NVIDIA’s ION platform combines an Atom processor with NVIDIA GeForce graphics. The result is a computer platform that gives you notebooks and desktops with low power processors and the ability to handle 1080p HD video playback, Blu-Ray decoding, and a fair amount of 3D graphics processing for modern video games.

You also get CUDA support, which means that some GPU-accelerated applications, such as media transcoding utility MediaCoder can perform much more quickly on low power machines than they would if they relied solely on the CPU.

You know what Intel calls that? Overkill.

In an interview with Laptop Magazine, Intel netbook marketing director Anil Nanduri said that there are better ways to add HD video playback to a netbook, including the Broadcom Crystal HD media accelerator, which is cheaper than ION, but which doesn’t offer all the same functionality.

He does have a bit of a point. ION does add to the cost of a notebook. And while a typical netbook with integrated graphics can’t handle 1080p video playback, most can deal with 720p video and some older, and even recent video games.

But overkill? Really? There are definitely plenty of people looking to push the limits of what a netbook can do with higher resolution displays, faster graphics, touchscreens, and other features.

But it’s pretty clear that Intel wants you to buy a more expensive computer with a pricier chipset to perform those tasks. That’s probably why there’s no support for H.264 video acceleration in the recently announced Intel Atom Pine Trail platform, which means that HD and high quality Flash video is going to be a no-go on computers with next-generation Atom chips unless they have a dedicated graphics chip. Like the ones that Broadcom and NVIDIA are offering.

You might wonder why anyone would need to watch HD video on a device with a 1024 x 600 pixel display, but more and more video content is being delivered in high definition. The ability to watch it without transcoding it to a lower resolution first is key. And while much Flash video is available online in both HD and standard definition formats, that might not always be the case.

What do you think? Is the NVIDIA ION platform overkill? Is it a must-have feature for you? Or is it a nice option to have, and one that you hope Intel doesn’t squash with its recent move to combine the CPU and graphics processor onto a single chip?

Update: Bezinga’s NJ Beachum puts it best, when he says  “It is almost as if Intel is saying, ‘How dare people use a netbook like it’s an actual computer, for multimedia, music, word processing, video games, and other purposes? We will not have it!'”

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57 replies on “Intel calls NVIDIA ION “overkill” for netbooks”

  1. It doesn’t matter, we need to improve on computers DON’T make them crappy netbooks, the more powerful the better And the more money the manufacturer gets. By removing the ION, your just saying we should STOP making more advanced processors and faster graphics processors that use less power, Do that and the entire industry is dead.

  2. Maybe. That said it doesn’t take an over abundance of processing power to handle this mighty feat. The celeron system my company issued me for my Cube can handle it, and it has a current list price of two hundred bucks over on Buy.com.

    I’m a power user, I code, I do 3d modeling, I run massive mathematical simulations. I’m not really going to be happy with a current gen Nettop, I get that.

    My point was my Mother, whom I use as a baseline for the average computer user, wouldn’t be either. She’s not cutting edge at all. Dual screens, aren’t just for the tech elite any more. These boxes need to meet current, and tomorrow user needs, not current and yesterday user needs, to be considered a true desktop replacement, otherwise anyone who buys one is going to end up tossing it in a few months, or relegating it to the kids.

    This is sad. I really want the low power consumption space to work out, better than it seems to be. Our company could make a killing recommending something an aweful lot like a net top as a way to cut power consumption, during energy audits. On the face if you could get a system that could power two monitors for average every day stuff, do standard corporate sitting at a desk stuff, and could operate at less than 1w standby (because most corporate computers don’t get turned off at night because of IT policy) and less than 50 under load, you’re looking at a yearly savings of right around 150 dollars, a user, a year for a typical company in the US. That doesn’t sound like much, but in a 100 employee company that’s the cost of a few FTE’s. Better still, it could rate the company for Energy Star, which would then get them some not inconsequential rebates from their power company, which would go a long way towards buying the machines themselves.

    That said, they aren’t there yet. That’s my honest assessment.

    1. As a pure uninformed guess perhaps my earlier link will help? https://corecodec.com/products/coreavc

      It appears to me you have two benefits listed that is driving your interest, lower power consumption, spend less on PCs.

