Not only was the Asus Transformer Prime just announced within the last few minutes, but NVIDIA also brought their new quad-core processor out of its codename state. Project Kal-El can now officially be referred to as NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor. As the world’s first quad-core chipset for mobile devices, it can deliver up to 5x the performance over their Tegra 2 dual-core processor that was released earlier this year. It combines a PC-class CPU and 3x faster GPU with stereo 3D support to deliver incredible power and a long battery life with less power consumption.

Using the Tegra 3′s new patented Variable SMP architecture, this chipset can switch between four main cores and a fifth lower-power “companion” core to extend battery life and make your tablet perform much more efficiently. For those of you that had concerns about single-charge life, this should allow you to have some faith. It’s obvious that NVIDIA not only focused on power, but they focused equally on how to make devices last longer.

The Tegra 3 will be featured first in the Transformer Prime, but you have to imagine that it will find its way into other tablets before too long. No word yet on when we might see a processor of this magnitude in a phone other than rumors yesterday of the HTC Edge.

To learn everything thing else there is to know about the Tegra 3, you will want to jump past the break. We have videos, comparison photos, and a performance break down. Can you feel the power yet?  

Videos:

Tegra 3 vs. the competition:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A detailed look at Tegra 3′s 5th “companion” core:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Developers from some of the Tegra 3 optimized games share their thoughts:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Remember the Glowball demo from earlier in the year? It’s an official game now:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Images:

Full Tegra 3 breakdown:

Tegra 2 vs. Tegra 3 – Gaming (Click images to see details):

Cores: Companion Core vs. Four Main Cores:

Press Release:

 NVIDIA Quad-Core Tegra 3 Chip Sets New Standards of 

Mobile Computing Performance, Energy Efficiency 

Tegra 3’s fifth ‘companion’ core enables ultra-low power consumption, while advanced quad-core processors drive record-breaking performance 

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Nov. 8, 2011— NVIDIA today ushered in the era of quad-core mobile computing with the introduction of the NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 processor, bringing PC-class performance levels, better battery life and improved mobile experiences to tablets and phones. The world’s first quad-core tablet with the Tegra 3 processor is the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime.

Known previously by the codename “Project Kal-El,” the Tegra 3 processor provides up to 3x the graphics performance of Tegra 2, and up to 61 percent lower power consumption. This translates into an industry-leading 12 hours of battery life for HD video playback.

The Tegra 3 processor implements a new, patent-pending technology known as Variable Symmetric Multiprocessing (vSMP). vSMP includes a fifth CPU “companion”, specifically designed for work requiring little power. The four main cores are specifically designed for work requiring high performance, and generally consume less power than dual-core processors.

During tasks that require less power consumption – like listening to music, playing back video or updating background data – the Tegra 3 processor completely shuts down its four performance-tuned cores and, instead, uses its companion core. For high-performance tasks – like web browsing, multitasking and gaming – the Tegra 3 processor disables the companion.

“NVIDIA’s fifth core is ingenious,” said Nathan Brookwood, Research Fellow at Insight 64. “Tegra 3’s vSMP technology extends the battery life of next-generation mobile devices by using less power when they’re handling undemanding tasks and then ratcheting up performance when it’s really needed.”

The Tegra 3 quad-core CPUs are complemented with a new 12-core NVIDIA GeForce® GPU, which delivers more realism with dynamic lighting, physical effects and high resolution environments, plus support for 3D stereo, giving developers the means to bring the next generation of mobile games to life.

For the millions who play games on mobile devices, the Tegra 3 processor provides an experience comparable to that of a game console. It offers full game-controller support, enabling consumers to play games on their tablet or super phone, or connect to big screen HDTVs for a truly immersive experience. It also leverages NVIDIA’s award-winning 3D Vision technology and automatically converts OpenGL applications to stereo 3D, so consumers can experience 3D on a big screen 3D TV (via HDMI™ 1.4 technology).

The Tegra 3 processor provides the industry’s….

