14 DAY TRIAL // NVIDIA has been showing off an HP Mini 1000 PC at CTIA that has been equipped with one of its highly mediated Tegra processors, specifically built to provide the necessary computing power for smartphones and mobile Internet devices. Although the company hasn't admitted to any direct collaboration with HP on the development of a Tegra-powered Mini netbook, it did want to demonstrate the many form factors that can be used to leverage the computing power of its Tegra chip.
The fellows over at engadget were on-location and took pictures and shot a video of the Tegra-powered Mini, which should give you a better understanding of what such a device is capable of. However, before you get your hopes up, remember that Tegra is an ARM-based chip, which means that no device that will be designed to take advantage of its performance potential will be featured with one of those familiar Windows XP or Vista operating systems. This was the case of the Tegra-based Mini 1000 netbook.
Unlike other Tegra-powered devices NVIDIA has previously showcased, the Mini can be hooked up with HDMI connectivity and provide users with a larger resolution, compared to most MIDs that have been presented in the past. The system was powered by a Windows CE operating system and was capable of playing YouTube videos and easily browse the Internet, just like you would expect from an MID-class processor.
There's still some ambiguity as to whether or not we are ever going to see a netbook that is being powered by NVIDIA's Tegra, or even a device that is featured with a larger display. However, it's nice to see that NVIDIA has a fully functional solution that could probably revolutionize the computing market as we currently know it. Also, Tegra-powered netbooks could become a reliable alternative to all those Intel-based netbooks, known for the lack of graphics performance.