Acer flaunts first Ion-based nettop

Smaller than a breadbox

Acer today announced the first small, cheap desktop PC using Nvidia's new Ion graphics chipset.

Dubbed Acer's AspireRevo, the diminutive machine is being pitched as a device suitable for plugging into the family TV for watching videos, viewing pictures, or playing games.

The box combine a 1.6GHz single-core Intel Atom 230 processor with an integrated-graphics chipset that handles 1080p resolution video and a mildly demanding graphics workload such as games like Spore or Call of Duty 4.

AspireRevo sports up to 4GB of RAM, 250GB HDD capacity, HDMI/VGA outputs, gigabit Ethernet, 4-in-1 card reader, six USB 2.0 sockets, and audio in/out in an enclosure just 7.1 x 7.1 x 1.2 inches. The system will run either Windows Vista Home Premium or Basic, Nvidia said. It will later be loaded with Windows 7 when its made available.

Pricing wasn't disclosed — but it's rumored to start below $300. No word on when the AspireRevo is expected to ship either. ®