• Fastest web experience – with accelerated Adobe Flash Player 11, HTML5 and WebGL browsing, and an optimized Javascript engine
• Fastest applications – with blazing performance for multimedia apps, such as photo and video editing
• Fastest multitasking – for switching between common uses, such as playing music and games, and background tasks
• Fastest, highest-quality gaming – including new Tegra 3 processor-optimized NVIDIA Tegra Zone™ app games such as Shadowgun, Riptide GP, Sprinkle, Big Top THD, Bladeslinger, DaVinci THD and Chidori.

Highlights / Key Facts: 

 The Tegra 3 processor redefines power consumption and mobile-computing performance with:

• The world’s first quad-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU
• New patent-pending vSMP technology, including a fifth CPU core that runs at a lower frequency and operates at exceptionally low power
• 12-core GeForce GPU, with 3x the graphics performance of the Tegra 2 processor, including support for stereoscopic 3D
• New video engines with support for 1080p high profile video at 40 Mbps
• Up to 3x higher memory bandwidth
• Up to 2x faster Image Signal Processor

 40 games are expected to be available by the end of 2011, and over 15 Tegra 3 games are under development for Tegra Zone, NVIDIA’s free Android Market app that showcases the best games optimized for the Tegra processor.

 The Tegra 3 processor is in production. Developers can order the Tegra 3 Developer Kit to create applications for devices with Tegra such as tablets and super phones, at developer.nvidia.com/tegra.

Quotes: 

NVIDIA, ASUS 

 “The Eee Pad Transformer Prime is a category-defining product. Powered by Tegra 3, it launches us into a new era of mobile computing, in which quad-core performance and super energy-efficiency provide capabilities never available before. With Transformer Prime, ASUS has once again led the industry into the next generation.”

- Jen-Hsun Huang, President and Chief Executive Officer, NVIDIA

 “Tegra 3 is a marvel. Its quad-core CPU, 12-core GeForce GPU and vSMP technology are revolutionary. We worked closely with NVIDIA to build the ultimate tablet – the Eee Pad Transformer Prime – that delivers a magical, uncompromised experience to consumers.”

- Jerry Shen, CEO at ASUS

Key Game Developers 

 “Thanks to Tegra 3’s quad-core CPUs, Shadowgun looks and plays the best on Tegra. Consumers are going to love the quad-core Shadowgun version – which features rag doll physics, console quality water simulation, particle effects, enhanced shaders, dynamic textures, and more.”

– Marek Rabas, CEO of Madfinger Games

 “Riptide GP showed how Tegra brought mobile gaming on Android to new heights. Tegra 3′s quad-core performance has allowed us to add a whole set of exclusive new features — improved water visuals, splash effects, motion blur — that pushes the experience to an entirely new level.”

- Matt Small, Creative Director at Vector Unit

 “Working with NVIDIA makes the impossible possible. Our Tegra 3 optimized game DaVinci THD will look brilliant when it comes out, with mind-blowing 3D graphics and intuitive touchscreen interface. DaVinci THD will leverage Tegra 3 for its multi-threading capabilities, so we can scale across all four CPU cores and deliver the ultimate console-quality performance. As a result, DaVinci THD will be more realistic, interactive and challenging than anything we’ve done before.”

- Kijong Kang, VP and Executive Producer at Bridea Corporation

 “Combining BitSquid’s tech engine with Tegra 3′s quad core architecture means a gaming experience like no other. Gamers are going to really see the next-generation gaming experience in Hamilton’s Great Adventure THD.”

- Martin Wahlund, CEO at Fatshark

 “With Tegra 3, NVIDIA has shattered the usual constraints on the quality of mobile device experiences. By enabling tablets and smartphones to operate at an exceptional level, it allows developers like Zen Studios to create console-quality experiences that can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime. The quad-core fueled graphics and physics in Zen Pinball THD are simply incredible and represent the premier mobile pinball experience. You can only get that on devices built on Tegra 3.”

- Mel Kirk, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at Zen Studios

 “Quad-core chips are raising the stakes for mobile gaming. With Tegra 3, we can render even more content with better animations on Bladeslinger THD – all while consuming less power. This is a recipe for all-day game play.”

