Asus has officially unveiled its Eee PC 1215N with NVIDIA ION graphics and dual core Atom D525 processor. The laptop also features the NVIDIA Optimus technology for automatically switching between the discrete ION graphics and the Intel integrated graphics.

So is Eee PC 1215N a ‘mini-laptop powerhouse’? Well, the ultraportable, it seems, certainly has a right to claim so. The Eee PC 1215N can play 1080p video on its 12 inch 1366 x 768 pixels display without breaking a sweat. And if you like to watch your videos on a larger screen, you may transfer them to an HDTV via the included HDMI jack.

The 1215N ships with a 250GB / 320GB hard disk drive. You also get access to 500GB of AsusWebstorage. Other specs include WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0, built-in webcam with lens cover and a sleep-and charge USB port to charge connected devices like cellphones even when the laptop is powered off.

Still no word on pricing or availability at the moment.

Lenovo has started taking orders for its IdeaPad U160 thin and light laptop. The IdeaPad U160 is powered by a low power Intel Core i-series processor. Lenovo had previously said that they would sell the laptop for $699 and up, but the cheapest model available at the moment costs $1049. Prices are expected to drop when more configuration options become available.

For now, let’s see what you get for the money. The $1049 configuration will get you an 11.6 inch glossy display with 1366 x 768 pixels, a 1.06GHz Intel Core i5-520UM processor, a 320GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 memory, WiFi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.1. The notebook comes standard with a 6-cell battery. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit.

For $1149 you will get a faster 1.2GHz Core i7-640UM processor, a spacious 500GB hard drive and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit operating. Meanwhile, there is no official word on that rumored IdeaPad U165 with an AMD processor.

NVIDIA has finally launched its next generation ION platform for 10 and 12 inch netbooks and notebooks. The next-gen ION chipset comes on a PCI Express Card. It is available in two versions. The model for use in 10 inch netbooks will have 8 CPU cores. The other version with 16 CPU cores is meant for use in 12 inch notebooks.

The next-gen ION chipset supports NVIDIA’s Optimus technology which enables automatic switching between dedicated and integrated graphics options.

The NVIDIA ION platform combines a low power Atom processor with high performance NVIDIA graphics. It enables HD video playback on netbooks powered by Intel Atom processors. And since the ION platform supports CUDA technology, you will be able to perform GPU-intensive tasks such as video editing and recording. You can also play graphics rich games, thanks to the 3D acceleration supported by ION.

The next-gen ION differs from the current generation of ION many respects. NVIDIA has, however, said that netbooks running on the new platform will have about the same pricing as those running on the previous platform.

Hexxeh has released a pre-release version of the Chrome OS that supports NVIDIA ION graphics acceleration. Called Flow, this Chromium OS build (Chromium is the pre-release version of Chrome.) is now available for download and can be installed on one of the ION powered netbooks such as the Eee PC 1201N, Lenovo IdeaPad S12, Samsung N510 and HP Mini 311.

The NVIDIA ION platform enables HD video playback on Atom powered netbooks. It combines a low power Atom processor with high performance NVIDIA graphics.

Google Chrome is a lightweight, Linux based operating system meant for use in netbooks. Chrome OS will not be officially released until later this year. But since it is open source, developers can work on the code and build pre-release versions which can be downloaded and installed on your computers.

Netbooks are essentially small computers with a low power Atom processor. While they can handle your basic computer needs, they are practically useless for gaming or HD playback. But that was before NVIDIA launched its ION platform for netbooks.

The NIVIDIA ION platform integrates a low power Atom processor and NVIDIA’s GeForce 9400 graphics. The ION platform has been in use in desktop computers for a while. But the HP Mini 311 was the first ION-powered netbook to hit the market. ION-powered netbooks are capable of handling some modern games and HD video playback.

4 ION-powered netbooks are currently available in the market: The HP Mini 311, Lenovo IdeaPad S12, Asus Eee PC 1201N, and Samsung N510. While the Mini 311, Samsung N510 and IdeaPad S12 have single core Atom processors, the Eee PC 1201N is different. It has a dual core Atom 330 processor. Does that make this machine better than other ION-powered netbooks? Well, Laptop Magazine has compared and rated all the four machines with one another and here is what they discovered.

The award for the best ergonomic design goes to HP Mini 311. The IdeaPad S12 has the best keyboard. None of the four machines offer particularly impressive battery life. While the HP Mini 311 and IdeaPad S12 give around 5 hours of up time, the Eee PC 1201N and Samsung N510 offer less than 4 hours.

In graphics benchmarks tests all the machines deliver similar performance, but when it comes to handling CPU-intensive tasks the Eee PC 1201N has an edge over other machines, thanks in no small measures to its dual core processor. So which netbook wins the crown? Well, the winner is Eee PC 1201N. It is snappy and has enough power to handle most modern games. The HP Mini 311 performs just as well in graphics and video transcoding tests. It also gets better battery life.

The verdct: Buy the Eee PC 1201N if you need a fast gaming worthy netbook. Buy the HP Mini 311 for a good mix of endurance and graphics power.