The system was built by Bill "Overkill Bill" Owen from mnpctech, based on a winning render by "Cheapskate". The worklogs of all the finalist mods are fun to flick through, and the hundreds of hours of work that went into the Cube's CNC milled sheets of aluminum and laser cut pieces of acrylic look worth it to me. [Modders-Inc and Mnpctech]

Full specs:

ION ITX-A-U Specifications
Processor 1.6 GHz Intel Atom 330
533 MHz FSB
Chipset NVIDIA MCP7A-ION
System Memory, Dual channel DDR2 667 DIMM slots
Up to 4 GB of memory
VGA Integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics
Supported Resolution 1920 x 1440 (VGA)
Expansion Slots PCI Express Mini Card (wireless card pre-installed)
Onboard IDE None
Onboard Serial ATA 3 SATA (3 Gb/sec.) connectors (RAID 0, 1, 0+1)
Onboard USB 10 USB 2.0
Onboard LAN Realtek RTL8211C GbE 10/100/1000
Onboard Audio Realtek ALC662 5.1 channel HD codec
Back Panel I/O 6 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 DVI-I port
1 HDMI port
1 eSATA port
1 LAN port
1 PS2 keyboard port
2 S/PDIF-out ports (coaxial/optical)
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in, mic-in
1 DC jack
Onboard I/O Connectors 3 SATA connectors
4 USB 2.0 via 2 pin headers
1 RS-232 COM pin header
1 Front panel audio pin header
1 Front panel pin header
2 Fan pin headers
4-pin Molex connector (for peripheral power)
BIOS AMI BIOS 8 Mb flash memory
System Monitoring & Management: System power management, RTC timer
Operating Temperature 0ºC ~ 50ºC
Power DC 19 V @ 4.74 A
Form Factor: Mini-ITX (17 x 17 cm)
Includes Driver CD
Backplate
CPU fan
90 W AC adapter & cord
Wireless antenna
3 SATA cables
1 SATA power cable

Apart from the addition of 802.11n Wi-Fi, other specs remain identical to the Windows XP, 1GB RAM, Atom 230 model that costs about $200 bucks. There's also a VESA attachment for mounting on the back of your flat panel monitor or TV.

The $330 AspireRevo (R3610-U9012) is new, but should already been up for grabs over at: [Acer]

• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
• Intel Atom 330 Processor (1.6GHz)
• Integrated NVIDIA® ION Graphics Solution
• 2GB DDR2 SDRAM Memory
• 160GB SATA Hard Drive
• Six USB 2.0 Ports (Two Front, Four Back)
• HDMI Port
• eSATA Port
• VGA Port
• Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
• 802.11b/g/Draft-N Wireless
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
• USB Stereo Speakers
• High-Definition Headphone and Microphone Jacks

The tip came from, of all places, the existing Mini 311 service manual, where MyHPMini discovered a host of interesting tidbits regarding the line's future, post-Windows 7:

* Full NVidia ION support
* 80GB SSD
* 2GB / 3GB RAM
* 250GB HDD 5400rpm
* 320GB HDD 5400rpm
* Windows 7 Starter, Premium and Professional (all 32-bit) OSes

Presently, the Mini ships with only 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive and ION LE (no DirectX support, notes Liliputing). With greater features comes great price, obviously, but you didn't need me to tell you that. For reference, the current price is $400. Update: Clarified the headline. Thanks for the heads up, comment folk. [MyHPMini via Netbooked via Liliputing]

Nothing for the iPhone. "Still a closed device and not much progress there," Adobe told us as they gleefully detailed that Flash was invading basically every other smartphone. Also, we gotta wait until mid-2010 for the full rollout.

But, betas for Windows Mobile and WebOS are coming this year, with Android and Symbian early next, meaning you can get your mobile Hulu on before then. BlackBerry will be a bit longer, since RIM just joined Adobe's Open Screen project. Supposedly, Flash won't run like total garbage on phones, either, like Flash Lite. Fingers crossed, guys!

