Is NVIDIA’s Tegra the platform for Apple’s Tablet?

Nvidia’s Mike Rayfield has confirmed that his company is working with an unnamed partner on a Tegra-powered “Media Pad”. A Media pad is defined by Mike Rayfield as being a touch tablet ranging from 7-13 inches in size, with 3G capability.

So here’s the burning question: is Nvidia in the rumored Apple Tablet? Quite frankly, nobody knows, but it seems surprising to me that an official from the company would even remotely say something that would hint at an upcoming Apple product. Usually Apple’s suppliers are scared to death about unintentionally leaking something out.

Would it make sense for Apple to use Nvidia’s platform? Yes, because the iPhone’s platform might not have the horsepower to drive a much larger display. Ideally, Apple might try to make something that is binary-compatible with the iPod Touch (but faster). It might have been working on its own faster SoC (system on a chip) based on a PowerVR design. With a larger device, Apple has a lot more room for thermal management and could crank up the speed. That said, anything is possible.