It all starts with NVIDIA CEO's Jen Hsun-Huang statement "We're going to open a can of whoop-ass" on Intel, which quickly became a synonym for the announcement of NVIDIA and VIA jointly developed low-cost processing platform. During NVIDIA's financial analyst meeting today, the company revealed plans for what it calls "The World's Most Affordable Vista Premium PC". The platform will use a VIA Isaiah C7-M processor coupled with an integrated NVIDIA IGP chipset. NVIDIA reckons that this combo will be good for a total of 36 GFLOPS in comparison to a mere 6.4 GFLOPS for a comparable Celeron-based system with an Intel 945 IGP/ICH4 chipset. NVIDIA also claims that its platform will be Windows Vista Premium capable, support Blu-ray HD and DirectX10, and cost less than $45.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today launched the new VIA VX800 Series of digital media IGP chipsets featuring the latest video, graphics and connectivity performance in a single chip measuring just 33 x 33mm. The VIA VX800 Series comprises two primary digital media IGP chipsets, the VIA VX800 for ultra thin and light notebooks, mini PCs and embedded devices, and the ultra low voltage VIA VX800U for the fast-expanding ultra mobile market, including the rapidly-emerging mini-note, UMPC and UMD markets.

According to DigiTimes, sources at motherboard manufacturers are reporting that NVIDIA and VIA have held talks regarding a possible merger. Apparently the companies discussed three possible scenarios: a strategic alliance, NVIDIA acquiring just VIA's processor division and NVIDIA acquiring the entire company. However, it looks like no deal has been made yet due to VIA setting too high a price, although negotiations are expected to continue given that VIA is making losses at the moment. VIA has denied these claims, commenting that its main business is still focused on X86 CPUs and chipsets and therefore it is unwilling to give up these segments. It's not so long ago that rumours were circulating that NVIDIA may be planning a bid for AMD, although nothing has come of that story so far.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of x86 silicon and platform technologies, today announced details of the VIA Isaiah Architecture, a new x86 processor architecture that will deliver significant boosts to the functionality and performance of desktop, mobile and ultra mobile PCs while minimizing power requirements, saving on battery life and enabling ultra compact system designs.

VIA Technologies and MAXDATA, one of the top ten European IT manufacturers, today announced the launch of the Belinea s.book 1, a tiny 1kg Mini-Note, on the German market. Powered by the 1.2GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor, the Belinea s.book 1 delivers the performance, connectivity, and functionality of a conventional notebook PC in a sleek and light form factor that provides an ideal solution for today's increasingly mobile business users, and will be available now at qualified specialist dealers in Germany for €629.

Via Technologies is not likely to ship its supersmall Mobile ITX motherboard, aimed at ultramobile PCs (UMPCs) and other light portable devices, in production volume until next year, company officials said here at the CES show Monday. The company attracted industry attention when it unveiled the board at Computex in Taipei last June, declaring that it would find its way into markets this year. But "manufacturability issues" will likely prevent the board from being used in commercially launched devices this year, according to Alp Sezen, a sales director for Via based in Fremont, California. Via expects to announce the Mobile ITX production schedule at this year's Computex, and will probably just manage to ship sample boards by the end of the fourth quarter, he said.

VIA Technologies, a firm which is probably best known for producing chipsets for AMD and Intel motherboards, has merged its CPU and chipset divisions to allow it to focus on supporting its own brand CPUs. This is according to the Chinese Apply Daily, which says the company plans to slowly phase-out development of chipsets for third-party products, although it will continue to support both its AMD chipsets and any older Intel chipsets not affected by patent issues. The firm has not yet completely given up on negotiations with Intel to acquire a patent contract, but it certainly seems to have its sights set on bigger things with its CPUs.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of x86 silicon and platform solutions, today launched VIA ARTiGO, a DIY builder kit for enthusiasts wanting to build an ultra compact personal computer. Designed by the creators of the Pico-ITX form factor, the VIA ARTiGO Builder Kit offers consumers a more sophisticated DIY experience.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading developer of x86 silicon and platform solutions, today announced the new VIA vm7700 VESA mounted PC (vmpc) that turns a standard display panel into a fully functional PC for signage, kiosk and other intelligent display applications, providing a radically superior space management, cost effective and flexible alternative to traditional panel PCs.

VIA Technologies and QSound Labs, a leading technology developer of audio and voice software solutions, today announced the delivery of a superior sound system for Windows Vista based multimedia, personal and laptop computers. QSound's QHD technology is now available on VIA Vinyl High Definition Audio codecs and controllers.

VIA Technologies today announced the VIA EPIA SN-series mainboard, the first Mini-ITX to be based on the Vista-certified VIA CN896 IGP chipset. Powered by the 1.8GHz VIA C7 processor, the VIA EPIA SN provides a performance boost of up to 30% over previous VIA EPIA mainboards, while a fanless 1GHz sku is ideal for Network Attached Storage and other applications requiring passive cooling. The VIA EPIA SN is also the first to provide the added flexibility of a 16-lane PCI-Express port for bandwidth-intensive graphics cards.

