Taiwanese PC major Acer has announced the launch of its first Nvidia Ion based nettop, the Aspire Revo.

With the launch of the Revo, Atom-based PCs will finally get the "powerful enough" label from naysayers who have traditionally dismissed the Atom platform for being too slow for mainstream computing. Originally designed for low-cost, low-power devices, the Atom seems to have outgrown its earlier 'minor' status and has now become a major computing support for the netbook platform, which was interestingly non-existent just over a year ago.

 

 

With PC manufacturers worldwide tasting success with netbooks, their attention now turn to similar, pint-sized desktops that can be a feasible option for someone who is on the look out for a reasonably powerful machine for a not-too-high price; the Aspire Revo with Nvidia's Ion graphics chip is precisely that.

 

 

The machine is compact, about the size of a hardcover book. However, don't go by the size of the thing. Powered by the same Atom 1.6 GHz chip that has become so common these days, you might think this is just another Atom-based nettop. Do not underestimate the capability of the Ion chipset that this Acer sports. Instead of the plain Jane 945G series chipset and GMA 950 graphics that usual nettops and netbooks have, the addition of Nvidia's Ion GPU (which incidentally runs a GeForce 9400M engine) lends the Revo never-before-seen capabilities experienced on an Atom-powered device. The Revo, thanks to the Ion chip, will be capable of supporting 7.1 channel audio, 1080p video, and not to mention, Vista support with all the Aero jazz. If that is not convincing enough, here is some information that might force you to take another look at the Revo. This is the same GPU that powers the likes of the Apple Air and the Macbook. Happy?
 
Intel fans might still want to stick to the Atom 280/GN40 combo, which will give them the satisfaction of having an all-Intel setup - and no, that is not currently an option with the Revo.

As for other features, you might want to know that the Revo is capable of gobbling up 4GB of RAM, can take a 250GB hard drive (supports SSDs as well), has HDMI, a memory card reader, and has enough USB ports (6) to connect all your accessories. Nice huh? The Revo is expected to be priced at around the $300 mark, which is of course a steal whenever this baby comes out.