This new Asus netbook will use Intel's dual-core Atom D525 processor and Nvidia Ion 2.

Video Asus netbook from Youtube


Wednesday Asus officially revealed the Eee PC 1215N multimudia netbook Facebook, listing components such as the dual-core Intel Atom D525 processor and Nvidia ION discreet graphics. Unfortunately, pricing and available weren't provided in the announcement.

The Atom D525 processor itself clocks in at 1.8 GHz, has 1 MB of L2 Cache, and draws up to 13W. On the graphics front, the netbook uses the "next generation" ION (2) with Nvidia Optimus technology, allowing the end-user to switch between discreet and integrated graphics when needed.

According to the specs, the Asus Eee PC 1215N will truly be a multimedia-driven netbook. Boasting 1080p video playback on a 1366 x 768 HD screen (and a 16:9 display ratio), the Eee PC 1215N will decode H.264, VC1 and MPEG2 file formats while the HDMI-output port will enable playback on large displays. The netbook will also provide plenty of multimedia storage with 250 GB and 320 GB capacities (and an additional 500 GB of ASUS WebStorage).

In addition to the video capabilities, the Eee PC 1215N offers both USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0 for fast data transfers. Web surfers will even see a speed boost thanks to the embedded 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity. Users can also charge external USB devices when the netbook is switched off.

Asus said that the Eee 1215N will come pre-configured with software such as ASUS Vibe and LocaleMe. Access to Boingo global Wi-Fi services will also be offered at a special price. Asus did not provide any information on what OS the device will come with, though.



By Kevin Parrish, www.tomshardware.com

First third-generation Netbook: HP Mini 2140

After the initial 7-inch Celeron versions and the second wave of 9- and 10-inch Intel Atom-powered systems, we're finally seeing the third wave of Netbook laptops--machines that take the basic concept of low-cost, low-power computing and start to add in useful extras and features largely missing from the until-now rather Spartan design philosophy of most Netbooks.


Even though the Mini 1000 only hit a few months ago, HP was actually an early player in the Netbook field. The company's business system side came up with the Mini-Note 2133 in spring 2008,
with a solid brushed-metal chassis and a nearly full-size keyboard.


Unfortunately, this predated Intel's Atom CPU, and rather than using the Celeron processor that came with the very first Netbooks, HP went with an underpowered Via C7-M, which pretty much killed any chance it had of becoming a mainstream product.

Now that the plastic-clam, Atom-powered consumer version has become a hit, HP's business side is taking another crack at the Netbook market with a radically updated version, called the HP Mini 2140.

It keeps the aluminum construction and big keyboard, but updates the components to an Intel Atom CPU, and hard-drive options that include standard platter drives up to 160GB and solid-state drives up to 80GB. The LED display is 10.1 inches, with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Two new additions that threaten to make this our favorite new Netbook are an accelerometer for the hard drive and a full ExpressCard/54 slot--a Netbook first (Lenovo's S10 has a smaller Express Card/34 slot).

We recently told HP's consumer side that, as much as we liked the Mini 1000 Netbook, its business-side colleagues had just decisively leap-frogged them.

By Dan Ackerman, http://ces.cnet.com

Graphics Chips Shipment Boosted By Netbooks

Intel leads the race

According to market researcher Jon Peddie Research, third-quarter shipments of graphics chips jumped 21.2 percent over the second quarter. The increase in the demand for integrated graphics processors is behind Intel's good numbers.

Reportedly, in contrast to the third quarter of 2008, when the record 111 million units were distributed, Q3 of 2009 saw an increase of 8.45 million, totaling 119.45mil units. . "So the market has caught up with, and exceeded,
last year's highs. The Crash of fall 2008 is now behind us," Peddie said in a statement. "Q2 was already a great quarter clearly signaling the holidays will be robbust for PCs and the industry in general," he said.


Allegedly, AMD demonstrated the biggest jump at 30 percent, followed by Intel at 21 and also gained on discrete graphics card leader Nvidia. "Intel shipped he most
parts at 63 million, over twice as many as its nearest competitor Nvidia," said Peddie, and explained that Intel had a 53 percent share of the market in the third quarter.


"Netbooks will remain popular but they will not have the high market share they had during the recession when they were just introduced. Rather, consumers are expected to 'buy up' in the next quarter," reported Peddie.



By: Ivan Zhekov,www.notebookcheck.net