Microsoft Certifies NVIDIA ION Platform for Windows Vista Home Premium

[malware]

In an effort to deliver an outstanding computing experience on small, low power PCs, NVIDIA announced today that NVIDIA ION has been Certified for Windows Vista. With NVIDIA ION and premium versions of Microsoft Windows, small form factor notebook and desktop PCs will have rich media capabilities and full graphics support for the first time. Microsoft Corp. has validated NVIDIA ION with certified Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) drivers for Windows Vista Home Premium. NVIDIA is working with Microsoft, PC manufacturers, software developers, and Windows eco-system partners to bring ION-based PCs to market by summer of 2009. ION-based mini-notebooks and compact desktop PCs will have industry-leading performance at price points as low as $299.




Mike Ybarra, general manager for the Windows division at Microsoft, states: "Customers have told us they expect a full Windows experience across a variety of PC designs. What many people call a 'netbook' today is really a small notebook, and users expect it to perform like one. With NVIDIA's ION platform combined with Windows Vista Home Premium, consumers can get an affordable, premium Windows experience in a small notebook or desktop form factor. From browsing the web and checking email to streaming music or watching movies, it's an excellent solution for everyday computing."

Microsoft has certified the NVIDIA ION platform to ensure that upcoming ION-based PCs will deliver:

• Silky smooth 1080p high definition video including Blu-ray movies
• Exciting video game play with support for Microsoft's DirectX 10 API
• Support for premium Windows Vista features including Aero Glass and Flip3D
• GPU acceleration for faster photo editing and video transcoding

Microsoft's WHQL certification for Windows Vista Home Premium validates the NVIDIA ION platform as customer-ready.

"NVIDIA ION and Windows are a perfect match," said Drew Henry, general manager of the MCP business unit at NVIDIA. "It is great to have Microsoft work with us to drive Windows with ION into these new low-priced notebooks and really small desktop PCs, which previously wasn't possible with other solutions. This is a big win for consumers!"

About the NVIDIA ION Platform
The NVIDIA ION platform provides a quantum leap in mainstream graphics performance - while using less than half the space of traditional solutions - for smaller, faster, lighter, full-featured notebooks and desktop PCs. The ION platform unlocks the power of the Atom CPU by combining it with a great NVIDIA GPU.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Wile E]

I'm waiting for this platform and dual core Atoms before I jump into the netbook fray.

 

[AlCabone]

I seriously hope they won't release nettops with 8 - 10 inch screens for HD video playback. ION will be awesome for HTPCs, but I'm afraid we'll be soon fed with some marketing bullshit like: "You can now get the unprecedented full HD experience absolutely everywhere!" and what you get is an 8 inch screen nettop that can play almost half of an HD movie with a single recharge.

 

[Exavier]

do want atom 330 or ION

 

[xfire]

When are they out? When will more AMD based netbooks come out(I know HP is supposed to have one)?

 

[DaJMasta]

I seriously hope they won't release nettops with 8 - 10 inch screens for HD video playback. ION will be awesome for HTPCs, but I'm afraid we'll be soon fed with some marketing bullshit like: "You can now get the unprecedented full HD experience absolutely everywhere!" and what you get is an 8 inch screen nettop that can play almost half of an HD movie with a single recharge.

I could understand the resolution problem, but most netbooks with 4+ cell batteries get stellar battery life.

And as I understand it, the ion is the platform and associated chipset, it could accommodate the 330 or the newer N280.... Not that I think the 330 is a particularly good choice because of the large increase in power consumption and lesser increase in performance. Perhaps it's successor can make itself a convincing product.



I'm glad there's some competition now (even with intel's drastically improved new core logic) and I'm glad that nVidia was so quick on the turnaround (or at least managed not to leak anything until a couple of months ago).