tegra

LAS VEGAS--The smartbook is now a tablet, at least according to Nvidia, whose upcoming Tegra 2 chip will power these mobile computers in 2010.

Device makers using Nvidia's Tegra 2 chip will, for the most part, initially bring out tablets--not classic clamshell designs--according to Mike Rayfield, general manager of Nvidia's mobile business. "A year ago there was a lot of talk about clamshell devices," Rayfield said, speaking in a teleconference before the Consumer Electronics Show. But that's changed, according to Rayfield, because consumers may mistake a clamshell-design smartbook for a Windows-Intel-based Netbook.

"The tablet … Read more

As if Apple and Microsoft didn't already make it clear (editor's note: by Apple, we mean the ever-pervasive rumors of their upcoming "slate"), 2010 looks like the Year of the Tablet. First viewed sitting on a table of an Nvidia executive, the Vega tablet will try to beat Apple's tablet (if the rumors are true), Microsoft's in-process Courier concept, and the semievaporated Crunchpad to the punch.

ICD, the manufacturer of the Vega, has confirmed the existence of the tablet as a real product, whose details will be more fully revealed at CES. Vega...Vegas...… Read more

Updated at 12:45 a.m. PDT

Microsoft's Zune HD will use one of the most powerful chips to go into a portable media player yet: Nvidia's multicore Tegra processor.

Tegra packs two processor cores based on intellectual property from U.K.-based chip designer ARM. One is the main processor--based on the ARM11 core--which runs the operating system. Tegra's defining feature, however, is an additional Nvidia GeForce graphics chip.

"Nvidia brings powerful graphics to the portable media player. This is a unique capability," said Jeff Orr, senior analyst for mobile content at ABI Research. … Read more

Updated at 6:40 p.m. PDT, adding Microsoft Windows 7 and Apple Snow Leopard discussion.

Nvidia on Thursday posted a smaller loss than the year-earlier period but the graphics chip supplier is still grappling with costs related to a chip defect first addressed by the company last July.

Shares of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company were up in after-hours trading.

Nvidia reported a second-quarter loss of $105.3 million, or 19 cents a share, better than the year-earlier period when it posted a loss of $120.9 million, or 22 cents a share.

Revenue was $776.5 million, … Read more

A portable media player with a 3.3-inch OLED touch screen and an Nvidia Tegra chipset? Sounds familiar.

Nope, we're not talking about the Zune HD. This is the Samsung M1, a PMP that officially popped up on the company's Korean site this past Friday, and that's existence has been confirmed by the requisite blurry photo.

We've yet to see any pricing on Samsung's latest touch-screen media maestro, or any indication that it will be heading to the U.S. (especially not with that DMB tuner it's sporting). What we do know is that … Read more

Just last week, we got a peek at Nvidia's new line of HD-video-playing processors in downtown Manhattan. One, the Ion, is a GPU that pairs with an Atom processor to give Netbooks gaming and HD-video-playing muscle, coming soon in Netbooks from Lenovo and Samsung.

The other, Tegra, is an all-in-one chip: it has an HD video processor, but it also has an ARM processor, making it an all-in-one computer on a chip that will be put on phone company-branded Netbooks toward the end of the year, according to an Nvidia representative.

But that's not all, it seems: rumors … Read more

Microsoft has confirmed that the Nvidia "Tegra" chip is inside the upcoming Zune HD, a big win for Nvidia.

This was reported earlier at Engadget and follows reports earlier this week.

"There's been a lot of chatter about us possibly putting the Nvidia Tegra chip in the Zune HD," Matt Akers, software development engineer in test at Microsoft, said in a June 19 podcast. "Well, we're going to go ahead and confirm that. Yes, the Zune HD does have the Tegra chip in it."

He added: "So much better battery life, … Read more

The rumors appear to be true: Microsoft's Zune HD media player will use Nvidia's Tegra, a processor that will play a pivotal role in the chip supplier's future.

PC Perspective reported Tuesday that the Zune chip had been confirmed by Nvidia "staff" at Computex, earlier this month.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said at the company's analyst day on Tuesday that the Tegra processor is expected to account for half of Nvidia's business in a few years. If this prediction comes true, Nvidia will bear little resemblance to the company it is today: … Read more

I spent Tuesday at Nvidia headquarters, attending the company's annual Analyst Day.

I've been to most of Nvidia's analyst events over the last decade or so, since I covered Nvidia almost from its inception while working as the graphics analyst at Microprocessor Report. These meetings are always a good way to get an update on the company's business operations, and sometimes--like this time--one provides exceptionally good insight into larger industry trends.

Nvidia has had a rough couple of quarters in the market, which CEO Jen-Hsun Huang blamed in part on a bad strategic call in early 2008: to place orders for large quantities of new chips to be delivered later in the year. When the recession hit, these orders turned into about six months of inventory, much of which simply couldn't be sold at the usual markup.

In response, Nvidia CFO David White outlined measures the company plans to take to increase revenue, sell a more valuable mix of products, reduce the cost of goods sold, and cut back on Nvidia's operating expenses.

Three things stood out for me in this presentation:

Nvidia is planning an aggressive transition to state-of-the-art ASIC fabrication technology at TSMC, the company's manufacturing partner. Within "two to three quarters," White said, about two-thirds of the chips Nvidia sells will be made using 40-nanometer process technology. (The first of these chips were announced Tuesday.)

White also acknowledged something that I've long assumed to be true: Nvidia receives "preferential allocation" on advanced process technology at TSMC. It's logical that Nvidia should get the red-carpet treatment, having been TSMC's best customer for many years, but I don't recall hearing Nvidia or TSMC put this fact on the record before.

The third notable point from White's presentation: the gross margins for Nvidia's Tegra, an ARM-based application processor--which Nvidia's Mike Rayfield, general manager of the Tegra division, says has already garnered 42 design wins at 27 companies--are much higher than I'd have guessed--at "over 45 percent." That's quite excellent for an ARM-based SoC; it's a very competitive market.

More surprises The technical sessions at the event contained their own surprises.

For example, Nvidia effectively seized control of an old Intel marketing buzzword: "balanced."

For years, Intel used to talk about… Read more