Nvidia has officially unveiled its 'Next-generation ION' netbook graphics processor, which includes switchable Optimus graphics.
The new version of ION, announced on Tuesday at the CeBIT conference in Germany, was first trailed by Nvidia when the company launched its Optimus switchable graphics technology in February.
The platform, designed for use in netbooks and nettops, has Optimus built in. This technology allows PCs to switch automatically between integrated Intel graphics and the discrete Nvidia GPU, according to the graphical needs of the task at hand.
The first generation of ION had the GPU permanently activated regardless of which application was being used, which cut down the battery life of netbooks.
"If you want a netbook with the horsepower to play HD video and PC games, your only choice is ION," Nvidia ION manager Drew Henry said in a statement.
According to the manufacturer, the new ION gives netbooks 10 times the graphics performance of standard netbooks that have integrated graphics only, while still providing battery life of up to 10 hours. The comparison was based on a 3D Mark 06 test that pitched the combination of a new Nvidia ION GPU and an Intel Atom N450 CPU against Intel's integrated GMA 3150 graphics, with both systems using a gigabyte of DDR2 memory, Nvidia said.
The first netbooks to use the product are Acer's 10-inch Aspire One 532G, due in April, and Asus's 12-inch Eee PC 1201PN. All-in-one PCs using the chipset include Asus's EeeTop 2010PNT and Lenovo's C200.
