Ion Hacks

IF you’re in Japan

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20090620/etc_pov.html

-bablefish translation

(EDIT: Mad props to the Akiba PC Watch crew… I’ve been looking at the pictures on your site for years!)

The big difference between this and the ZOTAC is the power supply connector- this takes an ATX connector (the ZOTAC takes a proprietary 12v supply)

I’d be curious about power consumption… the ZOTAC was super efficient idling at 28W… but I suspect alot of that was due to the proprietary design of it’s power supply

Anyway, if you live in Japan… Please send me one of these …

Love
-Nat

They’re here! They’re here!

and I quote:
* Display: 12.1 WXGA (1280 X 800) LED 200 nit, 250g
* Processor: Intel Atom N270
* Graphics: Intel integrated GMA 950, Nvidia ION
* Memory: Up to 1GB DDR2 533 MHz
* Hard Drive: Up to 160 GB SATA (160, 250, 320)
* Battery Life: 3 hours with 3-cell, 6 hours with 6-cell
* Weight: 1.4kg with 3 cell, 1.55kg with 6 cell
* Dimensions: 292 X 216 X 22-28.9mm
* Connectivity: 10/100m Ethernet, Broadcom 578M, Intel WiFi Link 5150 1X2 AGN, Intel WiFi Link 5100 1X2 AGN, Non-Intel wireless b/g, Non-Intel wireless b/g/n, Bluetooth
* Other: 3 USB, 1 Expresscard slot (Intel and VIA platforms), 4-in-1 card reader, VGA, RJA45, HDMI
* Software: XP Home SP3 (32 bit)

While I dispute the ‘netbookiness’ (you heard it here first folks) of a 12″ laptop - I am eager to start viewing 720P content on the go… and, ya know… playing those computer games I’ve been hearing so much about…

… at the bar

-Nat

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20090418/etc_zotac.html

Akiba PC watch has never done me wrong… unfortunately, I’m limited to looking at their photos, lusting for devices that will never hit the americas.

Here’s the Babelfish machine translation… if you’re interested:

did I say OpenGL 3? I TOTALLY meant OpenGL 3.1… my bad.

http://developer.nvidia.com/object/opengl_3_driver.html

-Nat

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/11/habey-intros-atom-n270-powered-mini-htpc-makes-it-crunch-1080p/

and I quote.. “a fairly weak CPU and a potent hardware decoder” blah blah blah “…handle 1080p content and even Blu-ray flicks”

Seriously? They’re not mentioning who made the chipset? A) Who is Habey? and b) has Intel frightened third parties away from mentioning ‘oh.. by the way… no big deal here… (brushes toe across ground coyly) … we’re going to be using a Nvidia decode engine’… and bolts from the press conference.

hey.. maybe I’m wrong… but I KNOW there isn’t an Intel product that can decode blue ray (not completely anyway) so.. as I see it.. 3 possibilities exist
1) Habey, is lying… this device CAN’T do full Bluray decode, and it’s using an Intel GN40 that can decode just one video stream @1080p and none of the other Bluray spec streams
2) The device is an Ion box, and Habey isn’t admitting it for some reason
3) A mysterious 3rd party has rocketed from absolutely nowhere and created a chip that can do Bluray decode… and Habey isn’t talking about it. If this is the case… mysterious 3rd party… please begin working on Jet Packs. You should have one on the market by year’s end. Thanks in advance.

-Nat

But I don’t expect Nvidia is going to make a very power efficient chip. Let me say.. this is TOTAL speculation on my part… 100%, but I think the battery life off the 9400m will leave something to be desired.

http://www.technology.am/lenovo-plan-nvidia-ion-084914.html

As always… I hope I’m wrong!

-Nat

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/04/nvidia-gets-further-up-intels-chuff-with-pledge-to-develop-an-x/

Nvidia is making it’s own processor. Now… consider for a moment a Nvidia GPU bundled with a capable… if not awesome processor. The 1080p would flow smooth… but I wouldn’t expect the general gaming to satisfy.

…would make a great open source console platform though…

Anyway… I doubt this spells the death of Ion. Acer’s Hornet is imminent… there is an obvious demand for Ion… and nothing short of an injunction will stop Nvidia from shipping 9400M.

-Nat

http://i.gizmodo.com/5161859/200-acer-hornet-is-nvidia-ion+based-pc+wii+console-hybrid-thingie

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2009/02/24/intel-starts-propaganda-war-with-nvidia/1

Yes Intel… the HD decode on the 945 is awesome… who could ask for anything more?

-Nat

http://hothardware.com/Articles/NVIDIA-Ion-Reference-PC-Platform-Performance-Deep-Dive-/?page=1
and
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=663

Looking forward to laying my hands on one of these… the only benchmark I care about is ‘no matter what I do with the remote control, not a single frame drops from 1080p playback’
-Nat