Acer recently introduced NVIDIA's ION platform in retail form with the arrival of Revo - a system currently on schedule to ship on May 18th.
An ION PC, as you're no doubt aware, couples an Intel Atom processor with an NVIDIA chipset that sports a GeForce 9400M IGP. The pairing results in low-power, low-cost and ultra small systems capable of 1080p playback - ideal for HTPC use, we reckon.
One of Acer Revo's potential downsides, however, is that it uses the single-core Intel Atom N230 processor. For users seeking a little more processor power, it appears ASRock will be following up with a dual-core ION-based system of its own.
The ASRock ION 330, pictured above by Chinese website HKEPC.com, pairs the dual-core Intel Atom 330 with NVIDIA's ION platform. In addition to the extra processor core, ASRock has also managed to squeeze in an optical drive to help differentiate the system from Acer's Revo.
According to the report, NVIDIA expects some 40 ION-based systems to be in retail before the end of the year. What impact the inclusion of a dual-core Atom processor has on price, however, remains to be seen.