VIA has announced a 1-watt x86 CPU, calling it the most energy efficient x86 processor in the world. The chip runs at 500 MHz and can do so without any active cooling. During its idle state it consumes a mere 0.1 watts. The VIA Eden ULV will be mainly targeted towards industrial, commercial and ultra mobile uses and is expected to show up in embedded systems. The tiny CPU measures only 21mm x 21mm.

Via is well known for low power CPUs, so it comes as no big surprise that the company will be offering a new Eden processor with a power consumtion of a mere Watt. The new CPU adopts the typical VIA V4 bus and 21mm × 21mm nanoBGA2 packaging as other Eden models, but sets itself apart offering a 500MHz core frequency at a power consumption of only 1W. It is meant for network applicances or embedded boards.

VIA Technologies making plans to launch its new processor named Isaiah in the first quarter of 2008 thus replacing after almost 4 full years its Esther processor architecture. This new architecture is scheduled to enter EVT (engineering validation test) stage in the fourth quarter of 2007. The Isaiah processor core will be manufactured using the newest 65nm process and features a 64-bit architecture, V4 Bus speed of 1333MHz, 1MB of L2 cache and will also support ECC (error checking and correction) memory and virtualization technology.

Taipei, Taiwan, 26 June 2007 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced the VIA EPIA LT-Series Mini-ITX mainboard based on the VIA CX700 system media processor. Powered by the highly efficient 1.5GHz or fanless 1.0GHz VIA C7 processor, the VIA EPIA LT has a maximum operating power consumption of less than 20 watts.

The VIA EPIA LT mainboard incorporates a number of innovative features for the fast-growing x86-based embedded market, such as greater device performance, clearer definition video and storage technologies, and a full feature I/O set including two LAN ports and native support for two LVDS panels, four COM ports, a PCI slot and up to six USB 2.0 ports. Project-based customers also have the option of a VIA CX700M2 version with added TV-out functionality.

Taiwanese company Via Technology shows off its prototype micro notebook at Computex 2007. The NanoBook has a 5 hour battery life running a 1.2 GHz C7 processor and 7 inch screen. Weighing in at 1.8 pounds expect a 30 gigabyte hard drive and up to 1 gigabyte of memory. Priced around $600, it competes with other mini notebooks from Palm and SamsungSource:Cnet

Most of you know that AMD is trying to save power and space by releasing the Micro-ITX platform. VIA has decided that they want in on this market, and so they went and made their own little thing. And when I say little, I mean little. Measuring in at barely 100mm x 72mm (full ATX is 1200mm x 960mm), VIA's new motherboard comes with onboard network, processor, graphics, and is completely fanless. Just like AMD, VIA is trying to make a platform that not only is extremely tiny, but power-efficient. Have a look.

So HP decided to build another computer. What makes this computer so special though is what's under the hood. In a conscious effort to increase performance/watt while decreasing price and environmental impact, HP built a computer based entirely off of VIA chipsets. Featuring a VIA C7-D processor, and VIA UniChrome Pro II graphics, along with an unknown chipset, this computer promises to be one of the most energy efficient computers (that still packs some horsepower) in a while. Too bad it'll only be available in China.

We all know those famous conventions, like CES, E3, Computex and CeBIT. For companies, they are an expensive business - setting up an attractive stand takes time and money. It looks like this year, there are some companies that are spending a little less time and money "on the circuit," including VIA Technologies.

Richard Brown, VIA's Director of International Marketing, writes in his blog:

I've been receiving quite a number of emails from people asking whether VIA will be exhibiting at CeBIT this year. The answer is that for the first time in over a decade we have decided to give the show a miss.

There are a number of reasons why we have made this decision, the most important being that the costs of exhibiting there can no longer be justified given the shrinkage in the number of players (and hence potential customers) in the European PC market. It hasn't helped either that quite a number of major exhibitors have pulled out of the show over the past two or three years, making it much less attractive to potential visitors than it used to be.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced that all VIA Vinyl HD audio codecs have passed the Microsoft Windows Vista 32bit/64bit Premium logo tests, ensuring users can feel the warmth of sound in the Vista environment.

VIA Technologies, today announced that the VIA K8M890 and the VIA P4M900 chipsets have passed the Microsoft Windows Vista 32bit/64bit Basic logo tests, enabling customers get ready for Vista with confidence. This certification means that users can perform trouble-free installation of Windows Vista, including Ultimate, Enterprise, Business, Home Premium and Home Basic editions. The VIA K8M890 and VIA P4M900 North Bridges both feature the VIA Chrome9 IGP core which provides DirectX 9.0 graphics support with hardware pixel shaders, supported by a WDM driver for Microsoft Windows Vista. The VIA K8M890 and P4M900 chipsets are available now. Boards featuring the chipsets are available from all the world's leading motherboard manufacturers.