Netbooks with Intel's next-gen Pineview Atom N450 CPUs arrive in January, and the faster N470 chip may hit in March. There are also more netbooks with Ion graphics coming down the pipe, including the first Ion-based Eee PC. AMD is still kicking around the netbook space, too.

Little netbook keyboards will still make you feel like a basketball player driving a Mini Cooper, but the damn things are just so cute and cheap we can't stay away. (It's a love / hate relationship). And though HD video is most definitely a reality for netbooks, not all the new models will give you that smooth HD Hulu loving you crave.

Next-Gen Intel Chips

As our break down of Intel's line-up explains, "Pineview" Atom processors (like the single-core N450 or the eventual dual-core 510) integrate the CPU, GPU, and memory controller on the same chip. The benefits: Better graphics, and according to MSI, at least 20 percent better power consumption.

MSI previously gave us the scoop that Pine Trail-M netbooks, using Pineview processors, are slated for a big CES debut. Their upcoming 10-inch convertible touchscreen U150 with Windows 7 will use one. Though Intel still hasn't set an official date (publicly at least), DigiTimes is reporting today that the launch date will be January 10. That means Asus, Acer, Lenovo and MSI, which had planned to launch Atom N450-based netbooks in December, are all now expected to make their new models available from January 11 onwards. As mentioned, we expect to preview them at CES the week before.

DigiTimes goes on to say that the follow-up N470 chip (likely 1.83GHz) is expected to land in March. That syncs with apparent leaks of the Pine Trail-M roadmap that have floated around. And even though netbook makers already ship machines with more than 1GB of RAM, word is that Intel will actually encourage 2GB of memory for the N470. An upgrade over previous Microsoft/Intel limitations imposed to prevent cannibalization of ultra-portable notebooks.

So will N450-based netbooks handle HD video? According to Engadget, not without an extra chip like the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which should add about $30 to the overall price. Apparently, native HD video is still a little down Intel's roadmap path.

So What About Nvidia Ion Netbooks?

I'll be very interested to see just how close Pine Trail-M netbooks get to Ion performance, and for those with an HD video chip, how well they handle high-definition video, too. The integrated nature of Pine Trail-M could give it an advantage in price. But will the price/performance ratio be enough?

Nvidia also has a little ace in the hole called Flash video acceleration. They recently demonstrated an Ion-powered HP Mini 311 playing stutter-free YouTube HD video on an external monitor. Watch the demo below. The final version of Flash 10.1 will make this an everyday occurrence sometime mid-next year. And you can try the Beta now.

News also dropped today that Asus' 12.1-inch Eee PC 1201N, its first Eee PC with Ion graphics, is finally up for pre-order over at Amazon for $500. It'll be available in January, and join existing Ion-based netbooks like the HP Mini 311 (11.6-inch), Lenovo IdeaPad S12 (12.1-inch), and the Samsung N510 (11.6-inch). But here's the thing: they all use existing Diamondville-class Atom processors.

The good news is that Intel has actually pointed out that despite having integrated graphics, Pineview processors are compatible with Ion. We've not seen such a netbook with both yet, but CES is just around the corner. Nvidia has also reportedly said that its Ion 2 (yep, gen 2) chipset for Atom netbooks will arrive by the end of the year. I'm betting we'll see some Ion 2-based netbooks at CES in January, but my guess is we won't be able to buy one until March or April at the earliest.

A netbook with Ion graphics and an Intel Pineview processor like the N450 sounds pretty sweet, right? Hopefully that's what we have to look forward to.

Next Gen Flash Runs 720p Movie Smoothly on a Netbook, Demo -

Distractions, Distractions

Real quick: I'm not ignoring AMD. Having left it too late to join the netbook fray, their upcoming Congo platform will instead mostly complete with Intel's ultra-low voltage processors. We're talking about notebooks with 12 to 13-inch displays. I say mostly, because Asus is readying an AMD Congo-based version of that 12.1-inch Eee PC I mentioned above. The unit's ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics will handle 1080p video.

