Software Vendors Rally Around NVIDIA's Ion
Really, there are only a few things a hardware company needs when it fires up a brand new initiative. Time, money, knowledge and support from software vendors. While we had no doubts about NVIDIA's ability to capture the first three, the company is making very, very clear that the latter bit is well taken of as well. As the world at large waits to see how NVIDIA plans to tip the newfangled nettop market on its side, the company is proudly proclaiming that the world's leading software companies are already rallying around its technology.
In a move that undoubtedly confirmed a near-term launch (or so we hope), NVIDIA has made public that its Ion platform is "drawing industry-wide support from analysts and the world’s leading software companies, including Adobe, Google, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts." Once again we're told that the firm is aiming to create powerful boxes at low prices that will encourage the growth of small form factor PCs -- and here's the good part -- when they "begin to arrive in the second quarter of 2009."
Providing insight as to what exactly will be possible on these tiny, power sipping boxes, NVIDIA asserts that consumers utilizing an Ion-based PC will be able to make full use of Spore, Call of Duty 4, Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop, Cyberlink PowerDVD and Battlefield 2. Try doing all of that on your current Atom + integrated graphics machine. If you're interested in hearing what some of NVIDIA's partners have to say, have a glance below, and if you're looking to see reactions on video, just click here.
“Providing superior performance for one of the fastest growing market segments makes NVIDIA ION a winner,” said Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist at In-Stat, an analyst firm specializing in the mobile internet and digital entertainment markets. “Consumers today want less expensive PCs with more capabilities, which is exactly what ION delivers. Users can suddenly do more with their systems, and developers benefit from an expanding market. It’s a win-win for the entire industry.”
“ION enables consumers with new mini-notebook and small desktop systems to access and play a larger library of Windows games, creating incredible opportunity and access for all gamers,” said Corey Rosemond, group manager, Microsoft Games for Windows program.
“New affordable and powerful PC hardware like ION is going to change the landscape of PC gaming,” said Ben Cousins, executive producer at DICE, a division of Electronic Arts. “This new mass-market target audience is a perfect match for Battlefield Heroes.”
Bryan O’Neil Hughes, product manager for Photoshop at Adobe, said: “Along with the built-in productivity features and time-saving capabilities in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended, the NVIDIA ION platform supports new hardware-accelerated functionality in the software and extends the feature set on small, low-powered systems. Efficiency is key for our customers’ design and photography workflows. Harnessing the power of the GPU allows for the utilization of new features and a more fluid experience in Photoshop.”1
“NVIDIA and Google will bring the Earth into view for millions of new users,” said Stefan Kuhne, Google Earth software engineer. “We’re really impressed with how well Google Earth will run on affordable PCs powered by ION graphics processors. It will raise the industry standard for entry-level graphics.”
In a move that undoubtedly confirmed a near-term launch (or so we hope), NVIDIA has made public that its Ion platform is "drawing industry-wide support from analysts and the world’s leading software companies, including Adobe, Google, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts." Once again we're told that the firm is aiming to create powerful boxes at low prices that will encourage the growth of small form factor PCs -- and here's the good part -- when they "begin to arrive in the second quarter of 2009."
Providing insight as to what exactly will be possible on these tiny, power sipping boxes, NVIDIA asserts that consumers utilizing an Ion-based PC will be able to make full use of Spore, Call of Duty 4, Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop, Cyberlink PowerDVD and Battlefield 2. Try doing all of that on your current Atom + integrated graphics machine. If you're interested in hearing what some of NVIDIA's partners have to say, have a glance below, and if you're looking to see reactions on video, just click here.
“Providing superior performance for one of the fastest growing market segments makes NVIDIA ION a winner,” said Jim McGregor, chief technology strategist at In-Stat, an analyst firm specializing in the mobile internet and digital entertainment markets. “Consumers today want less expensive PCs with more capabilities, which is exactly what ION delivers. Users can suddenly do more with their systems, and developers benefit from an expanding market. It’s a win-win for the entire industry.”
“ION enables consumers with new mini-notebook and small desktop systems to access and play a larger library of Windows games, creating incredible opportunity and access for all gamers,” said Corey Rosemond, group manager, Microsoft Games for Windows program.
“New affordable and powerful PC hardware like ION is going to change the landscape of PC gaming,” said Ben Cousins, executive producer at DICE, a division of Electronic Arts. “This new mass-market target audience is a perfect match for Battlefield Heroes.”
Bryan O’Neil Hughes, product manager for Photoshop at Adobe, said: “Along with the built-in productivity features and time-saving capabilities in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended, the NVIDIA ION platform supports new hardware-accelerated functionality in the software and extends the feature set on small, low-powered systems. Efficiency is key for our customers’ design and photography workflows. Harnessing the power of the GPU allows for the utilization of new features and a more fluid experience in Photoshop.”1
“NVIDIA and Google will bring the Earth into view for millions of new users,” said Stefan Kuhne, Google Earth software engineer. “We’re really impressed with how well Google Earth will run on affordable PCs powered by ION graphics processors. It will raise the industry standard for entry-level graphics.”