The GPU acceleration for Flash is the real deal, for sure, though—I watched a Star Trek trailer on YouTube HD on an Nvidia Ion-powered HP Mini 311 output to an external monitor, even, and it ran flawlessly. Which, if you've ever tried to play an HD Flash clip, even on full-fledged systems it molests CPU cycles, so just working on a $400 netbook very nearly deserves applause.

Flash 10.1 has a few other tricks too with full support for multitouch, gestures and accelerometer input—meaning it'd be perfect on the iPhone, if Apple would ever let it through. And make no mistake, Apple is the roadblock there, since Adobe said engineering work has continued (10,000 years later). The fact that full Flash will be on basically every single smartphone platform also makes that pretty clear.

If you want to spin that positively (my coffee cup is half-full, after all) the iPhone is now basically the only place you can go to flee from Flash, which basically covers everything like a pulsating squid thing with icky tentacles and stuff, ceaselessly stretching out to ensnare more. There is no escape. Except the iPhone. (Which kinda makes no Flash a feature, right?)

Oh, and the new Adobe AIR—TweetDeck, the NY Times Reader and other software runs on top of it—will slightly be less abominable, gobbling less memory and acting more like a real application, with USB mass storage support, multitouch and gesture input, and p2p powers for stuff like Skype and gaming.

Bottom line, It's a Flashy world, we just live in it.

Adobe Unveils First Full Flash Player for Mobile Devices and PCs

Close to 50 Open Screen Project Participants Support New Browser Runtime for Multiple Platforms

LOS ANGELES - Oct. 5, 2009 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today unveiled Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 software for smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks, PCs and other Internet-connected devices, allowing content created using the Adobe Flash Platform to reach users wherever they are. A public developer beta of the browser-based runtime is expected to be available for Windows® Mobile, Palm® webOS and desktop operating systems including Windows, Macintosh and Linux later this year. Public betas for Google® Android™ and Symbian® OS are expected to be available in
early 2010.

In addition, Adobe and RIM announced a joint collaboration to bring Flash Player to Blackberry® smartphones, and Google joined close to 50 other industry players in the Open Screen Project initiative.
Flash Player 10.1 is the first consistent runtime release of the Open Screen Project that enables uncompromised Web browsing of expressive applications, content and high definition (HD) videos across devices. Using the productive Web programming model of the Flash Platform, the browser-based runtime enables millions of designers and developers to reuse code and assets and reduce the cost of creating, testing and deploying content across different operating systems and browsers. Flash Player 10.1 is easily updateable across all supported platforms to ensure rapid adoption of new innovations that move the Web forward.

The browser-based runtime leverages the power of the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for accelerated video and graphics while conserving battery life and minimizing resource utilization. New mobile-ready features that take advantage of native device capabilities include support for multi-touch, gestures, mobile input models, accelerometer and screen orientation bringing unprecedented creative control and expressiveness to the mobile browsing experience. Flash Player 10.1 will also take advantage of media delivery with HTTP streaming, including integration of content protection powered by Adobe® Flash® Access 2.0. This effort, code-named Zeri, will be an open format based on industry standards and will
provide content publishers, distributors and partners the tools they need to utilize HTTP infrastructures for high-quality media delivery in Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe® AIR® 2.0 software.

"With Flash Player moving to new mobile platforms, users will be able to experience virtually all Flash technology based Web content and applications wherever they are," said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe. "We are excited about the broad collaboration of close to 50 industry leaders in the Open Screen Project and the ongoing collaboration with 19 out of the top 20 handset manufacturers worldwide. It will be great to see first devices ship with full Flash Player in the first half of next year."

"We are excited to join Adobe and other industry leaders in the Open Screen Project," said Sundar Pichai, vice president of Product Management at Google. "This initiative supports our common goal to move the Web forward as a platform and to spur innovation in the industry through technology such as Adobe Flash."

"Adobe Flash technology provides a key experience on new Windows phones, enabling people to enjoy rich Flash based games, videos and other interactive Web content on the go," said Stephanie Ferguson, general manager, Product Management, Microsoft Corp. "We look forward to bringing in the new capabilities of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 to the Windows phone browser when it becomes available."