It's going to be one hell of an interesting Consumer Electronics Show. ARM and VIA are still trying to get inside netbook trousers: Asus has an Android-based "Smartbook" planned for early next year, and Nvidia is pushing its competing ARM-based Tegra chip. Asus also wants to be first with a Chrome OS netbook when Google completes it in the second half of 2010. Finally, there are a ton of interesting eReaders and touchscreen tablets on the horizon...and don't even start me on the Apple Tablet.

A number of these devices might replace what you thought would be your next netbook. Either way, whatever we see, you'll hear about them here in almost pornographic detail. Personally, the tech behind my next $500 netbook—still no small investment—will almost certainly be something we first see under the bright lights of Vegas. Hopefully they'll be better-looking by then, too.

Creative and ZiiLabs are showing off a pile of Zii reference hardware to potential hardware licensors in China today, in hopes that someone will manufacture it. The Zii phone reference design, pictured for the first time above, is the only one we can see right now, and promises full 1080p video playback over HDMI, OpenGL 2.0 accelerated gaming, and support for both Android OS and ZiiLabs' Plaszma software. And that's just the phone—ZiiLabs also has a 360º full HD webcam, a PCI-E video coprocessor, a pocket synthesizer and, well, lots.

But before we get to the rest of the new stuff, a little timeline for you. Back in January, Creative announced, with of an offshoot company called ZiiLabs, "Zii StemCell Computing." There were not adjectives strong enough, no superlatives super enough, no words wordy enough to describe the wonders of this StemCell computing. Unlimited Flexibility! Incredible Scalability! High Energy Efficiency! ET! CET! ER! A!

But wait, what is this thing? The Zii StemCell processor is basically an extremely flexible system-on-a-chip, which is to say a multi-talented slab of hardware with an ARM Cortex chip at its core, intended to power all manner of multimedia devices, from PMPs to phones to settop boxes to, well, whatever. Creative promised low power consumption, high processing power, and plenty of uses. The platform would be licensed to hardware manufacturers, and eventually, we'd find these Zii-powered gadgets in our possession, under familiar brands. (But not necessarily Creative itself.)

Then we were shown the Zii Egg—pictured above—which is an Android-powered PMP with an alternate OS called Plaszma. This was actual hardware—that's more like it—and it looked compelling: media playback was strong, and the device itself was hot, and most importantly for Creative, new. But this, like anything else out of ZiiLabs, was reference hardware—unless someone picked it up for manufacture, it was strictly for developers.

Fast-forward to this month, and the project is finally springing some leaks. A smartbook shows up out of nowhere. Rumors about netbooks, which could leverage the Zii chip's power for 1080p video playback, real-time encoding, HD video conferencing, Flash acceleration and more, emerge. And finally, today, an announcement. ZiiLabs is pitching more reference designs, like the Zii Egg, to manufacturers:

The line-up of Zii Powered devices on display include a dual OS concept mobile phone which supports the Plaszma OS and Android OS, a desktop touch screen video conferencing device, a web-box, a 360° multi-view camera system, a PCI Express add-on card that instantly empowers notebooks with HD video encoding for high quality video conferencing, a pocket-sized synthesizer that can emulate the sound of some of the world's best pianos, as well as the world's smallest credit card-sized Blu-ray quality media player – based on the ZMS-08 chip.

The headliner here is obviously the Trinity phone, which can count itself among the first wave of 1GHz Android phones, and promises serious media and 3D support. The reference hardware, as you can see, is conservatively designed, though undeniably nice—and apparently iPhone skinny.

But the other Zii Wares are compelling in their own ways. The videoconferencing system can apparently process a distortion-free 360° view in full HD. The PCI Express add-on card will do video offload duties, a la Nvidia's GPGPU systems. And that little "Blu-ray quality" media player, well, I really don't know. All of the Zii hardware is propped up by the Plaszma-centric ZiiLife suite, which includes videoconferencing software with media sharing, educational software, and an app store.

As they are now, these gadgets will probably never see the light of day—it'll be up to hardware manufacturers to pick up the reference designs, after which they'll undoubtedly put their own spin on each concept. And as far as the associated software goes, it'll most likely remain under wraps until there are actual products to use it with. At any rate, over the next few months we can probably expect to see some of these Zii-powered gadgets show up as actual, buyable products, whatever forms they may take. And honestly, I'm eager to see them. [ZiiLabs]

Maybe all the interest in Android 2.0 got them interested again.

