HP has today launched an 11.6in netbook powered by NVIDIA's ION chipset and the ubiquitous 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor.
The system, dubbed the Mini 311, sports an LED display providing a high-def 1,366x768 resolution. Combine that with ION's GeForce 9400M IGP and NVIDIA reckons its capable of delivering "a big visual experience with HD video, accelerated video editing, and support for casual gaming in a small, sleek package".
Hoping, as always, to show the usefulness of the GPU, NVIDIA has teamed up with HP to ship the Mini 311 with ArcSoft SimHD - a GPU-accelerated software package designed to upscale standard-def video to near high-def quality.
What's also useful on such a small system is an HDMI port that'll power big-screen displays at full-HD 1080p resolutions without breaking a sweat.
That's joined by a couple of USB ports, a multi-card reader, Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
Prices start at around $400 for US consumers, but here in the UK we'll be seeing the system badged as the Compaq Mini 311. Although certain elements of the specification may change, NVIDIA's ION chipset and Intel's Atom processor will remain. The Compaq Mini 311 will be priced starting from £349, we've had a quick play with the system and our first impressions are good. It's well built with a decent keyboard and a vivid high-res display.
What's interesting is that NVIDIA is gearing up to launch an ION-led siege on the netbook market in preparation for the arrival of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system. We're told to expect more than 50 ION-based products before the end of the year, and NVIDIA has a GPU-boosting surprise in store for October 5th. We can't tell you more just yet, but stay tuned for that one as it'll make GPU-acceleration on all NVIDIA devices far more appealing.