"Motorola is excited to be one of the first handset manufacturers to ship Android based devices with Flash Player support early next year," said Christy Wyatt, vice president of software applications and ecosystem at Motorola. "As the No.1 platform for video on the Web, uncompromised browsing of Flash technology based content is essential for a rich mobile experience and something users expect from Motorola today."

"As a longtime partner of Adobe, and more than 400 million Nokia phones shipped with existing Flash technology to date, we are excited to see Flash Player becoming a reality for mobile phones and other mobile devices," said Purnima Kochikar, vice president, Forum Nokia. "Nokia is excited about full Flash Player coming to devices and we are committed to supporting Flash Player 10.1 on mobile devices in 2010."

[Adobe]

Otherwise, its specs are the same as the recent EeeBox EB1012. That means dual-core Atom N330 processor, 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM (expandable to 4GB), 250GB hard disk, and Nvidia Ion graphics.

The optical drive is only a DVD-RW, but I can use my PlayStation for Blu-ray. Otherwise, the EB1501 can pretty much connect to anything and everything: it's got 802.11n Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, 6 USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader, and an eSATA connection for external hard disks. An S/PDIF connection also gives you 5.1 audio.

What a crazy little box. We're still waiting on U.S. pricing and availability, but it's expected to be €399 ($580) in Europe, and should arrive around October 22—when Windows 7 arrives. [Asus]

It ships with Windows XP initially, though if you can wait til October, you can buy a Windows 7 model for $475—by comparison, the original "first" Ion netbook, Lenovo's S12, is completely unavailable until October, and will be $550, with a lower res (1280x800) screen to boot.

Also up HP's sleeve is a retake on the Mini 110 by artist Tord Boontje, engraved with a surface technology called HP Imprint 3D. Anyways, here are the specs for the 311 (sorry about the all the puns in the headline, couldn't resistor).

• Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 3(1)
• Intel® AtomTM Processor N270(3) • 1.60GHz(4) • 512KB L2 • 533Mhz FSB(4a)
• 1024MB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm) • Max supported =3072MB
• 1
• NVIDIA ION LE for Windows XP with up to 319MB total graphics memory
• 160GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA)(7)
• HP Black Swirl Imprint finish & HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone(15)
• 11.6" Diagonal HD LED(8) BrightView Widescreen Display (1366 x 768)
• Integrated 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector) (9)
• 802.11b/g WLAN(10a)
• 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards(17a)
• Altec Lansing Speakers
• 92% full sized keyboard • touchpad with scroll zone
• Touch Pad with dedicated vertical Scroll Up/Down (note: no on/off button)
• 3 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0
• Headphone-out/Microphone in combo jack (compatible with 3.5mm 4-conductor jack with stereo audio and mono mic)
• HDMI
• 1 VGA (15-pin) • 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
• Unpackaged: 11.4 in (L) x 8.03 in (D) x 0.78-1.20 in (H) • Packaged: 13.6"(W) x 4.3"(D) x12.2"(H)
• Unpackaged: 3.22 lbs(12). • Packaged: 5.3 lbs
• Kensington® MicroSaver lock slot • Power-on password • Accepts 3rd party security lock devices
• 65W AC Adapter • 6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery
• HP 90W AC Adapter - KG298AA#ABA • HP PT06 Mini Battery - VP502AA • HP USB Essentials Port Replicator - NK398AA#ABA
• 1-Year Limited Hardware Warranty with Toll Free Support (NA) • 1-Year Free Hardware Technical Support • 30-Days Free Limited Software Support with 1-Year (from date of
purchase) Free Limited Software Support with Product Registration.

[HP]

Like the first EeeBox PC, the EB1012 is super compact (222mm x 178mm x26.9mm), and Asus claims its Nvidia MCP7A Ion graphics and HDMI output will allow full 1080p playback.

Also useful: a 5.1 S/PDIF audio connection, built-in multi-card reader (including SDHC), plus 4 USB slots, and one single eSATA port to connect your external hard drive.