As a reminder, Smartbooks are just Qualcomm's name for netbooks that use ARM-based processors, which are needed to run Android. (Acer actually ported Android to Atom processors for its Aspire One netbook). Nvidia is also pushing its ARM-based Tegra chip for Smartbooks. [Shanzai (translated)]

There's a ton of stuff here, some of it quite similar, but it's pretty certain these'll be popped into smartphones and other mobile devices come next year. The most interesting to me is that "5 megapixel CMOS system on a chip camera, which can process 1080p at 30 fps," which could make for a pretty badass lens in a smartphone—I don't think we've ever seen video recording that sharp. But they've also got a slew of ARM processors and a few low-power 1GHz chipsets called OneDRAM, along with a lot of other internals that may not be flashy but will doubtless be powering our mobile gadgets. [Engadget]

ARM processors are found in most smartphones, but its improved Cortex-A9 processor is aimed at netbooks or smartbooks (a term given to a small notebook even shittier than a netbook). It will have dual cores and is capable of running at 2GHz. They are very confident it will out preform Intel's Atom N270 chip, but where ARM has always been able to compete is with battery life. The chip is super low power with each CPU consuming under 250mW. Battery life is great, but ARM still can't run Windows XP, nevertheless Win 7. However, for those future Google Chrome OS netbooks it may just work.

Taiwanese chipmaker VIA, on the other hand, is gunning after notebooks with 10 to 12 inch displays (or NetNotes as they are so cleverly calling them). They are pairing their VIA C7-M ULV or VIA Nano CPU with its VX855 chipset which adds 1080p HD support. VIA has always had performance, but battery life is its Achilles heel.

So what do we learn from all this? Competition is good, but Intel (and even AMD) have the power and the endurance you want inside your netbook right now, like today. And it is only going to get better later this year. By then these guys will have to start playing catch up yet again. [Via, ARM]

I say that because so-called smartbooks with ARM-based processors (like Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip) don't support Windows. And there's Nokia with its own Linux-based OS. We've also heard plenty of rumors (since denied) about Nokia looking at Android. We'll have to wait and see. [DigiTimes]

The company has announced a partnership with ARM to license its processor technology for the "next generation" of HDTVs, essentially committing to the connected TV ideal that other companies—namely Sony, Vizio and Samsung—have been toying with for the last year or so.

The technology itself isn't the story here, since ARM processors are in quite a few TVs already, and the MPCore chips and Mali graphics processors aren't expressly new, although they are admirably capable. It's that LG, one of the biggest HDTV manufacturers in the world, wants to make your next TV into a net-savvy quasi-computer. Well, the road from a partnership announcement to an actual product is a long one, so maybe not your next TV, exactly, but the one after. Honest! [ARM]

ARM PROVIDES TECHNOLOGY FOR LG ELECTRONICS DIGITAL TVS

High performance, energy efficient ARM11 MPCore and ARM Mali GPUs to drive the digitally connected home

CAMBRIDGE, UK – June 22, 2009 – ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMH)] today announces that LG Electronics, one of the world's largest digital TV brands, has licensed ARM® technology to power its digital TV (DTV) development revolution.

The ARM11™ MPCore™ multicore processor provides flexible and cost effective processing in next generation DTVs and enables LG Electronics to target a range of platforms with the same architecture simply by implementing single or multiple SMP cores. ARM Mali™-200 and Mali-400 MP graphics processors will open the path to true 1080p resolutions, affording consumers a home cinema experience that includes high-definition graphics, whilst vastly improving the browsing experience on DTV user interfaces.

Consumers are looking for a full Web 2.0 experience from their DTVs. With Adobe and Open source software platforms, and the emergence of tru2way™ technology, consumers can receive interactive cable services, including video-on-demand, voting and polling, games, and e-commerce without the need for a separate set-top box. Additionally, manufacturers are striving to build intelligent AV processing and develop home devices that are truly energy efficient.