- Sam Williams, General Manager at Luma Arcade

 “Tegra 3 is making much more complex gaming environments possible on mobile platforms. Gamers are going to be amazed by the level of graphical detail and realistic physics that come through in quad-core enhanced games like Soulcraft THD.”

- Karsten Wysk, CEO of Mobile Bits

 “As we’ve seen on Big Top THD, gaming performance on Tegra 3’s quad-core architecture is unmatched. From the high quality shadows to improved tent animation and high-dive splash effects, Tegra 3’s 12-core GPU delivers the best gaming experience and uses the lowest power you’ll see on a mobile device.”

- Robert Troughton, CEO at Pitbull Studio Ltd.

 “Tegra 3’s quad-cores bring out the best in our Substance smart texturing engine. The CPU and GPU parallel processing allows mobile game developers to add never-seen animated visual effects and textures to their games, translating into an absolutely stunning visual experience on mobile.”

- Sébastien Deguy, CEO and Founder at Allegorithmic

 “Tegra 3’s quad-core processor and 12-core GPU allows developers to port PC and console game titles using BitSquid Tech for the same great experience on any device. From a hard-core gamer’s customized PC to a phone or tablet with Tegra, you’ll get identical game play and buttery smooth graphics, anywhere any time.”

- Tobias Persson, Co-Founder and Rendering Architect at BitSquid Tech

 “We’re excited to bring the definitive version of Siegecraft to Tegra 3. Its amazing graphics performance and quad-core scaling let us amp up the game to the max – more physics, more units, more Siegecraft!”

- Benjamin Lee, Managing Director at Blowfish Studios

 “Thanks to Tegra 3′s fantastic GPU performance we were able to use the same quality textures in Zombie Driver THD as on the PC. The outstanding quad-core CPU performance makes it possible to support Tegra game development in parallel to other high-end platforms.”

- Pawel Lekki, Chief Operating Officer at Exor Studios

 “Quad-core technology has changed how we approach mobile game development. Tegra 3 helped us create Jett Tailfin Racers THD – an eight-player game with the highest resolution textures, underwater caustics and anisotropic shading we’ve ever seen on a mobile device.”

- Manny Granillo, President at Hoplite Research

 “Mobile gaming is about to take a huge leap forward with Tegra 3. Its GPU gives us access to higher-resolution textures and far better effects. And its four CPUs make Euphoria’s gameplay smoother, more interactive and quality that’s close to a console.”

- Keiichi Yano, Co-Founder and VP of Development at iNiS

 “It’s incredible what Tegra 3’s quad-core architecture bring to mobile gaming. As good as Combat Arms looks on a tablet, it looks 1000 times better when you connect it to your HDTV, strap on game controllers and sit back to enjoy a real 3D console-gaming experience with Combat Arms: Zombies THD.”

- Albert Rim, CEO at Nexon Mobile Corporation

 “With the Tegra 3 processor, NVIDIA is once again painting new horizons for technology on wireless platforms. We’re excited to see how the thousands of developers using Unity to create interactive 3D content will take advantage of the extra power that NVIDIA’s quad-core technology provides.”

- Tony Garcia, Vice President of Business Development at Unity Technologies

 “Tegra 3 is equivalent to a console game machine, and we believe devices with it will play an important part in next-generation games. We’ve been working on optimizing our cross-platform engine Chidori to fully support Tegra 3. To support Tegra’s 3 multi-core engine, we’ve optimized our 3D effect tool. And we’ve adapted our high-quality shader library, Aoi, to Tegra 3, allowing truly beautiful imagery.”

- Katsunori Yamaji, CEO and Executive Producer at Premium Agency Inc.

 “By harnessing the strength of Tegra 3’s 12-core GPU in our multiplatform middleware, game developers can easily port titles to Tegra 3 and achieve true console-quality graphics. Tegra 3′s quad-core architecture and Orochi’s multicore-enhanced, game-engine technology is going to spur the evolution of games on quad-core mobile devices.”

