HANOVER, GERMANY--(Marketwire - March 2, 2010) - CeBIT -- NVIDIA introduced the
Next-generation NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor today, which will
supercharge netbooks with 10 times the graphics performance of standard
netbooks(1) and enable up to 10 hours of battery life(2) 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
Links:
Video of the Next-generation NVIDIA ION GPU
NVIDIA ION Channel on
YouTube
Tags / Keywords:
Netbook, laptop computers, battery life, NVIDIA, ION, GPU, mobile graphics
solutions, Optimus, gaming netbook, Atom, Pine Trail, nettop, all-in-one
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (
NASDAQ:
NVDA) awakened the world to the power of computer graphics
when it invented the graphics processing unit (GPU) in 1999. Since then, it
has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking,
interactive graphics available on devices ranging from portable media
players to notebooks to workstations. NVIDIA's expertise in programmable
GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make
supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. Fortune magazine has
ranked NVIDIA #1 in innovation in the semiconductor industry for two years
in a row. For more information, see
www.nvidia.com.
Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to,
statements as to: the benefits, features, impact and capabilities of the
next generation NVIDIA ION graphics processor and NVIDIA Optimus
technology, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than
expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially include: development of more efficient or faster technology;
design, manufacturing or software defects; the impact of technological
development and competition; changes in consumer preferences and demands;
customer adoption of different standards or our competitor's products;
changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of
performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems as
well as other factors detailed from time to time in the reports NVIDIA
files with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-Q
for the fiscal period ended October 25, 2009. Copies of reports filed with
the SEC are posted on NVIDIA's website and are available from NVIDIA
without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as
required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
© 2010 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo,
ION and Optimus are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA
Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product
names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are
associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject
to change without notice.
(1) Tested with 3D Mark 06 using a Next-generation NVIDIA ION GPU, Atom N450
CPU, and 1GB DDR2 memory versus Intel GMA 3150 graphics with an Atom N450
and 1GB DDR2 memory.
(2) Based on MobileMark 2007 productivity mode with a 6-cell battery pack.
Battery life varies by system, model, configuration, applications, power
management settings, operating conditions, and utilized features.
Contact Information: For further information, contact:
Ken Brown
NVIDIA Corporation
(408) 486-2626
kebrown@nvidia.com