      I am in the middle of this very same thing (though we pay very little for power in Australia).

      In short it seems to me that if you achieve the first you may be able to achieve the second benefit. However what appears to be holding you back is the IT policy which gets in the way of power saving through features such as hibernate, or sleep mode.

      I would therefor look at the detail of your IT policy and what its rationale is. If it is to enable the delivery of software patches etc there are technologies you can use which to “wake up” PC’s in lower power modes such as sleep or hibernate. I know this because we have recently gained significant power savings by employing these technologies.

      As your country provides financial incentives for power saving you can use these funds (as you suggested) to help with the purchase of new PCs. These may not be ATOM powered devices but you are still achieving a power reduction and device cost saving. I suspect as Nettops develop they will be able to drive 2 monitors (perhaps the software above will help achieve this)?

  3. Nobody’s talking about the nettop market. With a nettop, battery life isn’t that much of an issue, but having a small, quiet and relatively cheap machine to be used as an upgradeable media center/pvr is a big deal. This looks like a perfect combination in the $300-400 range.

    1. Like everything else these things take time to take hold. Nettops are about a year or two behind netbooks in my opinion before adoption begins to increase. However there is a challenge here as they are not being marketed widely enough as desktop replacements which is what they are capable of for a large poart of the standard desktop PC users out there

      1. The issue I have with Nettops right now as a desktop replacement, is that the 2d performance isn’t there, and ION doesn’t do anything about that. We don’t have a monitor in the house with a resolution less than 1680×1050, most are 1920 res or higher, and when I plug my friend’s new net top into one of those monitors it really seemed to choke trying to just draw basic web pages on the screen if you had anything at all going on, which was really really disappointing, because I’d need it to drive 2 22″ monitors I’d even consider getting one for my wife as a desktop replacement. That said right now it seems to do swimmingly in HTPC.

        1. Hi, I obviously am not aware of all the issues here so forgive my ignorance but why would a netbook with an NVidia ION chip work well with graphics on a large screen and a Nettop with the same processor and ION chip not?

          1. Brad, the fact that NVidia ION power netbooks are more sluggish in day to day tasks than lower priced non NVidia ION netbooks is disappointing to say the least!!

            Since the articles on Lilliputing and Engadget have the reason for the sluggishness yet been discovered?

            Lastly, I would be interested to see what you think of the dual core ATOM/Nvidia ION netbook from Asus (1201n)

          2. Apologies I just noticed this was reviewed in the engadget article.

          3. I’m very interested to see if the new pineview processors change anything as well.

            In any case thanks for the quick response. I’m probably expecting too much from an ATOM processor, but I really do feel that if a nettop is going to replace any of our desktops it needs to be able to drive 2 displays at decent resolution. Even my Mother LOVES Dual screen and resents her laptop for not having that feature (come on dual screen laptops in the US!), and she’s not exactly a bleeding edge computer user. Sadly that isn’t something that currently seems possible, I really wish it were though, because I would definitely be willing to fork over money for a small, low power desktop that was able to compete with a standard desktop even if it cost moderately more than an equivalent desktop. I’m currently eyeing the Dell Zino with avid curiosity although i’m becoming resigned to the fact that I’m probably going to find a Mac Mini on my doorstep when it comes time to buy later this year. That said neither of those are ATOM based, and neither seem to be competing in the nettop space (although the Dell Zino certainly is in that price bracket), and sadly neither of them seem to sip energy from the wall socket like an Atom based system would, although I’m still trying to verify that fact as well.

            I know I’m certainly not the target audience for a net top right now, it’s just my two cents. Let me know if anyone disagrees.

          4. Hey someguy, I think you hit the nail on the head, you are probably not the target audience for a nettop. Even some desktops struggle with two large screens at high res and Nettops (which try to stay within a budget) will probably have issues trying to drive two screens. However I wonder if some form of software memory caching for the graphics will help?

          5. Again, excuse my potential misunderstanding but the lilliputing article title talks about the NVidia ION chip but in the article you state that the devices you tested were equipped not with an NVidia ION chip (typically 9400GM) but the GMA 9450 Intel graphics chip!? Are you guys using different naming conventions for the same chips !?

