NVIDIA/VIA netbook plans

Graphics specialist NVIDIA and general chip builder VIA have broken off any plans to develop a netbook platform, say sources at the latter company. The corporations had signed a deal in April, which would have seen VIA's C7 and Nano CPUs coupled with NVIDIA's MCP79 processor, also known as the GeForce 9400M. The chipset debuted with Apple's newest MacBooks, and is expected to become prevalent in the notebook industry, displacing slower graphics accelerators built by Intel. Aside from netbooks, the platform would have applied to mobile Internet devices (MIDs).

NVIDIA and VIA are expected to continue working on desktop technologies, some of which will be displayed at the 2009 CES expo. It is unknown why the companies would suspend their netbook efforts, but Apple has been rumored to be working on a tablet- or netbook-like device; if real, such efforts could require exclusive cooperation on NVIDIA's part.

By Electronista Staff