Nvidia Firefly smartbook to launch in September?

Rumours of an Nvidia-branded Tegra netbook/smartbook launching later this year surfaced late last month. These rumours were quickly squashed by the company, denying any plans to sell its own brand of smartbooks. However, according to ODM sources, Nvidia will be releasing a Tegra-based device under the ‘Firefly’ name and it will launch in September.

Nvidia is already showing off a Firefly prototype to ODMs according to SemiAccurate. This device will come with the Tegra platform and Windows CE operating system. The Tegra platform is different to ION in that it pairs an ARM-based processor with an Nvidia GeForce GPU (ION pairs an Intel Atom CPU with the Nvidia 9400M graphics).

There’s little other information than that. The previous rumours talked of a Black Friday release in the United States, along with the device launching with a wireless carrier. I’d take all of this news with a pinch of salt, however it certainly seems like Nvidia is up to something. Whether this prototype sees the light of day is another thing.