            Am I missing something?
            Please remember some of us are just getting to grips with this stuff

          6. The models tested in the article were:

            – HP Mini 311 w/NVIDIA ION (NVIDIA GeForce 9400M)
            – Asus Eee Top ET1602 w/Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics
            – Gigabyte TouchNote T1028X w/Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics

          7. Hey Brad, apologies for the multiple posts but would something like this help with performance of NVidia ION Netbooks?

            https://corecodec.com/products/coreavc

            “Netbooks+CoreAVC=Sexy
            Who said small Netbooks would never be capable of High Definition H.264 Video has never seen the power of CoreAVC 2.0 with Netbooks supporting NVIDIA CUDA Technology and ION based Netbooks like the HP 311 or the dual core hotness, that is the ASUS 1201N.”

        2. You might have a point here, but I have seen some half decent standard desktop PCs start to struggle with the graphics muscle needed to drive two large screens. I would say most people who buy Nettops do not run two screens typically and so would find the price-performance point sufficient.

  4. Overkill? are they kidding? When has more speed, more gfx, more media, more fps, more anything at *ANY* size/type/form factor ever been called OVERKILL?

    We can slice up the ‘netbook’ market segment any way we want, but faster and better will always continue to occupy a smaller package and get cheaper.

    I had a 10″ eeepc with the n270 for 9 months, you know what it was *really* a ‘net’ book. I loved it, but if it had just a little bit more…

    So I just picked up a ION infused HP mini311 for $399, I added 2gbs of ram to it to give me a total of 3gbs. ($440 total now) gave it 4gbs of ready boost and holy crap, I actually have a ‘real’ computer now. ION essentially allowed me to keep a small(ish) form factor (is 11.6″ still a netbook even?) and it does everything I need to do.

    Its crazy, I spent months looking for a replacement to my old acer aspire 15.6″. I looked at the CULV’s and almost all of them started around $500, had similar battery life (I get about a straight 4.75-5hours when not overclocking) WORSE graphics with the 4500HD and typically were a inch larger and slightly heavier.

    It seemed obvious to me, I don’t really mind that the ATOM is a hair sluggish overall compared to CULV, fact is I have a smaller computer that weights 3lbs, battery lasts nearly 5 hours and I can avg 25fps in fallout 3, (yes fallout 3!) All the CULV’s with-in a $100 of this price can’t do that.

    Sure, in 6-12 months, I can get a CULV, maybe with ION2, or some other better graphics chip for under $500, but I have this smaller system, for less money that is lighter and plays games/multi-media better than any CULV commonly available. And I can have it RIGHT F’ING NOW. Actually I’ve had it for 2 months now.

    If intel really wants the extra $7.25 or whatever the actual margin is out of me for a CULV next year then give me more in a smaller package and keep the price down, or Nivida and whomever else will get my money next time.

    1. Joe, you nailed it buddy. Intel needs to stop dreaming that customers are as easy push overs for new shiny stuff as they were in the early days. We have become wiser (thanks Mr Internet). Instead they should get onboard and produce something better rather than trying to undermine something customers obviously see value in.

  5. with a notebook its all about the powersupply…. if the battery can cope with an ion then i don’t see a problem!
    no one wants a notebook that can only work for 1 hour….

  6. Intel just wants to make sure people are buying netbooks with their video card built in so they can make even more money on the deal. They could care less what people are using it for as long as it means Intel is making more money. They can’t sell people on i7 processors so they have to make it up on their low end product and hope for volume.

    Chance Stevens,
    Editor – https://www.netbookreports.com

    1. Intel: “Graphics? You don’t need graphics! We don’t make them, therefore you don’t need them.”

  7. Why bother to let people to make some computers with Atom CPU and Ion chipset? What are you afraid of, Intel?

  8. The way I see it Intel had a 3 year plan, and sadly they need to toss that plan out. It is really that simple, three years ago they said, “This is where things are going and this is how fast.” But then a few months later these funny Asus EeePC’s started cropping up more and more. Then netbooks caught on and Intel, LIKE ANY COMPNAY, still was hopeful that their plans would work. Sticking to the plan was, “Safe, logical, and was…planned for gosh-dan-it!” they said.

