, J&W, Jetway, Pegatron, POV, Shuttle, and Zotac also plan to introduce new ION-based products soon.

Facts about Next-generation NVIDIA ION graphics:

• It’s a discrete GPU (graphics processing unit) with dedicated memory that attaches to an Intel Atom Pine Trail CPU via PCI Express.
• It supports streaming HD video on sites like YouTube HD, and smooth gaming performance on titles like World of Warcraft and Spore.
• ION netbooks feature NVIDIA Optimus technology, which automatically assigns processing chores to the NVIDIA ION GPU or integrated graphics. Optimus powers down the GPU for basic tasks like web surfing, further extending battery life. When more graphics horsepower is needed for playing 3D games, running videos, or using GPU compute applications, Optimus automatically enables the ION GPU.
• It will be available starting in April with the Acer Aspire One 532G netbook.
• It accelerates a growing list of media-rich applications including Muvee Reveal for making home movies, Badaboom for media conversion, Total Media Theater and PowerDVD 9 for watching HD video or instantly upscaling standard definition video to near-HD quality.

Quotes:

"Most netbooks have lousy performance, but ION changed all that. ION netbooks let you do all of the things people expect from a notebook. Now, with Optimus they give you super long battery life too. It’s the best of both worlds."
  - Rob Enderle, President and Principal Analyst of the Enderle Group, one of the most influential technology experts in the world

"With Adobe Flash Player 10.1 support for GPU acceleration of video, consumers with NVIDIA ION netbooks can enjoy smooth, high definition video from sites like YouTube, Hulu and millions of other web sites. It’s amazing to see flawless 1080p video streaming live from the web on ION PCs."
  - David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business at Adobe

"CyberLink applications are optimized to run faster on ION netbooks. This makes ION netbooks with CyberLink software incredibly useful multimedia devices. You’ll enjoy faster video file conversion with MediaShow Espresso and smooth video playback with PowerDVD on ION netbooks."
  - Alice H. Chang, CEO of Cyberlink

"ION systems are a great way to enjoy Internet-based video from a PC. ION PCs with Boxee deliver flawless entertainment from a small, low-powered, and affordable PC."
  - Avner Ronen, CEO, Boxee

"ASUS recognizes that not all consumers are satisfied with the basic netbook experience. Our Eee PC with ION graphics raised the bar for netbook performance, and now it’s getting even better with Optimus. EeePC netbooks with ION graphics are perfect for users who want great media capabilities and all-day battery life."
  - by S.Y. Shian, Vice President and General Manager of Notebook Business Unit, System Business Group , ASUS Corp

"If you want a netbook with the horsepower to play HD video and PC games, your only choice is ION. The new ION netbooks deliver an unbeatable combination of performance and battery life. We continue to raise the standard for what a netbook should be."
  - Drew Henry, General Manager of GeForce and ION GPUs

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