Nvidia has officially announced the introduction of the next-generation NVIDIA ION graphics processor.

The new processor features up to 10 times faster graphics performance than standard netbooks, and will deliver up to 10 hours of battery life in netbooks thanks to NVIDIA Optimus technology, according to the company.

The new ION graphics processing unit (GPU) outperforms basic netbook graphics by delivering HD media in games, movies and Internet-based video. Nvidia claims that unlike netbooks with Intel integrated graphics, ION netbooks have the power to play HD video smoothly from sites like YouTube and support popular PC games like the upcoming StarCraft 2.



Compared to the previous generation ION platform, the new ION chipset is actually now a discrete GPU with up to 512MB of dedicated DDR3 memory and it has been manufactured at 40nm, making it more compact in size at 23x23mm.



Like the previous iteration of ION, there will be two versions of ION. Nettop IONs will come with 16 SPs (CUDA Cores), while netbooks will come with either 16 SPs or 8 SPs.





The new ION netbooks also feature NVIDIA?s new Optimus technology, which automatically selects the best graphics processor for running any given application ? routing the workload to either an NVIDIA discrete GPU or Intel integrated graphics.

More than 30 products featuring the new ION GPU are expected to launch by this summer including netbooks, small form factor desktops, "barebones" systems, motherboards, and discrete add-in cards. The Acer Aspire One 532G (10-inch) and ASUS Eee PC 1201PN (12-inch) are expected to be the first new ION netbooks to be introduced. New all-in-one PCs powered by next-generation ION will include the ASUS EeeTop 2010PNT and Lenovo C200. A number of other ION-based products will be launched by Nvidia's channel partners including AOpen, AsRock, Asus, Foxconn, J&W, Pegatron, POV, Shuttle, and Zotac.