    But the plan no longer works, and I think even Intel thinks that, but they need to delay and make some time. What they said in the story is really just delaying tactics. Cedar trail is needed now and I’m sure someone at a meeting high up pounded on a table and said just that. Pine Trail systems hitting market now are arriving outdated for many people’s needs, and there are people all over the industry would are saying that over beers. No all people of course need more, but when you consider netbooks should be at least capable of handling “Internet” tasks and watching video is an Internet task… Well, it is easy to see why ION, Broadcom and other assistance is needed now in the consumers mind (consumers like us) and in the OEMs minds who are selling on ‘the high end’ of netbooks.

    Transcoding a video is more then just handling HD to watch in HD, it is about being able to downgrade the steam too. And graphics performance is about doing simple fixes on pictures you take with you camera. A point and shot camera you’d buy for Christmas for $99 will be a 12 mega pixel camera! Open the box — charge the camera — shoot a few shots. Guess what, a netbook needs to be able to handle those photos at least enough to remove some red eye or crop the picture and to do so briskly, not churning and rendering the photo in strips.

    I have no worries about Intel doing just fine. If they lose some traction in netbooks they won’t lose much. But, things are moving far faster then their plan, yet they honestly are in a position to shape everyone’s plans for competitors to consumers alike. People here might get a netbook with AMD or VIA chips, but for most people they are going to buy what’s there and suffer through what they can or can’t do.

  9. Can I inject some non geek perspective into this conversation? People in the real world actually want the most out of their netbook. Poll regular people and ask would you rather have a 10 hour battery life and crap graphics, or would you rather have 5 hours battery life but the ability to watch HD and play recent games. The answer? The second. Only extreme geeks actually need 10 hours of battery life. Gaming and graphic ability far outweigh extreme battery life. If you think 12 hour battery life is more important then you need to appreciate the fact you are in the extreme minority. It’s okay to think a certain way, but at least understand that it’s not the reality for Joe Public.

  10. “why would anyone want to take a computer with them somewhere” from: visionless individual in the early 80’s

  11. Intel is a Business concern. It is not here to do charity. It has to find ways to survive and reward its shareholders. No one has the right to comment onthe way it does business.

    I am all for Intel. To all those who think Intel should not be encouraging people to buy hugher processors, I think you should learn some maturity. If you are a business owner, you will understand. Like I said, Intel does not owe you a living.

    Are you going to pay for their R & D? You all talk as if you are funding their R & D and that Intel owes you a living. It is answerable to its shareholders and it is doing its very best to give maximum returns to its shareholders.

    Not happy? Go and buy an AMD or VIA. Simple as that.

    1. Michael wrote
      “Intel is a Business concern. It is not here to do charity. It has to find ways to survive and reward its shareholders. No one has the right to comment on the way it does business.”

      Rubbish, everyone has the right to comment.

      Michael wrote
      “I am all for Intel. To all those who think Intel should not be encouraging people to buy hugher processors, I think you should learn some maturity. If you are a business owner, you will understand.”

      Like we don’t understand the dynamics of business – !!!!!

      Michael wrote
      “It is answerable to its shareholders and it is doing its very best to give maximum returns to its shareholders.

      The maximum in the short or long term. Intel has to deliver to its shareholders return but if the approach is that they miss a market (as MS did) it will hurt those shareholders.

      Michael wrote
      “Not happy? Go and buy an AMD or VIA. Simple as that.”

      People are buying Intel and AMD but neither control what the suppliers put into those PCs. Acer etc see a market and are leading it. Some of it at the benefit of Intel but not the way they would like hence their statement in this story.

      So for Intel the choice is keep complaining about it and try to pull the wool over the customers eyes or they could……lead the game.
      Now there’s an innovative idea, provide great value to attract customers !!!!!!!! This puts the game back in your court Intel. Unfortunately they are sat there screaming at the waves hoping they wont get their feet wet!

  12. Sorry Intel but I think the Chief at Nvidia was correct when he said that the ION was going to be the new Base-line for Netbooks. Compete if you can.