It'll be available in black or white, but Asus hasn't listed any pricing or release details yet. Can't be too long now, though…[Asus via Engadget]

On track to ship at the end of October, the IdeaPad S12 with Intel's Atom N270 and Nvidia's GeForce 9400 graphics will be $50 more than the standard Intel Atom version and will retail for $550. Though more than the average netbook, we expect it to be worth it, especially if it truly performs like we've seen.

However, Lenovo's delay may prevent the company from being the first to market with an Ion powered netbook. Samsung's N510 has been confirmed to ship in the U.S. next month for $599. And we have also been told that HP has plans to release an Ion system of their own in the coming weeks. HP would not comment on the rumors.

Updated: According to Laptop Magazine Samsung is also planning to hold off on its N510 for Windows 7.

Nevertheless, Lenovo hinted that the experience of Windows 7 on the S12 would make it more compelling than the Vista version it was originally planning to sell.

NVIDIA ENERGIZES COMPUTEX WITH NEW ION-BASED PC PRODUCTS

Highly Anticipated Platform Takes Off With 21 New Products for Small PCs

COMPUTEX, TAIPEI, TAIWAN-JUNE 2, 2009-NVIDIA, the world leader in visual
computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, announced broad adoption of its award-
winning NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor at the Computex tradeshow today. The new
products – introduced at an NVIDIA press conference in Taipei and on display at the show –
include small desktop PCs, thin and light notebooks, all-in-one PCs, and low power motherboard
solutions which all deliver a full PC experience in a small, low-power system.

The new products include:
Acer Desktop AspireRevo
AsRock Desktop ION 330
ASUS Motherboard C2N7A-I
ASUS All-in-one eeeTop ET2002
Colorful Desktop iHTPC
ECS Desktop 7AT-3L
ECS All-in-one Morph-I
Flextronics All-in-one Cobra-2
Flextronics Desktop Dove-2
Funtwist Desktop FION 330
ICD All-in-one Kitchen PC
Lenovo Notebook IdeaPad S12
MSI Desktop Windbox D200
MSI All-in-one Windtop AE2201
Pegatron Desktop IPP7A-CP
Pegatron All-in-one IPP7A-DF2
Pegatron Motherboard IPX7A-ION
TCL All-in-one Ruiyi 1010
Telcast Notebook TL-1000N
Weibu Notebook N10A
Zotac Motherboard ION-ITX

The new NVIDIA ION-based PCs and platform solutions are great for high definition video,
mainstream gaming, and GPU-accelerated video and photo editing applications that take
advantage of NVIDIA CUDA™ technology.

ION also supports DirectX Compute as part of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 operating
system. DirectX Compute running on NVIDIA's CUDA compute hardware architecture delivers
a major boost for small form factor PCs because it accelerates applications like video editing that
run poorly or not at all on today's low-powered PCs. Other GPU-accelerated applications like
vReveal and Badaboom let users quickly edit video and convert it for use on a portable media
player like an iPod.

"NVIDIA is really shaking up the small form factor space with ION graphics," said Rob Enderle,
Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. "Netbooks and nettops are the hottest selling items in
the PC space right now, but most are severely limited. ION removes the major chunk of that
performance limitation allowing PC vendors the perfect blend of design, performance, and value
that drives sales in hard times."

"Consumer interest in the Acer AspireRevo featuring NVIDIA's ION graphics has been
overwhelming," said Gianpero Morbello, senior vice president of corporate marketing for Acer.
"The Acer AspireRevo clearly demonstrates the power of ION to deliver a full and unique
multimedia experience for an amazingly low price. We see strong consumer demand in this
space."

NVIDIA ION graphics processors deliver big performance from small PCs with up to 10X faster
graphics than similar systems1. ION graphics support:

• Windows 7 and Windows Vista Home Premium
• Low-power CPUs including Intel Atom, Intel Celeron, and Via Nano processors
• Outstanding 1080p HD video with true-fidelity 7.1 audio
• Popular games including The Sims 3, Lego Batman, World of WarCraft, and
Battlefield Heroes
• DirectX 10 graphics with advanced digital display connectivity
• Accelerated video enhancement and transcoding using NVIDIA® CUDA™ and
DirectX Compute technology

First, a refresher: Nividia's Ion platform is essentially Intel's Atom processor combined with the decent Nvidia 9400m graphics unit. The resulting performance isn't independently mind-blowing, offering smooth 1080p video decoding, including accelerated h.264 playback, Blu-ray playback and moderate gaming capabilities, but put into the context of existing Atom netbooks, it's a revelation.

