The company today unveiled its new smart mobile app that integrates its processor and 4G LTE on the same piece of silicon. Processor, previously codenamed "Project Grey" Nvidia GPU has 60 cores, a 2.3GHz quad-core CPU based on ARM Holdings' R4 architecture Cortex-A9, a heart-fifth of low power CPU, and a version of Nvidia i500 LTE modem. Nvidia Tegra 4i is expected to appeal to smartphone makers and help to cope better in this key market. Although the Company of Santa Clara, California, has provided many different processors for tablets, it is difficult to develop on the telephony market, largely because it did not offer an integrated chip.
"This is a big step forward for Nvidia," Phil Carmack, senior vice president of mobile business of the company, told CNET. "This is the first time we had an integrated solution, and it radically changes the availability on the market for us. "
Traditionally known for its graphics processors found in computers and gaming consoles, Nvidia has relied on its Tegra mobile chips to help offset its weak PC market base. So far, there has not been enough. Its presence in smartphones has been minimal, and the majority of sales are for Tegra a couple of tablets, the Google Nexus 7 and Microsoft Surface. In addition, NVIDIA is now facing increased competition in the tablet market.
The announcement 4i Tegra comes just weeks after updating Nvidia has unveiled its autonomous mobile processor, Tegra 4. Tegra 4i is not as powerful as its big brother - 4 to 72 cores Tegra GPU - but it was specifically designed to be energy efficient and take up less space in a device.
Integrated chips are generally less expensive than buying separate processors for functions, and offering such a product can treat chipmakers low-end devices, as well as those at the upper end of the market. So far, Qualcomm has been the main supplier of these chips.
While Tegra 4i is a great step forward for Nvidia, it remains to be seen to what extent it is ultimately the market. Qualcomm announced last month its two new lines of processors, the 600 and 800 series. Both have significantly better performance than their previous generations and incorporate capacity faster LTE and WiFi.
Qualcomm Chief Marketing Chandrasekher said in an interview with CNET that the company remains confident in its position and should compete in the LTE / LTE market sooner.The integrated into the processor is slower than Nvidia generation LTE in more Recent Qualcomm processors, and this is something that could limit opportunities for the company in the United States, some analysts say.
However, NVIDIA uses for its wireless processors, gained through its acquisition of $ 367 million in 2011, Icera allows them to be updated using software instead of the hardware. This technology, called software defined radio, means the same chip can operate on 3G and 4G cellular and be updated to include new features.
"There are always trade-offs," Tirias Research principal analyst Jim McGregor said. "But a software-defined modem will give you great flexibility in terms of supporting new technologies and bands. They can upgrade the tapes or specifications ... just software upgrades, not necessarily having to develop a new chip. "
Handset manufacturers are currently sampling Tegra 4i, and expects that the Nvidia chip to send in phones by the end of the year, including the U.S. The company has already won qualifying processor, Carmack said, but he declined to give details.
4i with Tegra, Nvidia has also introduced a reference design smartphone, called Phoenix, to show the capabilities of the smart phone providers. Smartphone makers can use the reference design to build their own smartphones much faster.