- Takehiko Terada, President and CEO at Silicon Studio Corporation

 “We’re totally pumped by the potential of Tegra 3’s quad-core CPU and 12-core GPU. They’ll bring console-quality experiences to mobile devices, and we’re working to bring an amazing title to the Tegra platform. Stay tuned for our announcement of a great Tegra 3-optimized title in the coming months.”

- Richie Casper, Creative Director at Acquire Corp.

 “NVIDIA’s GPU architecture delivers the best gaming experience, bringing true console-quality games to mobile devices. Our Lost Planet 2 test demo makes it clear – the quad-core muscle of Tegra 3 brings hyper-realistic visuals, smooth frame rates and sharp images. The result is a whole new level of realism to content for smartphones and tablets.”

- Jun Takeuchi, Deputy Head of Consumer Games at Capcom

 “Tegra 3 is a huge leap forward in mobile computing. Using its quad-core capabilities, we were able to improve all of Sprinkle’s visual effects, plus add a whole new layer of smoke simulation.”

- Dennis Gustafsson, Co-Founder of Mediocre

 “We’re floored by everything we’ve seen in Tegra 3. Its four cores, coupled with amazing graphics performance, will let us bring awesome gaming experiences to the Tegra platform next year.”

- Carlo Perconti, CEO at HyperDevBox

Key Content Partners 

 “Flash-based apps packaged with AIR allow content creators to deliver premium gaming and video experiences, while HTML5 apps built with PhoneGap enable fantastic, general-purpose mobile apps. We continue our close partnership with NVIDIA to ensure that these visually rich, highly-interactive apps can significantly benefit from Tegra 3′s enhanced CPU and GPU horsepower.”

- Jennifer Carr, Senior Director, Business Development at Adobe

 “We’ve been developing multimedia applications on Tegra 3 for some time now. The quad-core processing muscle will allow some new apps and use-cases that consumers are going to love.”

- George Tang, General Manager and VP of the Video and Entertainment Group at ArcSoft

 “Tegra 3’s quad-core performance makes a huge difference for photo and augmented reality apps. Our Photaf Panorama Pro THD app runs more than 40% faster, and Face Costume gets over 60 percent speedup over comparable dual-core processors. Quad core opens up new possibilities for future application development, especially in the field of computer vision.”

- Oren Bengigi, CEO at Bengigi Studio

 “Tegra 3 gives us the quad-core horsepower to really push the envelope on cool video editing effects, smooth video playback, augmented reality camera and other challenging applications. With Tegra 3, we’re delivering real-time compositing and preview of simultaneous 1080p HD streams and graphics on a mobile device – that’s amazing.”

- Alice H. Chang, CEO at Cyberlink

 “Seamless, compelling Augmented Reality (AR) experiences demand that all of the pieces of a mobile device work together. Metaio’s AR software requires optimized mobile hardware to make the way we access digital information a more natural experience. Tegra 3 delivers the multi-core CPU performance required for advanced vision processing while bringing a tremendous boost in GPU performance. Working with Tegra’s software stack will make it possible for us to utilize all of those capabilities towards building an Augmented World.”

- Dr. Thomas Alt, CEO at metaio

 “Tegra 3’s combination of HD video playback performance and extended battery life will give Netflix members a fantastic experience as they watch movies and TV episodes streaming from Netflix via their Android devices.”

- Bill Holmes, Vice President of Business Development at Netflix

 “Tegra 3 gives us the horsepower we need to bring a PC-quality photo editing experience to mobile devices through applications like Snapseed, by Nik Software.”

- Michael Slater, President and CEO at Nik Software

 “By collaborating with NVIDIA, we are able to bring advanced multi-touch and pen capabilities to the tablet market, providing the Android user with a smoother and richer user experience, and enhancing the tablet from a basic consumption device to one that offers more personal and creative capabilities. The processing strength provided by Tegra 3’s additional cores will enable application developers to dedicate CPU cycles to UI processing and provide an enriched pen solution for artistic, enterprise and educational applications.”

- Amichai Ben David, CEO of N-Trig

 “The tablet and mobile device market are exploding and productivity applications are central to this growth. As the most widely distributed mobile office software, we are excited to partner with NVIDIA to take advantage of the enhanced capabilities inherent in the Tegra 3 quad-core chip to bring continued innovation in the marketplace.”