  13. I agree with Bezinga’s NJ Beachum, Intel are constantly pushing fud out there that Netbooks can’t hack it. What they can’t do is so minimal nowadays that it must be embarrassing Intel.

    The problem is that the big manufacturers that corporate use are putting sub standard Netbooks out there, calling them enterprise ready knowing that when tested the experience will be suboptimal.

    Its a nasty strategy but vendors such as Acer and others that include reall corporate netbooks (with the NVidia chip) will ultimately steal market share from the likes of Dell, IBM etc

    Our company has over 2,000 Laptops and there is no way we are being suckered into this rubbish. We are not going to pay laptop charges when netbooks are MORE than capable. In fact consider this, the cost of the laptops made upgrading them prohibitive so even a low end netbook now outperforms our laptops. So guess what we will be buying !

  14. I’m using my eeepc 900 netbook as main computer. When I’m at the office or at home on my work desk, I’m using it with 19″ monitor, usb keyboard so it’s no different from an ordinary PC. I’m a software developer working with databases and web applicasitons so I’m running test servers in virtual machines with this little computer. That’s why I want more power from that small netbook. it’s very convinient just unplug everthing and take the netbook in a small bag and go anywhere and contunie working or playin. Using seperate conputers for work and for mobile web browsing and emails is not convinient.
    I have another big and powerfull desktop computer too but I’m not using that, using netbook for everything is more convinient. I’m waiting for eepc 1201N with ion to replace my old netbook.

  15. Nothing like a statement from the Man to get tongues a-waggin’. Moan on, brothers!

    Reality check: While some indivs may set great store by the curative powers of Ion and CUDA-whazit, in reality, netbooks are used for mostly two things: web browsing and some (mostly online) video watching. Transcoding vids on netbooks is more about online nutters who fancy themselves representatives of the computer-using public.

    Intel is in the catbird seat, in that it has no real competition for the low-powered ultraportable (netbooks and T&L, or Atom and CULVs, respectively). AMD’s mobile CPUs right now suck, and VIA isn’t doing any better. That means it can segment the market however it wants, and it wants Atom to be strictly for the 1024×600 res with enough juice to power 720p–with anything more demanding to require CULV or better.

    That’s the way it is. If you want to moan, moan that AMD/VIA for not pulling up their britches and give Intel some competition.

    Of course, you the moaners are always welcome to buy Ion netbooks and give Nvidia some love. But they priced equivalent (or higher) than low-end CULVs, with better GPU but worse CPU, and with worse battery life. To another way: It’s niche, good only if all you want is to play games and run CUDA beeswax.

    Now that CULVs are available at only slightly larger form-factor, that’ll be where the action is at for carry-anywhere computing. The increase in functionality makes them more of a “real computer” than netbooks can be.

    As for the gent who asks about buying a netbook to hook-up to an external HDTV, I’d suggest he educate himself a bit further in computer hardware, and purchase instead a nettop, which is has more power and functionality, and probably would cost less.

    1. My only problem with my current N270 based netbook is that it can decode 720P HD videos, but the video is not always fluid, making it unpleasant to watch. This means that to really enjoy 720p content on my netbook I usually have to transcode it to PAL (1024*576) on my desktop first, and that is really a pain in the ass. For a netbook to be useable as a video player Atom needs either to be about 50% faster to correctly decode 720P H264 in software or need to have video acceleration. If you are using Linux ION is currently the only option as Broadcom did not yet publish Linux drivers for its accelerator.

    2. HP says “Reality check: While some indivs may set great store by the curative powers of Ion and CUDA-whazit, in reality, netbooks are used for mostly two things: web browsing and some (mostly online) video watching.”

      Says who !? Have you taken a poll?
      Over 40 people at our company use Netbooks in place of Laptops and they do way more than just surf the web and read emails
      No they don’t do big number crunching or transcoding videos on their netbooks but they don’t do that on their laptops either !

      The fact is netbooks can and should be used to replace most laptops. The fact is Netbooks meet the basic requirements of most laptops with many advantages in power, price and portability.

      The laptop market is basically being cut down to size. No one is saying latops will go away but there will be far fewer variations at the middle to low end and the prices of all laptops are dropping because of netbooks.

