The netbook faithful have been waiting for the arrival NVIDIA's ION chipset for as long as we can remember, and Point of View today claims that "the wait is now over", adding that "it's finally here!"
It's referring, of course, to its latest Mobii netbook, the Mobii ION 230. The system, pictured below, is available in Mobii's familiar array of unusual colours, but it's what's inside the system that counts.
Point of View has equipped the machine with NVIDIA's ION chipset - complete with a GeForce 9400m IGP - and Intel's 1.6GHz Atom 230 processor (sorry folks, there's no mention of a model featuring the dual-core Atom 330, at least not yet).
The Mobii ION 230 features a 10.2in LCD screen, providing a limited 1,024x600 resolution. Users wanting to enjoy the bigger picture will be able to use the system's HDMI port to power big-screen displays - the GeForce GPU should make light work of 1080p high-def media.
Elsewhere, there's 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 160GB hard drive, a built-in webcam, wireless connectivity, Ethernet, a pair of USB ports, and a six-cell battery that promises around four hours of use from a single charge.
There once was a time when ION-based netbooks had us intrigued, but although NVIDIA's GeForce 9400m GPU is a welcome addition to the ultra-mobile space, it's something of a mis-match when paired with a paltry Atom CPU.
With next-generation chipsets and processors from both Intel and AMD drawing closer with each passing month, one could argue that ION-based netbooks are arriving a little too late. Highlighting the problem, Point of View hasn't yet clarified the details of Mobii ION 230's availability or pricing.
