Posts tagged with tegra

Nintendo DS To Get Tegra 2 In The Future?

Posted on November 16, 2009 7:55 AM

While there isn’t anything official just yet, word is going around that Nintendo’s future DS portable gaming device could be using NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 mobile processor. Such a move would certainly help Nintendo boost the performance of its DS lineup, and hardcore gamers will certainly welcome the ability to play more complex games or games with better graphics. So keep your fingers crossed, and we’ll keep you posted on the latest on this situation.

Tegra-powered Samsung M1 unboxing video

Posted on September 3, 2009 10:36 AM

We've known that Samsung was going to announce the M1 media player "outside of Korea" and that's exactly what they did in Germany at IFA. Here's an unboxing video that shows the device in action. As of now, I don't know if there's a public SDK or support for OpenGL (I'd say yes). That said, the device probably runs Windows CE and supports a flavor of mobile DirectX. What we do know is that the 2D speed is really good and that the video playback is impeccable on the amazing AMOLED display. Check it out.

Tegra Netbook running Google Chrome OS?

Posted on September 1, 2009 3:00 PM

There's a rumor about upcoming Tegra-powered netbooks that would run on Google's Chrome OS. The surprising part is that they would appear as early as this month. It is strange because the Google OS was not scheduled to be ready until 2010...

Also, NVIDIA has not been pushing Linux and Tegra as a duo recently, although when I did talk to Mike Rayfield before Computex, he did not rule out the idea of having an Android-powered Tegra device. It's just that Nvidia seemed very focused on Windows CE, the OS behind the Zune HD. To shine, Tegra needs support for: HD video decode, Flash, 3D graphics. In the short term, only Flash would be plausible on Google's OS. That said, Tegra can also be utilized only for its small power envelope. [via Shanzai]

ARM-Based Pegatron Netbook Protoype

Posted on July 27, 2009 5:07 PM

Pegatron, a spin-off from ASUS, has been showing a Netbook powered an ARM processor around. This particular model uses an ARM Cortex-A8 design found in a host of gadgets, including the Palm Pre (same design, but not the exact same chip). Running at a 1Ghz frequency, it is capable of playing 720p video and run basic 3D applications. While Android isn't ready for Netbooks yet, this Pegatron runs Ubuntu (Linux) just fine.

According to Pegatron, the battery life ranges from 4.5 to 8 hours on a 2-Cell battery, which might sound like a lot, except that we have no idea about what it was doing. Was the display on? What is doing anything? Because Nvidia claims that its ARM platform can run for *days* while decoding audio, so we'll need some kind of common benchmark here. With this category of Netbooks, the display will be the primary power drain anyway.

Still, the idea is gathering strength: quite a few people are pushing it, including Qualcomm, NVIDIA and Texas Instrument. Now the question is: can Linux Arm-laptops overcome the rejection that awaited their Intel-based counterparts? Without a significant change in the software+application line up, we doubt it. [Photo from Trustedreviews]

NVIDIA Not Going To Sell Netbooks, Here's Why

Posted on June 25, 2009 1:27 PM

Earlier today, there were reports that NVIDIA would sell Netbooks under its own brand, after having them manufactured by another company. Websites cited an "NVIDIA spokesperson" saying that the Netbook would be out in time for the holiday shopping. The rumor also included a bundle deal with wireless carriers and the computer would be priced for about $250.

I don't put much faith in this rumor for one simple reason: economics. NVIDIA is in the business of selling high-margin products (well, as high as they can, at least) and clearly the notebook market does not fulfill this objective. They are better off finding ways to make the Netbook trend work in their favor instead of thinking of news ways to shave another buck on a computer in a low-margin business. I don't know how Tegra is truly priced, but I guess that it is in the $12-$25 range, and if I'm right, this is a very good price for such a small chip.

Zune HD Runs On Tegra Processor

Posted on June 17, 2009 11:06 AM

Zune HD has been confirmed to be powered by NVIDIA's Tegra processor by PCPers, making this the first PMP in the world to do so. This piece of news was confirmed by none other than NVIDIA staff themselves (according to PCPers), pointing towards an APX 2500 or 2600 processor that will bring together an ARM11 processor and a handheld GeForce graphics core as well as controllers for memory and output. Such a design is able to handle 720p, if not 1080p, depending on the version - no surprise it has been thrown into the Zune HD as well. Apart from that, the Zune HD's processor is also beefy enough to handle 3D rendering performance that is superior to most handheld devices, probably including the iPhone 3GS. Do you think this will help Microsoft make a giant leap in biting off Apple's market share where PMPs are concerned?

We knew that NVIDIA would not have invested so much engineering efforts to work with Microsoft if there wasn't something big behind it, now we know why. At some point, we thought that it was a phone, but Microsoft dismissed that possibility at MWC.

NVIDIA Tegra Powers Sexy New Netbooks, Provides Days of Battery Life

Posted on June 1, 2009 6:17 PM

Gallery 1: hands-on, Gallery 2: designs

At Computex, NVIDIA is launching its new Netbook solution based on its handheld Tegra processor. The “computer” itself fits in the size of a DIMM memory module and the basic idea is simple and elegant: use powerful handheld technology to drive a Netbook experience. The result: ultra-thin form factors and an uber-long battery life expressed in days, rather than hours. Highlights:

Uber small computer platform
Utra-low power
Runs on Windows CE (Android is on the horizon)
Full support for Adobe Flash
HD movie playback

Did we say “days of battery life” earlier? Yes, NVIDIA claims that its Tegra platform can play an audio file continuously for 600 hours (25 days!) assuming that the display is turned off. Other smartphone-based platforms like Snap Dragon from Qualcomm would last only 60 hours, NVIDIA says. Expect designs to come if all sizes (we’ve heard about a 13.3” model). What does it mean in the real world? Imagine things like real Instant-ON computers, just like you would get from a phone. That would work because the computer is never actually off. It consumes so little power that you can leave it in standby mode for a very long time. The whole computer system consumes 1W (cpu, graphics, motherboard), which is really small compared to even Netbooks.

Hardware Specs For Microsoft's Pink Phone Leaked?

Posted on May 12, 2009 2:22 PM

ZDnet's Mary-Jo Foley has interesting information from an anonymous informant about what we think might be a Windows Mobile 7 reference design.

It would be powered by a choice of TI, Qualcomm or NVIDIA SoC (system on a chip) with 256MB+ RAM, 1GB+ flash. Of course you need a high-end touch display that can deliver 800x480 pixels, a 3MP+ camera, GPS+aGPS, and array of sensors including accelerometer and WIFI.

The specifications are actually longer, but that's the interesting bit. We told you that NVIDIA would not focus its internal development on Windows Mobile if there wasn't something big, so this is consistent with that idea. Keep in mind that this is a rumor and that Microsoft could be defining the hardware baseline for Windows Mobile 7. We don’t think that Microsoft will actually sell a MS branded device. Head to ZDnet to read the details.