Though technically not the first Ion-based product—that honor goes to the Acer Revo nettop—this is the first netbook, and frankly, it's exactly what we were told to expect from the start: a midrange, 12-inch netbook with a multimedia bent. It's a followup to the company's existing S9 and S10 IdeaPads, and, excluding the ION—a $50 option, unfortunately—it's not that different from its smaller stablemates.

The screen resolution is higher, at 1280x800, but therein lies a slight problem. Ion's banner claims revolve around HD video playback, and 1080p video won't be viewable on the S12, except on an external screen through its HDMI output. That said, the difference between 720p and 1080p video on such a small would hardly be noticeable.

Specs include 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, a 4-in-one card reader, a 3-cell battery (upgradeable to 6) and an ExpressCard slot for 3G expandability. XP is the OS of choice. Pricing starts at $449, and the S12 goes on sale in July. Ion, however, won't make its way to production units until an unspecified "late summer" date, and it'll cost a $50 premium over the standard, Intel-based solution. Full specs release below. [Lenovo]

IdeaPad S12 Netbook

Display: 12.1 WXGA (1280 X 800) LED 200 nit, 250g
Processor: Intel Atom N270
Graphics: Intel integrated GMA 950, Nvidia ION
Memory: Up to 1GB DDR2 533 MHz
Hard Drive: Up to 160 GB SATA (160, 250, 320)
Battery Life: 3 hours with 3-cell, 6 hours with 6-cell
Weight: 1.4kg with 3 cell, 1.55kg with 6 cell
Dimensions: 292 X 216 X 22-28.9mm
Connectivity: 10/100m Ethernet, Broadcom 578M, Intel WiFi Link 5150 1X2 AGN, Intel WiFi Link 5100 1X2 AGN, Non-Intel wireless b/g, Non-Intel wireless b/g/n, Bluetooth
Other: 3 USB, 1 Expresscard slot (Intel and VIA platforms), 4-in-1 card reader, VGA, RJA45, HDMI
Software: XP Home SP3 (32 bit)

Lenovo Energizes Mini-Computing with its First 12-Inch Netbook
Debuts World's First Netbook with NVIDIA's ION Graphics Processor

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – May 25, 2009: Lenovo today announced the IdeaPad S12, the company's first 12-inch netbook. The new netbook takes the best in connectivity, style and entertainment features in Lenovo's other netbooks and brings users the next level in netbook computing with improved usability and performance. These enhancements include a 12.1-inch screen, a 100 percent full-size keyboard and new graphics options with the NVIDIA ION™ platform.

"We've heard from consumers loud and clear about the need for affordable and extremely portable computing devices, and we've responded by introducing our third netbook with a completely new form factor, making mini-computing more usable and redefining value in today's market," said Dion Weisler, vice president, Business Operations, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. "We are pioneering new territory in the developing netbook arena by being the first vendor to give customers high quality video and entertainment capabilities in a netbook with optional NVIDIA ION graphics."

Elevating Power and Performance
Whether it's looking at photos, playing music, emailing or cruising online, consumers want smaller and more portable PCs. The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook is raising the bar for higher levels of netbook computing with choices of the Intel Atom processor with Intel integrated graphics or the Intel Atom processor with NVIDIA ION graphics. Also, for the first time on a netbook with NVIDIA's ION graphics platform, users will be able to enjoy brilliant 1080p high definition video with silky smooth playback.
"NVIDIA ION graphics help deliver the same features found in premium PCs at lower price points and new form factors," said Rene Haas, general manager, Notebook GPUs, NVIDIA. "With enhanced graphics, the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook is perfect for watching movies, playing popular games like Spore, flipping through vacation pictures or enhancing family videos."