- David Halpin, VP of Engineering at Quickoffice

 “Splashtop plus Tegra 3 offers users an unparalleled cross-device experience. Splashtop enables sharing content among smart phones, tablets, and TVs, and combined with Tegra 3’s quad-core processing muscle, it can support 30 frames-per-second video with extremely low latency – perfect for games and multimedia!”

- Mark Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Splashtop

 “WebGL is being rapidly adopted on HTML5-capable desktop, laptop and netbook systems, and now NVIDIA is helping to bring WebGL to Android. Tegra 3 delivers an incredible level of performance — the four cores provide the multi-threading horsepower needed to drive a complete browser stack including highly interactive 3D.”

- Ken Russell, Chair, WebGL Working Group

 “Tegra already provides the fastest platform for silky smooth magazine reading on Android. The quad-core capabilities of Tegra 3 will help us further accelerate and enhance the complete browsing, downloading and reading experience.”

- Vandan Parikh, Director, Reading and Mobile Technologies at Zinio

About NVIDIA NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) awakened the world to computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999. Today, its processors power a broad range of products from smart phones to supercomputers. NVIDIA’s mobile processors are used in cell phones, tablets and auto infotainment systems. PC gamers rely on GPUs to enjoy spectacularly immersive worlds. Professionals use them to create visual effects in movies and design everything from golf clubs to jumbo jets. And researchers utilize GPUs to advance the frontiers of science with high-performance computing. The company holds more than 2,100 patents worldwide, including ones covering ideas essential to modern computing. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

NVIDIA Makes Tegra 3 Quad-Core Processor Official, Here is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About It is a post from: Droid Life

Is the world really ready for a quad-core phone? Whether we are ready or not,the HTC Edge might be the first. The photo above has leaked along with a bunch of rumored specs that include it being powered by NVIDIA’s latest creation, the Tegra 3. It could also sport a 4.7″ screen, Beats audio technology, 1GB of RAM, 8MP camera, and HTC’s new Sense 4.0. No word yet on if it will be released with Ice Cream Sandwich, but you have to imagine that with those specs, that Android 4.0 will become a reality before too long. Rumored launch of late Q1 or early Q2 has been tossed out.  

So what do you guys think? Are we ready for quad-core processors in phones? Before you toss out the, “No, because it will only last for about 2 hours with that kind of power” comment, understand that NVIDIA is claiming that their Tegra 3 can improve battery life greatly over their own dual-core chipset thanks to a secret 5th core in their processor. I think the real question is, “Do we really need a quad-core processor in phones?” I’m sure that we asked similar questions back when Intel was pumping out a new chip every 2-3 months for computers, but is it even necessary in a phone?

As phone operating systems, apps, games, etc. become more robust on small screens, we are inevitably going to need more power. Do we need it today or in a month from now? That remains to be seen. What I will say, is there is no better time than now for companies like NVIDIA to start putting out the first batches, optimizing the hell out of them, and then getting us ready for the day when Android or iOS become so processor intensive, that we won’t be able to live without anything less than a 1.5GHz dual-core something or other.

Cross-posted from Android Life. (Via: PocketNow)

Is the HTC Edge the World’s First NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-Core Phone? Are We Ready for it? [from AL] is a post from: Droid Life

Benchmarks on Android devices have become sort of silly these days – some take them as gospel to decide if this device is better than that device. We recommend that you take them as if they are just one small puzzle piece to the overall board, because a result in a benchmark app is not something to base the purchase of a phone on. With that said, we still like to see them for devices that just so happen to be running a brand new quad-core processor that has not previously been benched.

According to AnTuTu’s benchmarking app, someone showed up to the party with an Asus Transformer Prime and threw down. If you look at the screen shot above, you will see it clocked at 1.4GHz and putting out numbers that make every other device on the planet look like they were hangin’ with Prince in 1999. See the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy SII in there? The SGS2 formerly killed any other device in site with its Exynos chipset – that will apparently happen no more now that NVIDIA’s Kal-El quad-core processor is on the way.