      The sooner people come to accept netbooks can do the job for 80% of Laptop users out there the less this fud will be repeated.

    3. HP states “and it wants Atom to be strictly for the 1024×600 res with enough juice to power 720p–with anything more demanding to require CULV or better.”

      Have you looked at the netbooks on the market lately? Take a loook and see how many have higher (laptop/desktop like) resolutions.

    4. @Erlik

      >My only problem with my current N270 based netbook is that it can decode 720P HD videos, but the video is not always fluid, making it unpleasant to watch.

      The Atom can do smooth 720p, depending on software configuration. If H.264, then CoreAVC in combination with a lighter media player is more than adequate for 720p playback. If Flash, then you’ll have to wait for Adobe to get 10.1 done.

      In either case, optimizing your software environment will help substantially– replacing/disabling your AV app with a lighter one, or removing uneeded system services, indexing services, etc.

      Put another way, optimizing your OS/software will provide a bigger boost to performance than waiting for the hardware to get faster.

      >For a netbook to be useable as a video player Atom needs either to be about 50% faster to correctly decode 720P H264

      Then buy a CULV, which is marginally faster, and marginally cost more. The bang/buck ratio is about the same as the Atom, and form factor is still within the ultraportable range. If you want better gfx performance, then wait a few months and you’ll see add-on gfx solutions for the CULV class.

      @as145

      >Over 40 people at our company use Netbooks in place of Laptops and they do way more than just surf the web and read emails

      If the netbooks were bought recently, then whoever is the purchaser for your company should be fired. If users need to do “real” computing work, then they should’ve received better equipment. Hardware is cheap relative to labor, and what your company is doing is penny-wise, pound-foolish.

      Consider CULVs at USD$500 average vs netbooks at $350, then the $6000 your company saved is paltry compared to the productivity lost as your user wait for the wimpy Atom to catch up. Hey, why don’t you get them abacuses while you’re at it? It’s even cheaper still.

      >The fact is netbooks can and should be used to replace most laptops. The fact is Netbooks meet the basic requirements of most laptops with many advantages in power, price and portability.

      Great! If you’re satisfied with netbooks, then why bitch? You still can buy them, with or without Ion. Intel made a statement that the Ion is “overkill,” which it is for the intended netbook market. It didn’t forbid OEMs from making Ion-based netbooks.

      @as147

      >Have you looked at the netbooks on the market lately? Take a loook and see how many have higher (laptop/desktop like) resolutions.

      Yep, all of the “larger” netbooks clock in at the 11.6″ or 12″ size, with 1366×768 res. They also all cost more, at least as much if not more than low-end CULVs. They have worse CPU, and less battery life (for Ion-based models).

      There are three distinguishing characteristics for netbooks: small (10″) size, long battery life, cheap. Those “larger” netbooks forsake all these advantages to get more functionality. Simply put, if you want more functionality, get CULVs. If you’re happy with netbooks, then they’re still there to buy.

  16. taking a look at the sales of Ion netbooks, Intel is imho just analysing the market and responding to it.
    Of course options are fantastic but i don’t need any ion gfx in my netbook, it is still too slow to do decent gaming so why should i bother. I prefer batterylife over performance cause even the N270 had already enough performance for me

    1. Yeah, I can see what he means.

      Seems many are forgetting that netbooks are meant primarily as a small, very portable system; and cheap at that. ION works against those goals: higher power usage, shorter working time _or_ much larger battery, higher price.

      And really, why netbooks need HD video?… Have you seen content that’s available only in HD, not SD? No need for transcoding (yes, there will also be Flash acceleration in ION; that’s simply a problem with Flash though, and there are workarounds)

      1. Zima says “Seems many are forgetting that netbooks are meant primarily as a small, very portable system; and cheap at that. ION works against those goals: higher power usage, shorter working time _or_ much larger battery, higher price.”

        OMG! You really buy that don’t you. Who says you can’t have a decent performing netbook with all of those things plus decent graphics performance !

        Add these graphics capabilities and it still outstrips laptops in price, power consumption and portability!

        C’mon why WOULDN’T you buy something that beats a laptop hands down and is cheaper !!!

