Image courtesy of Nvidia
I’ve been waiting for the Nvidia Tegra line of products for what seems like years. I have a Zune HD which is one of the first to sport a Tegra setup and even preordered the Notion Ink Adam in hopes to have the Tegra 2 in my grasp at the end of 2010. Of course as you may know, I won’t see that until the end of the this month. Now that CES has kicked off Nvidia let all the skeletons out of the closet and will be powering a heavy portion of all mobile products in 2011. The Tegra 2 is in direct competition with Samsung’s hummingbird Chipset and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon line. As the week goes on we will surely see more mobile phones and tablets powered by the mobile graphics heavy chipset, some vendors even announced partnerships exclusively with Nvidia for the years new lineup.
Tegra 2-powered tablets will also allow consumers to stream 1080p videos, view content such as magazines and discover and download applications through an advanced 3D user interface using 4G LTE’s high bandwidth streaming and real-time latency and the Tegra 2 processor. Tegra 2 features a dual-core CPU, ultra low-power (ULP) NVIDIA GeForce® GPU and 1080p HD video processor.
The Tegra 2 is designed with multimedia and gaming in mind. I’m a big fan of Nvidia’s Desktop and Laptop GPU’s, and simply cannot wait to have that power in an energy efficient high level mobile graphics. The low voltage dual core CPU is designed to harness the power of the latest mobile Operating Systems and mobile gaming. The chipset easily handles 1080P high def video without sucking the battery dry in a matter of minutes. The Nvidia Tegra 2 is indeed upon us and looks like there is a bright, vibrant, and high definition future in store for our mobile devices. As CES unfolds we are bound to see a small army of devices packing the latest in Nvidia’s technology.
Key Features:
- Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU — The world’s first mobile dual-core CPU for faster Web browsing, snappier response time, and overall better performance. The Cortex-A9 is the first mobile CPU with out of order execution for more efficient processing, resulting in a better overall experience.
- Ultra-low power (ULP) GeForce GPU — Architected for low-power applications, the ULP GeForce GPU delivers outstanding mobile 3D game playability and a visually engaging, highly-responsive 3D user interface.
- 1080p Video Playback Processor — Watch 1080p HD movies stored on your mobile device on your HDTV without compromising battery life.
Highlights from Nvidia at CES:
- Skype HD video chat on a Tegra 2 based Android tablet (Skypekit)
- Tegra Zone App: An app store designed to show games optimized for Tegra based hardware. Reviews and purchases can be made directly from your device
- Multiplayer capabilities allow mobile game players to play with or against users on a desktop PC
- LG Optimus 2X: LG’s newest performance superphone, with a 4″ screen, full HDMI, and 1080P playback and recording
Image courtesy of LG
This year at the show you can expect to see a host of exciting new mobile devices that are leveraging NVIDIA’s dual-core Tegra 2 technology to power entirely new video and gaming experiences. Among these devices, are a new class of smart phone, what NVIDIA calls “super phones” that deliver a never-before-seen multimedia experience, capable of fully exploiting today’s faster network speeds.
“Last year, we showed the first 1080p video stream over LTE with NVIDIA,” said Brian Higgins, executive director of LTE ecosystem development at Verizon Wireless. “That was just the start. Tegra is bringing never-before-seen experiences to mobile devices, and we’re confident developers and ultimately consumers will see the benefits of our 4G LTE network.
