Nvidia Ion 2 promises faster netbooks, long battery life

NVidia's next-generation Ion 2 graphics processor will ensure that your World of Warcraft addiction is satiated for hours on the road.

Ion 2 will arrive in netbooks and small desktop computers this summer, Nvidia announced. Like its previous-generation graphics processor, Ion 2 gives netbooks the necessary punch to play games and watch high-definition video.

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Nvidia claims that Ion 2 provides 10 times faster graphics processing compared to standard netbooks that use Intel's integrated graphics, along with 10 hours of battery life. A press release specifically calls out streaming HD YouTube clips, World of Warcraft and Spore as possibilities. It's worth noting that neither of those games are particularly demanding on graphics, so I wouldn't expect to play Crysis on an Ion 2-powered netbook.

First in line for the new graphics processors are the 12-inch Asus Eee PC 1201PN (above) and the 10-inch Acer Aspire 532G. The latter supports 720p resolution and 1080p output via HDMI, though I have a feeling Asus' computer will be able to do the same. Asus' EeeTop 2010PNT and Lenovo's C20 will be the first mini-desktop computers powered by Ion 2.

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There's even a chance that Ion netbooks won't have a high price premium. A photo emerged at this week's CeBIT trade show pricing the Aspire 532G at 379 Euros, and Engadget notes that this could very well translate to $379 for a U.S. release. That's about what I'd expect to pay for a netbook, anyway.

However, 10-inch netbooks will reportedly get a stripped-down version of Ion with half the power, possibly making it less powerful than the previous generation Ion. Still, you can't argue with a $379 netbook that plays World of Warcraft and streams HD video with 10 hours of battery life.

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