NetbookTech

It’s felt like forever since we first heard about the NVIDIA ION platform and it’s definitely been several months since we heard of potential netbooks from Samsung and Lenovo that will feature the new chipset platform for the Atom processor. Well.. it looks like the wait might finally soon be over. Liliputing reports that the long-awaited Samsung N510 netbook (11.6 inch display) will soon be available next month. The N510 will supposedly feature an HDMI output and have the ability to handle Blu-ray playback. This assumes, one would expect, that one would have an external Blu-ray drive handy. As for that Lenovo S12 .. we’re all still waiting.

But one has to wonder – why is it taking so long to get an ION powered netbook out and about anyhow? The platform late last year – we saw working demos of it in January at CES, and here we are in August, and still no showing of the chipset. Are their issues we’re not aware of? Is power an issue? Are netbook manufacturers trying to figure out how to properly price this thing? What the hey??

All I know is.. the longer I wait, the more likely I’ll go to a CULV system down the road.

[Check it out]

Here’s some interesting Samsung related netbook news for today. First off – there’s more N510 talk floating around the net.. though nothing really concrete or different from last week. According to a posting at the end of June over at LaptopMag, the N510 isn’t expected here in the U.S. until the Fall or Q3 to Q4 timeframe. That flies in the face of other rumors placing the N510 at around the end of July timeframe.

Interestingly enough, DigiTimes reports that Intel has “cancelled [Lenovo and Samsung’s] preferential pricing for Intel Atom N270 CPUs” as a result of both companies opting for the NVIDIA ION platform. Of course that’s not confirmed but it wouldn’t be too surprising if that happened.

The other Samsung news-bit has to do with the current Samsung N310 netbook (which is readily available online at Amazon.com and at retailers like Best Buy). The N310 has been relabeled as the Samsung Go and will now be featuring a larger 8800 mAH battery pack which Samsung expects will deliver over 10 hours of power.

Looks like Lenovo’s not the only vendor planning to launch an ION powered netbook. Netbook Choice is reporting that Samsung is planning to launch a new netbook called the Samsung N510 (model NP-N510-KA02UK) pairing the Intel Atom N280 processor with the NVIDIA ION platform (which is basically the NVIDIA 9400M GPU). Other reported specs include:

• 11.6 inch LED backlit display with 1366 x 768 resolution
• Intel Atom N280 clocked at 1.66GHz
• 160GB SATA HDD
• 1GB RAM
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• Ethernet
• Webcam
• 3 in 1 media card reader
• 6 cell Lithium Ion battery

No word on the exact launch date of the N510 but expect it sometime this summer. These ION powered netbooks certainly make the 11.6 inch/12 inch market interesting – especially if they deliver on the promise of 1080p HD video playback!

[Check it out via CNET’s News.com]

[Also read LaptopMag]