Nvidia, the #1 graphics chip maker in the computer diligence, has finally chose to enter the netbook race. They have recently announced their newest platform, the ION. While it is not a revolutionary new chip (it has in fact been around a while), it’s mixture with the Intel Atom processor is what really makes it vital to netbook owners and addicts.

About Ion

Ion is a combination of the current Intel Atom processors, used in most netbooks, with Nvidias 9400M mobile GPU. The 9400M is currently used in many budget laptops and is also the GPU you will find in Apple’s Macbook Pro line. The new chips will offer up 5x quicker graphics as well as up to 10x quicker record transcoding.

So what does this mean to you?

The Ion will allow you to run record much, much quicker. For those of you that have a first generation netbook (like my HP mini), you have doubtless noticed that the record can cause serious hiccups. With the 9400M, you can now run HD Record in full 1080p and Nvidia even went as far as to say that the platform will be capable of Blu-Ray playback. Not only that, but Nvidia has been quoted as saying that the new platform can run Call of Duty 4 with 25-30 fps consistently. That is quite a feat considering my current netbook can barely run Plants vs Zombies (my new addiciton). What that also means is that this new line of netbooks should also be able to run World of Warcraft on decent quality settings. I must be honest when I tell you that this has me VERY excited.

Are here any downsides?

The only documented downside at this point has been power consumption. The new mock systems that have been tested have been exhibiting double the power consumption of previous netbooks and would cut your battery time down to about 4-5 hours for most systems. Nvidia has stated but that the Ion based netbooks will have special power reduction techniques to extend the battery life, so no accurate measurement can be made until the first systems start showing up.

So when will they be out and what new models have been announced?

So far, the only time line agreed has been mid 2009, but we should start seeing a major crop of huge name netbooks by the Ion platform soon. The leaders out of the gate will be the Lenovo S12, a new Acer, and more than likely a new Asus laptop as well, to complement their new thinner line of netbooks. I would suspect that all of the major players in the netbook race will have Ion based systems available by Christmas.

In Conclusion

The new Ion platform by Nvidia and Intel is going to be a huge step for netbooks. 5x the graphic power, 10x the record speeds, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and 1080p all sounds fantastic. If you already have first generation netbook, this Christmas looks like it may be a excellent time to upgrade.