The IdeaPad S12 netbook offers plenty of up and running time with up to six hours of battery life to support the mobile demands of netbook users1. Because netbook users need to stay connected wirelessly, the netbook comes with WiFi connectivity and ready for 3G with an ExpressCard slot to enable connectivity2. To hold the photos, music and videos users keep on their netbooks, the IdeaPad S12 netbook offers ample hard drive storage and memory with up to 160 GB of storage and 1 GB of memory. For peace of mind in case data becomes corrupted, Lenovo's OneKey™ Rescue System can help recover user data or device settings.

Loaded with Style and Entertainment
In addition to the netbook's sleek and sophisticated ring pattern design in black or white, users can make the netbook their one-stop entertainment device, starting from the moment they turn it on. Lenovo's expanded VeriFace facial recognition technology makes logging in a snap by recognizing the user's face. If users want "on demand" functionality, they can go into the Lenovo Quick Start environment and check email, browse the Internet and more without waiting for the full operating system to boot. They can also don any set of headphones and enjoy surround sound audio with Dolby Headphone technology. If opting to watch video on an external monitor, they can easily connect through the netbook's VGA port or HDMI port on select models. They can also choose among several multimedia formats to upload through the 4-in-1 multicard reader.

An Improved Computing Experience
Lenovo designed the IdeaPad S12 netbook for consumers looking for a super thin, portable and affordable device that offered a familiar, computing experience. Lenovo enlarged the netbook's WXGA screen from 10.1 inches to 12.1 inches for better viewing and made the keyboard 100 percent the size of a full-size laptop to make typing easier and less cramped. And when it comes to portability, by measuring less than an inch thick4, the netbook leads the industry for thinness compared to other 12-inch netbooks. The lightweight IdeaPad S12 netbook weighs in at just three pounds5.

Pricing and Availability6
The IdeaPad S12 netbook will be available in June through business partners and HYPERLINK "http://www.lenovo.com" www.lenovo.com. Pricing for models starts at $449. Models with the NVIDIA ION graphics will be available later this summer.

About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo's business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see HYPERLINK "http://www.lenovo.com" www.lenovo.com.

1With a 6-cell battery.

2WWAN Service Providers: Requires separate agreement with select third party service provider, and is subject to credit approval and applicable service agreement/terms, rate plan and coverage maps of the provider. Service is available in select metropolitan markets, not available in all areas. Service provider, not Lenovo, is solely responsible for service. Lenovo customers may be contacted after purchase to activate service. Special credit and tenure restrictions and additional charges may apply to international roaming. A network connection, third-party software, additional hardware, and/or subscription to a third-party service may be required for certain solutions/applications. Additional restrictions apply.

4Based on measurement at the thinnest point, compared to existing 12-inch netbooks as of 5-25-09 from Dell and Samsung.

5With a 3-cell battery.

6Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Acer barely mentioned the Revo amidst its armada of cheap machines last night but after seeing what it could do, in a lot of ways, it's the most interesting because of the performance it promises to bring to cheap computers, especially if Nvidia can get all of the software ducks in a row to take advantage of its graphics platform. Ion, BTW, is just Nvidia's brand for its MC79 graphics chip (the GeForce 9400M at the heart of the new Macbooks) coupled with Intel's netbook Atom CPUs. Revo is the first announced product to use Ion. Nvidia couldn't reveal the final pricing me, only that it's "really aggressive" and "well under" $500.

The demo model I got to check out was stocked with Intel's year-old Atom 230, which is by all accounts, a weak cup of sauce. But the Revo's packed with some features that potentially make it a solid TV PC: HDMI output with full 7.1 HD audio, wireless N (for streaming video), seven USB ports, card reader, and for some reason, eSATA.

But let's just jump into the impressive part: It played back an Blu-ray movie with an average video bitrate of 28 megabits per second—peaking around 36—smoothly and basically flawlessly. If you're not up on bit rates, check out this explainer, but the important part is that it's a ton of data, something a regular Atom-powered machine couldn't handle without choking hard. It ran Spore, albeit at the lowest graphics settings at 1024x768, with a buttery smoothness. Google Earth ran very usably, even though you wouldn't think it was running off a MacBook Pro or anything by any means. What these apps all have in common, and why the Revo can perform with them better than standard Atom computers is that these apps all leverage graphics cards—in this case, Nvidia's—for power, instead of just using the CPU.

