Nvidia confirms plans to enter netbook market in 2009

It turns out all the rumors stating Nvidia was moving into the netbook market in 2009 turned out to be true. Nvidia plans to replace the legacy 3 chip design with a two chip cross between the Geforce 9400M and Atom chipsets. Rene Haas, Nvidia's VP of World Wide Sales, told the Inquirer in a recent interview: "It's really about developing a platform which attaches to the Atom."

Why put a Nvidia chip in a netbook? By placing Nvidia chips in netbooks users will be able to make applications like HD video or full streaming of videos possible. However battery life may in turn be greatly compromised. Haas said, "When you take that chip and combine it with Atom, you actually have a pretty interesting platform. You have, essentially, a very full function PC."

Now people will be able to watch HD videos on iTunes, steam video or even use a light version of Photoshop. By making netbooks capable of more than browsing the web and jacking up the price, does this defeated the entire purpose of having a netbook, or will this create more of a crossover?