Nvidia Tegra-powered netbook coming 2009

Netbooks about to get a whole lot cheaper

Nvidia Tegra-powered netbook coming 2009
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25 June 2009 7:24 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Nvidia has confirmed to Pocket-lint that it plans to release its own netbook later this year, powered by its new Tegra chip.

The new chip, currently only found in the yet-to-be-released Zune HD, has a focus on HD video and Flash promising, Nvidia says, to offer all you need for "today's web".

The new model, in which tech specs haven't been finalised, is expected to cost around £150 ($200) and be out around "Black Friday" in the US, a spokesperson for the company told Pocket-lint.

A Black Friday launch, the day that most Americans start their Christmas shopping, could mean this becomes the number one netbook to have this year.

The company is currently touting a prototype model called elan created by a company called mobinnova, that sports an 8.9 inch screen, Wi-Fi, 3G wireless connectivity, and a webcam for video conferencing. Currently running Microsoft's CE operating system, Nvidia says that the final version could sport Google's Android operating system.

More encouraging for those on a budget however, is that Nvidia expects mobile phone operators to offer the new laptop on a 2-year data contract for free.

In related news, the company also confirmed that a Tegra-powered mobile phone would be launching by the end of 2009 if not the early start of 2010.

UPDATE: nVidia has got in touch with Pocket-lint to clarify that it won't personally be launching the tegra powered netbook under the nVidia brand name, instead leaving the operators to brand and market the device by mobinnova. However it is unsure at this time whether or not the operators will be offering the netbook without a contract.

From nVidia:

"NVIDIA does not have any plans at this time to build or sell its own netbook. The Mobinova device mentioned in your article is an ODM device, and is expected to be sold to mobile carriers who will brand it with their own logo and sell it through their own distribution channels, with their own subscriber plans and applications."

Full tags
Hardware, Netbooks, Nvidia, Mobinnova, Tegra
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Comments

  • My vote is for Android.

    Even if Android is not completely optimized for Tegra, by that time, OTA updates can be pushed out later, with further improvements. In the mean time, people would benefit from all the great functionality provided by all the cool Android apps.     Posted by HereAndNow, USA
  • Further to my previous comment:

    I hope they plan to include support for cell phone calls, SMS/MMS, LBS, etc. This would really differentiate this product from the current generation of netbooks. I'm sure Mobile operators would like this, as well, since they would be able to generate revenue from phone calls, SMS/MMS, etc., in addition to basic data contracts.     Posted by HereAndNow, USA
  • I hope we'll be able to buy these outright without getting into the whole phone contract mess. And, I hope it'll be possible to put a real Linux distro (Android doesn't count) onto it.
     Posted by Tony Belding, USA
  • If a netbook needs anything it's a decent browser. Is such a thing even available for Windows CE? Posted by Woolly Mittens, Netherlands
  • Nvidia is working on fine tuning a version of FireFox 3 for Windows CE with Flash support, so yes, there will be a decent browser by the time the plaform launches.
    It should be possible to buy these devices without a contract, but at a higher price of course, as they won't be subsidised.
    With regards to making calls and SMS/MMS, I highly doubt it, but it's not a bad idea though.
     Posted by LG Nilsson, Taiwan

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