Netbooks, sub-notebooks, mini-laptops, whatever you call them they all equate to the same low-cost computing device. The netbook is selling well, though increasing sales are hurting profits at CPU makers and computer makers alike.
Despite falling profits, computer makers are rushing into the market and graphics maker NVIDIA has announced that it has serious interest in the netbook market. Yahoo Tech reports that NVIDIA has again stated its interest in the netbook realm, but says it will wait for the category to grow before jumping in.
NVIDIA and VIA came to an agreement earlier this year for NVIDIA to build graphics chipsets to work with VIA's Nano processor which is expected to be a challenger to Intel's Atom CPU in the netbook market. VIA announced in August that it was leaving the chipset business claiming that there was no room left for third-party chipset makers.
NVIDIA's CFO Marv Burkett said, "We're not saying we're not interested [in netbooks]; it's a matter of how the market will evolve."
If NVIDIA did enter into the netbook market with a product like Tegra that it introduced this year, it would be great for netbook users. Tegra is a system-on-a-chip device that wraps an Arm core, graphics core, HD video decoder and other components onto a single chip and is intended for the smartphone market.
The reason something similar for netbooks would be so great is that the typical netbook running the class leading Intel Atom CPU can't handle HD content. ASUS recently announced a new Eee Box system that uses the Atom N270 common in netbooks that can handle HD video, but to do so required the addition of an ATI HD 3400 series graphics card. That won’t work well in a mobile netbook that needs long battery life and compact dimensions. The lack of even modest graphics capability in most netbooks means that things like video games and high quality video playback are typically lacking.
NVIDIA remained tight lipped on entry into netbooks according to Yahoo Tech only reiterating that it was watching the market.
