Eyeing Intel, Nvidia's Ion wins three votes of confidence
Microsoft certification means Ion netbooks running Vista could be out by summer
Follow @infoworldNvidia's Ion CPU-and-graphics platform, which the graphics chipmaker hopes can help loosen Intel's grip on the fast-growing netbook business, has garnered three key endorsements.
Most important is Microsoft's announcement Wednesday that it had certified Ion-based PCs to run Windows Vista Home Premium.
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Nvidia also announced Wednesday that one unnamed PC maker planned to build a mini-PC using the Ion platform. And No. 3 PC maker Acer said earlier this week that it was interested in building Ion-based PCs this year.
Ion is an Nvidia design that combines its GeForce 9400M GPU, the mobile version of one of its most powerful graphics processors, with an Intel Atom CPU.
The motherboard, amount of RAM, and other specifications are not dictated by Nvidia, said a company spokesman, Ken Brown, but most expect Ion systems to use mini-motherboards suited for netbooks and mini-PCs.
Microsoft said its testing showed that Ion-based PCs will be able to deliver 1080p HD, video, including Blu-ray movies; "exciting" video game play using DirectX 10 video technology; support for premium Vista features such Aero Glass and Flip3D; and faster video transcoding and photo editing because of the Nvidia graphics chip.
Jon Peddie, an analyst with Jon Peddie Research, said the Vista certification was a "critically important" affirmation for Ion.
"Netbook builders haven't been able to get satisfactory operation with Vista. Part of the issue, maybe all of it, is the graphics," Peddie said in an e-mail. "Nvidia's theme is 'build a better notebook' with Atom by using Ion. And the proof of that is the certification."
With rare exceptions such as Hewlett-Packard's Mini 2140 business netbook, virtually all netbooks today run Windows XP rather than Vista.
That's partly because of XP's lower cost, but mostly because they lack the horsepower to support Vista, said Ian Lao, an analyst with In-Stat. The under-the-hood limitations prevent most netbooks from showing HD video, supporting more than one external display, or playing the latest video games, he said.
Lao said that Ion delivers better performance than competing designs using Intel's integrated graphics chips, and at a similar price.
Nvidia promises that PC makers will start to deliver small and slim Vista PCs based on Ion this summer, for as little as $299, said Brown.
