NVIDIA is introducing a new technology  that allow laptops and netbooks to switch between integrated and dedicated graphics chips.  For example, if you’re on Facebook, writing email, or just doing light surfing, you could switch to your chipset’s integrated graphics chip to save power.  Then, when you’re watching an HD movie, or playing a graphics intensive game, NVIDIA’s new technology will automatically switch to the higher performance, dedicated, graphics card.

The technology, which Nvidia showed off today, is called Optimus, and it’s designed to work with GeForce 200M, 300M, and GeForce M GPUs as well as the soon to be released NVIDIA ION 2 graphics processor. It supports Intel’s Core 2 Duo, Core i3, i5, and i7 processors and Intel Atom N450 CPUs.

This is a logical move for Nvidia, since Intel is pushing towards integrated graphics, which looked to be pushing Nvidia out of the laptop and netbook game since most of them use Intel processors.  The Optimus system will let users manually switch graphics, from the integrated, power efficient Intel solution, to the higher performing (hopefully) Nvidia Ion 2.

Engadget’s Joanna Stern has been testing the laptop for a few days and she noted that most of the the switches occurred seamlessly between the integrated and dedicated graphics solutions.   Gizmodo  also reports that as many as 50 notebooks with Optimus should be available by this summer.

Fudzilla says no Ion netbooks from Asus or MSI

According to Fudzilla, there will be no ION products from netbook pioneers Asus or MSI.

Fudzilla speculates that Asus and MSI would rather stay on Intel’s good side than release ION powered machines. Intel officials have made no secret of the fact that they’d rather see Intel Atom based computer ship with Intel’s integrated graphics solution than an NVIDIA chip. There’s two reasons for this. First, Intel makes a bit more money by selling the whole chipset. And second, Intel kind of wants Atom-based computers to balk at heavy duty tasks like playing video games and HD video so that consumers feel the need to purchase higher end laptops with more expensive processors better suited to those tasks.

Nvidia Ion Netbooks Coming

NVIDIA’s ION platform bundles the famous Intel Atom processor with a NVIDIA’s GeForce 9400M graphics processor. With this combo, you get the benefit of the Atom’s low power draw, but the increased graphics abilities of the GeForce 9400M let you decode blu-ray movies as well as giving you  better graphics performance for many video games and online video.

So far, there is only one product that’s officially been announced that will use the NVIDIA ION platform – the Acer AspireRevo nettop (mini-desktop) computer. But Pocket Lint reports that several companies will be introducing ION-based netbooks at the Computex trade show in Taiwan in June.