"By licensing ARM technologies, LG Electronics will be able to offer a future-proofed premium-quality digital TV experience for today's connected home," said Seung-Jong Choi, research fellow of Digital TV Lab, LG Electronics. "The connected home relies on technology that is fully functional and that guarantees a high-quality, energy efficient multimedia experience. With Web 2.0 requirements moving into a connected and high definition home, LG Electronics has selected the ARM architecture to guarantee longevity for our own technology."

"Today's consumers are pushing manufacturers to produce home technology that allows an environment for sharing digital media and content services. End users are increasingly discerning and are demanding premium-quality experiences through digital TV," said Mike Inglis, EVP and general manager, Processor Division at ARM. "The combination of ARM CPU and Mali graphics processors clearly represents a compelling package for DTV and connected home technology manufacturers, who will be able to provide their customers with integrated, high-quality, Internet connected, multimedia-ready devices that are proven to be energy efficient."

ARM innovations in high performance, energy efficient technology are supported by the industry's largest network of Partners – the ARM Connected Community™. This combination of technology innovation and collaboration is extremely attractive. The ARM Connected Community of over 500 Partners brings together leading silicon, systems, design support, software and training providers to provide a complete solution for products based on the ARM Architecture.

About ARM11 MPCore
The market proven ARM11 MPCore synthesizable multicore processor provides a scalable solution that addresses the requirements of multiple designs. Devices can be configured to contain between one and four processors delivering up to an aggregate 5000 Dhrystone MIPS of performance at 1GHz while providing existing software portability across single CPU and multi-CPU designs. The ARM11 MPCore processor provides the memory throughput required of data intensive applications while delivering greater performance at lower frequencies than comparable single processor designs, so offering significant cost savings to system designers. The ARM11 MPCore processor also simplifies otherwise complex multiprocessor design, reducing time-to-market and total design cost.

About Mali Graphics Technology
The Mali GPU family scales from Mali-55, the world's smallest OpenGL ES graphics processor to Mali-400 MP, the highest-performance embedded multicore GPU IP on the market which supports complex applications at up to 1080p high-definition resolution, thereby addressing the widest range of performance points for all embedded graphics needs. This diverse offering enables ARM to lead in conformance to numerous open standards and confirms the company's unique position as a world-class supplier of the complete range of hardware and software graphics IP, enabling application developers and device manufacturers to create competitive and cutting-edge designs.

Mali graphics processors deliver stunning 2D and 3D graphics providing 4x and 16x full scene anti-aliasing (FSAA) without any noticeable drop in performance. In addition to providing content developers with the state-of-the-art programmable features in OpenGL ES 2.0, Mali products also support 2D scalable vector graphics through OpenVG for improved text, navigation, UI and web-browsing experiences. For more information, please visit http://www.arm.com/products/multimedia/graphics.

About ARM
ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM's comprehensive product offering includes 32-bit RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, video engines, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and the company's broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.

Apple is prone to occasional fits of vertical integration, and has never been terribly reluctant to run counter to the prevailing hardware winds, but this doesn't sound like some Jobsian act of contrarianism. The report indicates that it's the iPhone's unique power and performance demands that are driving this move, at least ostensibly:

Apple could use the internally developed chips to sharply reduce the power consumption of its hit iPhone and iPod touch devices, and possibly add graphics circuitry to help its hardware play realistic game software and high-definition videos, people familiar with its plans say.

Apple already works with Samsung, the manufacturer of the ARM-based processors used in the iPhone and iPod Touch, to design chips suited to their specific needs, and Apple is a large enough company that it doesn't have trouble coaxing tailor-made hardware out of its suppliers. But totally in-house chip design boasts the huge advantage of secrecy; removing Samsung from the equation ensures that any power-saving, graphics-boosting chip features Apple manages to conjure for their next iWhatever don't eventually find their way into units available to other industry giants like HTC or RIM.