        1. “Who says you can’t have a decent performing netbook with all of those things plus decent graphics performance !”Physics says it. Simple practical considerations in the real world disagree with you. You _can’t_ have something which “beats a laptop” in those categories and at the same time does it better than almost the same machine but with less power-hungry GFX. Also, majority of people couldn’t care less about HD video or hardware intensive 3D games on their ultraportable (again, dismissing Flash for a moment – but that’s a pure software problem, with workarounds, not a hardware one), netbooks already have decent graphics performance for them.Besides, you _can_ buy ION machines if you really want to. They _are_ more expensive / with shorter battery time / are bigger due to bulky battery if the running time is to be preserved.

    2. I’d like to see the sales numbers before jumping to conclusions like that. Honestly, I think most of the ION priced too high. Which is a major barrier to entry. That said, if some one besides HP made a relatively cheap ION netbook, so that it didn’t have a glossy TOUCHPAD for stupid’s sake, and a full sized keyboard…

      It’s not just about watching HD video. It’s about using a netbook for the things computers have been doing for the last decade, reasonably well. And one of those requirements is NOT having crappy video.

  17. One of my students above the age of 72 ask me, ” If I bought an ION Asus 12″ Netbook could I put it on my keyboard drawer and hook it up to a 22″ wide screen like you hook up to the projector? Would that allow me to get rid of that big box and could it be unhooked easy to take it with me?
    Needless to say, I was overcome by the great questions from this age group. 45 students over the age of 60, oldest 89. We spent the next 20 minutes discussing the subject.
    I think Intel has a few misconceptions about the buying public. The public seems to be catching on faster than Intel. ILMAO

    1. As the light dawns on some born after the first moonwalk…
      Some of the most active people here are well over 60.
      As a matter of fact, you have probably spent more than 20
      minutes reading their posts and web-sites. 😉

  18. Umm, this idea is stupid. They’re trying to define their customers needs instead of trying to meet them, purely to protect a profit margin. The problem is that it’s not like they’re the only player in town. If they don’t want to do it, someone else will step into the vacuum and fill that need, and if it hits, Intel will just be playing catch up… Again.

    This argument strikes me as being really similar to the FUD they made against AMD’s 32/64bit processors, in order to protect Itanium, and look how well that worked out. If they misjudge this space, it explodes, and they don’t have a competitive product they may not be allowed to play catch up again by lying and manipulating the market, and then what are they going to do?

  19. Intel is going to get their A$$ handed to them by the ftc for exactly this. They use strong arm tactics with the manufacturers to use their terrible integrated graphics solutions compounded by their even worse graphics drivers, then tell the public that you don’t need that much power you should just be happy with less… Oh and go buy a second more expensive laptop to do your “real work” I hope the ftc rapes them in court..

  20. if Intel doesn’t like that solution, just wait until somebody glues one of the
    Realtek or Sigma Designs media chips into a Netbook as a second processor.
    Yeah, they will like that idea even less.

  21. I would almost say it is overkill for MY needs in a netbook as all i really want is 720p h264 video decoding but i dont see why intel should be stopping other companies from providing features that the market wants.

    1. Thank goodness not everyone has drank into the Intel Kool aid.
      Intel fears the cannibalization of the bigger laptop/notebooks so they are trying to limit performance on the netbook with their new piece of trash broadcom HD decoder/controller all in one chip vs. the Nvidia Ion chip/Ion 2. I don’t mind the 1.6 ghz speed, but the chip chokes on any real video viewing vs. the Nvidia Ion.

      Why does a netbook need HD?
      The convenience of hooking an Ion netbook to a larger screen through hdmi; should I want to watch streaming video flawlessly. Being able to just one hand it and head out the door with so little weight vs. a laptop is a win.

      I don’t mind spending a few extra bucks for the performance and weight saving factors vs. a larger and heavier laptop. I’d rather save money on future Chiropractor bills carrying my school books and my netbook vs. a laptop around. The weight adds up.

      To each his own whether it be battery life, minor internet browsing or watch video. Hopefully the informed consumer will do the speaking with their wallets.

      1. it was very interesting to read.
        I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
        And you et an account on Twitter?

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