There are limitations to the wonder, even on the video front. Since nettops and netbooks are built for surfing the internet, a fairly egregious hole right now for Ion is HD internet video. HD Hulu or HD YouTube clip wouldn't run noticeably better on the Revo than another Atom 230 computer. That's because Flash and Silverlight, the two major mediums of web video, don't use graphics acceleration yet, though Nvidia's hoping they will by the time Revo and other Ion products—of which there are at least 40 in the pipeline—ship (probably) around June, since it would give Nvidia that much more leverage in the netbook space.

The other catch is that preliminary tests by other publications, showed early Ion samples delivering fantastic video performance but not so great battery life. This isn't as big of a deal for mini desktop, obviously, so a real niche for Ion machines could be cheap media PCs to plug into TVs—the Revo seems ideal for it, and even comes with a mounting bracket to snap onto the backs of TVs and monitors.

But if this or something like it comes out at $400, it's the first kind of "net" computer I'd actually consider buying. [Nvidia Acer]

But that incredible performance (for a netbook), with smooth HD video playback and Left4Dead running at an average of 20FPS, comes at a price. Literally, since Ion-based netbooks will run about $50 more than regular Atom-based netbooks with otherwise similar specs. And then on the battery front—the reference platform used double the amount of power of a standard Atom netbook. Nvidia says the reference platform lacked all of the power-saving features actual Ion netbooks will have, but definitely expect less time on the go.

Still, the dudes at PC Perspective are pretty hyped about Ion—check out all the benchmarks and details over there to see why. [PC Perspective]

Tom's Hardware is pointing to an Nvidia source that confirmed Apple was the first to receive Ion test units, and said that Apple most certainly had an Ion-powered Mac Mini in the pipe. Apple Insider is more inclined to believe it's for the Apple TV, since a move to Atom would be a step up from its aging 1GHz Intel Crofton proc.

Both products make the most sense for a low-power, low-cost processor, but a dual-core Atom 330 running at 1.6 GHz would certainly be a step down from the Mini's current Core 2 Duo at 1.83 and 2 GHz, so I would place my chips in the Apple TV stack. The Nvidia 9400M would bring a nice boost to the Mini's paltry HD video capabilities however, and OS X config file snooping has turned up evidence for a 9400M-powered Mini recently (doesn't mean it will also use an Atom processor).

Or maybe they'll simply combine these two fairly confused product lines into one dimunitive full OS X machine (please) that's perfect for the living room. Tom's source says the new Ion-powered product will hit around March. We'll see about that. [Tom's Hardware, Apple Insider]

Nvidia calls its new platform—Atom + GeForce 9400M (the same chipset as the aluminum MacBooks—Ion. Performance-wise, Nvidia is promising 5x faster graphics and 10x faster video transcoding than a standard Atom-powered netbook running on Intel's current platform. The Call of Duty thing, I still want to see before I totally believe it, but they promised 25-30s running at 1024x768 resolution. Not amazing but playable. Before you ask, it'll run Crysis, though the results would make you hurt—which is still better than the current netbook crop. (If you proceed to ask anyway or if it will blend, I will ban you.)

So, it'll run graphics faster, better, meaning netbooks that won't cry when it comes to video tasks, like playing 1080p Full HD video. And you'll see more performance benefits as OSes and apps take advantage of GPU acceleration—like Windows 7, Snow Leopard (Hackintosh power!) and any other CUDA or OpenCL app (admittedly not super common yet). Yeah, you'll be able to actually run Vista Premium and Windows 7 and not hate life (if you've got the RAM too, anyway). Supposedly all with comparable battery life to current systems.

Bad news? We won't see Ion netbooks until about midway through 2009, and when we do they're going to cost a bit more than other netbooks—"within $50" of standard netbook pricing, since Nvidia is positioning them as "premium" netbooks, whatever the hell that means. And this still doesn't help netbooks' other serious shortcomings, like multitasking or crummy keyboards.

But at least they'll suck just a little bit less. [Nvidia]