Nvidia Ion Netbook Contest

Tell Nvidia why you think the Ultimate ION Netbook pictured above is cool and why you want to win one and you just might get one free!

From 11/2/2009 through 11/22/2009, you’ll have a chance to win one of 12 extremely limited, one of a kind HP Mini 311 ION-powered netbooks bundled with games, cool apps, movies, and more worth over $1500.

For more details, including how to join, check out the Nvidia website here.

American MSRPs confirm lofty Ion pricing

From Ars Technica -



The good news is the Samsung Ion-based N510 will be available in the USA starting September. The bad news is that at $599 it is considerable higher than its European pricing. Considering that it has only the Ion LE chipset (lite version), that would mean netbooks with the full-blown Ion chipset could be even more expensive.



Specs-wise, with HDMI, 1366 x 768 11.6" display, 6.5 to 7.5 hours battery life, the N510 is indeed appealing. But compared to alternatives, the premium in pricing is about $200 which is quite significant.

Samsung planning 11.6-inch Ion-based netbook

From Digitimes -

Samsung plans to launch an Nvidia Ion-equipped netbook with Intel Atom N-series CPU and 11.6-inch display later this month. The new model will break Intel's restrictions on netbooks having a panel size of 10.2" or below. Lenovo has earlier broke Intel's restrictions by launching a 12-inch Intel Atom N270-based netbook last month.

Intel has already canceled the two vendors' preferential pricing for Intel Atom N270 CPUs but declined to respond to this report citing customer confidentiality.

Asus evaluating Nvidia Ion for netbooks and nettops

From Digitimes -

Asus is considering launching Nvidia Ion-based netbooks and nettops, including an Ion-based Eee Box B1006 in the third quarter of 2009, but has not yet set a schedule for netbooks.

NVIDIA Ion-based machines start appearing at Computex

From Engadget -

The NVIDIA Ion platform has finally been launched, and is well on display at Computex Taiwan, with several models being shown - Acer Aspire Revo, Lenovo IdeaPad S12, MSI Wind Box D200 plus other nettops and netbooks from various other Asian ODMs, including thge hot-looking ECS Morph nettop.

Nvidia ION netbooks confirmed for June

From Pocket Lint -

A number of netbook manufacturing are preparing to announce Nvidia ION powered models as early as June, with the announcements most likely at Computex Taipei. Ship dates could be as early as July.

The first Nvidia ION-powered nettop, the Acer Aspire Revo, will have a U.K. launch on May 5, with the Linux model going for £149.99 and the Windows Vista unit, £249.

Nvidia ION netbooks will use an Atom chip but will be able to view 1080p content, play games such as Spore and Portal, and use graphics-intensive apps like Google Earth and Cooliris.

First Ion-based product is a nettop

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From Digitimes -


Nvidia has revealed that the first Ion-based PC product will be a nettop priced at US$299. It will be launched before June this year. The specific vendor wasn't revealed.

Photo (from Monica Chen, Digitimes, February 2009) above shows the Nvidia Ion-based Pico Box, a reference PC that features the GeForce 9400 chipset and Intel Atom processor. However, Nvidia is also considering cooperation with VIA Technologies on a low-cost PC platform too.