So don't confuse Apple's latest move with an effort to spur innovation—from here, this looks like technology-hoarding, pure and simple; a bid to further insulate their mobile devices from competition by locking down their hardware as hard as they do their software. [WSJ]

Occupying a space only millimeters wide, and supporting the Open GL ES 2.0 standard, Product Manager Remi Pedersen says that the Mali 200, and eventually, Mali 400, are designed to work in a phone that goes 2-3 days between charges. Pedersen says the first phones will appear at the end of 2009, followed by an influx of devices in 2010.

Graphically, games shown were on the level of PS2 and Xbox, able to push a decent number of pixels with a smooth framerate. A port of the original Project Gotham Racing runs on the Mali 200 GPU with virtually no lag and a decent number of polygons.

But they can also provide hardware acceleration for device UIs, process HD video and make Flash usable on mobile devices. ARM says that features such as HD video encode/decode and Flash decoding will be centered more around the multicore Mali 400, which will appear en masse sometime in 2010. And by all accounts, we can probably look forward to seeing this line of Mali GPUs in future netbooks and MIDs.

Here's quick vid of the Mali 200 in action. It's pretty smooth for a mobile GPU.

OLPCs CTO Ed McNierney said in an interview today that the 5 watts of power used by the XO is too much for them. By switching to an ARM processor in the XO-2, they could get that number down to under a watt. This would benefit factors such as battery life considerably.

But on the other end of the spectrum, Windows doesn't really work without an x86 processor, which means that in all likelihood, the OS will be some sort of Linux variant. Not that's necessarily a bad thing: the upcoming Touch Book from Always Innovating also uses an ARM processor, and puts down some serious battery life in addition to rendering 3D graphics in OpenGL.

But we're still to far away from the late 2010 release of the XO-2 to start talking specifics. [PC World via Electronista]

First, they're customizing the compiler specifically for the ARMv6 and ARMv7 processors, which will help speed up and smooth out communications between the processor and the app. Second, they're going to take advantage of the graphics subprocessors found in some ARM chips. Flash on desktops isn't optimized for any sort of graphics processor, but taking advantage of this on a mobile platform will not only help with the workload, but it will improve battery life at the same time. Lastly, they're making video compression and decompression better suited for the processors, so that it requires less horsepower.

It should come as no huge surprise that Adobe says Flash 10 will be running on ARM devices by next year, considering that they already announced plans for the software on the iPhone and G1. It will not only make it easier to view sites with rich web content, but it will also be easier to view and upload flash videos, and run flash-based apps. [MIT Technology Review]

It's worth noting here that Intel was not promoting a specific product with these statements, and offered no direct performance comparisons to its own processors. Secondly, it appears as though they either haven't used an iPhone or any of its competitors, at all. No, an iPhone doesn't have the processing power to render pages as fast as a desktop computer might, but to imply that browsing is the iPhone's weakness is kind of silly. Original story author ZDNet's Suzanna Tindal, notably a "Guest of Intel" should have framed this as what it is: an unprompted, stock-fluffing pissing match, initiated by the big guy. [ZDNet]

In the second part Kamen talks about how the arm's control systems were developed, simplifying an 18-degrees of freedom movement space so that it could be controlled almost subconsciously by the user.
Part three is where Kamen talks about his not-for profit scheme to get young people interested in science through robots: "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" (FIRST); "like sports, nobody ever walks around saying 'I wanna be second'."

Interesting stuff, as I said, and the Luke arm seems to have a pretty astounding future ahead of it. I can't help thinking I'd've asked a few more direct questions though. Is the arm dexterous enough for it to let a wearer/user use the toilet? When the Luke arm gets to that level of sophistication—and, more importantly, when its developer/users trust it enough to do intimate tasks like that with it—that's the point at which I reckon the arm will stop being a science-technology showpiece and really make a difference in people's lives. Over to you in the comments. [Kara.AllthingsD]

Dean says that fatalities are down because of battlefield tech and triage methods. But that many soldiers are coming back missing limbs. He wanted to make an arm to replace their missing ones. He wants it sensitive enough to pick up a grape or allow soldiers to use a razor to shave, but be self-contained in terms of power. And a two- year deadline.

He say that a year later, they built an 8.9-pound arm using titanium, custom motors, and so on. There's 18 degrees of freedom, and they're now seeing a demo of a man who is scratching his nose. Dean says he did this in one year.

