Zotac has finally decided to jump into the ION nettop game with its new MAG PC. Zotac has been the biggest name in ION motherboards since the beginning, and now it looks like they plan to extend that dominance into the nettop realm. The MAG, or mini all-in-one giant, comes with either a dual-core Atom 330 or a single core 230. Both have a 160 GB hard drive, 2 GB DDR2-800 RAM, and a plethora of connectivity options including: eSATA, 6 USB 2.0, gigabit ethernet, VGA, HDMI, SPDIF, and a memory card reader. What the MAG does NOT come with is an OS, keyboard, and mouse so you will have to fend for yourself for those. Neither the price nor the release date have been mentioned yet.
We have heard about Adobe working on a new version of Flash that would take advantage of NVIDIA’s CUDA technology, but now it has officially been announced. This means that low power computers that use an NVIDIA graphics processor can enjoy smooth HD Flash video playback while at the same time reducing the load on the CPU. There is still no knowing if ATI users or people stuck with Intel integrated graphics will be able to join the bandwagon or not.
Not only do ION and Tegra users get to enjoy the hardware accelerated goodness, smart phone users (sorry no iPhone yet) will be getting Flash support when 10.1 is released. Flash for the iPhone may still be in development, but nothing official has been announced yet. Google Android, Palm WebOS, Nokia Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry will all be supported when the new release comes out.
Flash 10.1 is currently scheduled to be released in the first half of 2010, so don’t get too excited yet. In the meantime check-out this demo video of Flash video playback on an HP Mini 311:
ASUS brings an impressive offering to the nettop world with its EB1501 nettop. Not only does it have ION, but it also comes with the dual-core Atom 330. It comes with all of the usual ION features like HDMI etc. but this nettop stands apart from the rest in a few ways. First, you can have up to 4 GB ram, which is more than the average nettop these days. The EB1501 also has a nice slot loading DVD drive which keeps the nettop nice and slim. Expect to see this thing in stores sometime after the Windows 7 release on October 22nd with a price tag of about $581.00 (€399).
As you probably heard, HP and Dell are preparing Ion-based devices for this year-end.
According to NetbookNews.de, Compaq Mini 311c is HP’s answer to the Ion-based netbooks offensive. Featuring an Atom N270 CPU and ION LE GPU, the 11.6″ netbook packs 1 Gb of DDR3 RAM, 160 Gb of SATA HDD, the usual “goodies” (802.11b/g WiFi, 3x USB2.0 ports, card-reader, Bluetooth, HDMI, 6-cell battery) and Altec-Lansing speakers (that’s nice !!!). Limited by the ION LE GPU (featuring DirectX9 support only), the netbook will come with Win XP SP3.
HP Compaq Mini 311c
There are clear indications related to the commercial launch and the price, although morecomputers.com displays it at the price of 336 GBP / 384 Euro / $550.
Netbooked managed to get some “inside intel” on Asus’ near-future roadmap. After the AIO series (EeeTop ET2002, ET2002T), the Nettop series (EeeBox EB1012) and the AT3N7A-I motherboard, a new Ion-based device will be available in Q4 2009 – the EeePC 1201N netbook.
Although not spectacular, the specifications are rather interesting: the N270 Atom processor takes place under the hood instead of the usual N230. 12″ display (most probably 1366 x 768), 2 Gb of RAM, 250 Gb HDD and a 6-cell battery will also be present. What can we say ? We’re looking forward to see the new product !
In a recent article on China-related technology site Shanzai, an Ion-based netbook produced by and for the Chinese market is presented. The Chinese PC manufacturer CASZH created a prototype (no name for the “toy”, yet) of a netbook with Atom 230 processor and Nvidia Ion graphics.
Regarding the specs of the netbook, there’s no “revolution” inside: 10.1″ display (1024 x 600), 1 Gb RAM, 160 Gb HDD, WiFi, 3-cell battery, Webcam, HDMI.
What can be seen as a “revolution” is the possible price – less than $300. Considering the offers of Lenovo ($499 for IdeaPad S12) and Samsung ($599 for N510), we may encounter pleasant surprises if this netbook will be launched on western markets.
Asus AT3N7A-I – that’s the name of the new Ion-based motherboard launched on the market. The team at BlogEee prepared a review of it:
The motherboard packs a 1.6 GHz Dual-core Atom 330 processor and supports Dual-channel DDR2 800MHz memory, 7.1 channels audio (S/PDIF also), Bluetooth, eSATA and SATA connections. The HDMI port is also present in order to benefit of the 1080p video rendering on a large screen. Displaying a Mini-ITX format coupled with all these features, the board is intended for use in Media-Centers or HTPCs.
Following the launch of its Ion-based All-In-One by a French retailer, Asus completed its EeeTop range with new models and announced their launch for the US market. Besides the already known ET2002T, the big “premiere” is represented by the larger-screen ET2203T.
ET2002 & ET2203
Considering the larger screen, the new AIO will no longer be an Ion-based configuration, but an Intel Core2 Duo with an Ati Radeon HD GPU. Moreover, the ET2203T also features a Blu-ray optical drive.
The non-touchscreen versions of the above were also launched – ET2002 and ET2203. As some of us are not so anxious about the touchscreen technology (me included), it remains to be seen how low will the price for the ET2002 go, in order to name it a “good deal” or not.
After DosPara’s Prime Note Cresion NA, a new Ion-based netbook is launched on the Japanese market – Weibu N10A. Produced by the Chinese company Shenzen Weibu Electronics Co., the netbook packs a dual-core N330 single-core N230 processor, 1 Gb RAM, a 150 160 Gb HDD and all the usual “goodies” (802.11bg, HDMI etc.).
Weibu N10A
Weibu N10A Specifications
Apparently the small manufacturers from Asia do not encounter the problems of the “big names” (i.e. Lenovo, Samsung) when it comes to launching strategies. This is why, the Weibu N10A is already available on the Japanese market at a price of 49,800 Yens / $525 / 366 Euros.
UPDATE: Despite the specifications shown in the picture above, there’s a big amount of controvercy regarding the components inside the N10A. According to Netbooked, the processor inside would be single-core Atom N230, instead of the dual-core N330.
During the last week we can witness a plethora of ION-based devices coming from the big names.
Following the ET2002T All-In-One launched a few days ago, Asus also announces its Nettop alternative – EeeBox EB1012. Available in white or in black, the Nettop is powered by the N330 Dual-Core processor. Although similar in design to the other nettops on the market, the EB1012 features some interesting pluses: an eSATA port available on the front and an optical S/PDIF for outputing digital audio in the rear.
EeeBox EB1012 Black
EeeBox EB1012 White Rear
For the moment, the only known price for the EB1012 – around 289 Euros – is for the models sold in Hong-Kong.
On his side, Lenovo launched a new line of Nettops – IdeaCentre Q100/Q110 – both powered by the N230 single-core Atom processor, but featuring different grafic chipsets – a SiS Mirage3+ for Q100 and a Nvidia ION for Q110.
Lenovo Q110 White
In terms of design, the new family of Nettops is based on Pegatron Cape7 Nettop, presented during Computex Event. The Q100/Q110 range is announced for September, at prices between $249 (Q100) and $349 (Q110).