The control techniques are revolutionary. He's playing a video of a guy who didn't have both his arms for 18 years, and learned how to use the arms effectively in less than two dozen hours of training. He's showing a video that shows a guy who knows how to punch, pass a Ping Pong ball to his friend and pour a drink for another man who is holding a cup with the same type of arm. Then the video shows Chuck, the man with no arms, for the first time in 13 years, feeding himself cereal.

Holy shit, now he's showing a video of a guy using the arm using only his MIND. He learned this technique in two days, but Dean says it was more like the system learned how to interface with the human.

Looking at what he's doing, the guy drinks and people applaud. It's been two days. But the amazing thing is that he's put the cup down so it's become a lower brain stem function in two hours of doing cup functions.

Attaching the arm directly to nerves required a lot of surgery.

But there are limited arm functions, even if it's very complicated. Learning how to control a back hoe, with four controls, takes years. And the arm has 18 degrees of freedom. But people don't learn how by using each degree. In fact, it's more efficient, Dean says. There are three degrees of freedom, so they did macros. With this, a man learned how to pick up bottles, nails and other items.

Attaching the arm was a challenge, day to day. Nine pounds on an arm is heavy over a few minutes, let alone a day. So they knew that no one would wear them because of that. So Dean designed air bladders that shift the weight on the body when passive (like fidgeting in a chair) and inflate to be hard when the servos in the arm detect load.

When they did a demo for the secretary of the Army, they showed a man picking up 12 grapes and eating them without breaking or dropping any.

You can literally use infrared light, reading signals going through the skull without any invasive insertion. That's what we're working on next as a controller.

Dean is taking five minutes to explain the plight of the modern world and the responsibility of the smart, rich people in the world to help change that. I'm not sure I have the words to express his thoughts, so I'll wait for the official D video and embed it here later.

Vid from All Things D:

[All Things D]

An ugly giganfatastic beast made of multiple boards right out of a Terry Gilliam movie set. It was faster and had wireless connectivity, something that the ARM model didn't had enabled. And obviously, it was untouchable and development oriented.

As you can see, while the Android platform is solid enough for development and testing, it seems we are far away from seeing actual products getting into the market. ARM told us that everything is still pretty much up in the air at this point, and the actual physical cellphone specification is still coming from the Open Handset Alliance.

We will update this post with more Android prototypes hands-on and impressions.

It's about as powerful as the first Pentium M chips (Banias), but while those idled at 5W and averaged 24.5W, this little guy sips as little as 0.1W in its idle state, with peaks up to just 2W on the 2GHz model. It's really cheap to pump out too, tapped for the $200 OLPC at one point.

It comes in a couple different flavors up to that 2GHz version. To get athletic performance—it's a full-fledged x86 chip, not a half-baked cutdown—out of an anorexic processor, Intel worked all kinds of design mojo, like a new quick-wake deep sleep state. It's still a bit too hungry for smartphones, though. So, while it's a neat piece of silicon, as Ars says, it's still got a ways to go, especfially with stiff competition from ARM and TI. But that's a good thing.

Jesus Díaz: How the heck did you get your hands on a giant industrial robotic arm?
Aaron Rasmussen: My friend had it for his company, and it was caught in some sort of accounting limbo. So he agreed to let us use it if we didn't break it. We had to give it back after, sadly. That robot goes for about $70,000.

JD: OK, so that was free. What about the cost for the whole project? I saw that you "rented" (buy and return) an HD camera for free from Fry's...
AR: The total cost was actually only about $1,000, or about $1,220 if you count the camera that gets hit by the bowling ball:

• Truck rental: $716.13
• Gas for truck $72.86
• Bowling Balls $60.00
• The pig entrails, water for us, carrots, watermelons, eggs and such came to around: $100
• We found scrap parts for the catapult arm
• We traded computer services for the heavy equipment (Skylife and tractor).
• The RV camper van was a junker from a friend of a friend.

Looking at the full video, it seems like the best way to spend a weekend and $1,000 with friends. I personally can't wait for some kind of laser arm version. [Mana]