Impressed?

Via:  Engadget

Asus Transformer Prime Gets Benchmarked, This is Impressive to Say the Least is a post from: Droid Life

Looks like we have a new fan favorite in the tablet game. The ASUS Transformer Prime has been receiving lots of love recently and the tablet just got a serious tear-down treatment over at the FCC. The people over at Wireless Goodness have great eyes and have managed to snag some excellent pictures from the FCC. We get to see all the guts of the quad-core tablet that is sure to change the game. We can easily spot the NVIDIA Tegra 3 “Kal-El” processor along with all the other wirey innards of the much anticipated tablet. More neat pics down below. 

Via: Wireless Goodness

ASUS Transformer Prime Gets Torn Down, NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 Processor Pictured is a post from: Droid Life

Asus chairman Johnny Shih was on stage last night at AllThingsD’s AsiaD conference and brought with him something special. After a brief conversation on stage, he jumped into a briefcase that he had carried out which just so happened to be holding the new Transformer tablet. Instead of Transformer 2, they are calling it the “Prime” (popular name in the Android world these days). It’s only 8.3mm thick, which is mind-bogglingly thin. For reference, the Galaxy Nexus is 8.84mm and the iPad 2 is 8.8mm.

Shih confirmed that it will run NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor, has a 10″ screen, docks into a keyboard just like the original Transformer and will be announced on November 9.

Asus’ main man also confirmed that Ice Cream Sandwich has a good chance at being on tablets before the end of the year. It sounds like companies are just waiting for Google to release source so that they can pump out updates as soon as possible.  

Via:  AllThingsD, Engadget

Transformer Prime Makes Appearance at AsiaD: Will Be Announced November 9 is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

With the promo video for NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 leaking last night, plus the fact that head honchos from both NVIDIA and Asus will be speaking at AsiaD this week, we have been sort of expecting the Transformer 2 to be announced. To add to that theory, this new teaser video was just uploaded to Asus’ Youtube page, giving us a ultra-metallic preview of what may be. Their every-popular dock is featured along with the words “The next Transformation” – could they drop any bigger hints? No mention of the processor, specs or release, but they certainly want us to know that “it’s coming.”

Cheers Jacob!

Asus Releases Transformer 2 Teaser, Will We See It This Week? is a post from: Droid Life

The AsiaD conference is right around the corner (as in tomorrow).  With scheduled appearances from NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, plus ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih, you shouldn’t be surprised if they unveil the Transformer 2 at some point.  The device is rumored to be powered by NVIDIA’s next generation processor called the Tegra 3 whose code name, “Kal-El” has been the talk of the town over the last few months for its speed and power efficiency. 

A small Tegra 3 teaser has leaked which gets us even more excited especially with that awesome see-through-future-tablet that use in it. Is the T3 looking to be what everyone was hoping for?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: Android And Me

NVIDIA Tegra 3 “Kal-El” Processor Video Leaks – Announcement Coming Soon? is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

After disappearing for 4 months or so, SHADOWGUN has returned in an official trailer with one purpose, to give you a glimpse at what we can expect when this puppy is paired with a Kal-El quad-core processor. We should point out that the version in this trailer is for the iPad and iPhone, so imagine a much more in-depth and graphic intense one on Android.  Yes, that’s me assuming a lot, but knowing what NVIDIA has planned for their next batch of processors let’s me do that.

Via:  DroidGamers

Official SHADOWGUN Trailer Released, Can We Get This Game Now? Please. is a post from: Droid Life

Two new NVIDIA white papers have been released this morning that dive deep into the world of project Kal-El, the world’s first quad-core processor.  The first paper focuses on the benefits of quad-core in a variety of cases including console-class gaming and the new 12-core GPU that produces 3x the graphics performance of this year’s Tegra 2 processor.  Other benefits would be faster pageload times in browsers, quick multi-tasking, better performance while using processor-heavy apps, and most importantly, overall lower power consumption without a drop in performance.

The second paper details an-almost secret “5th core” called the companion core, that allows your device to use much less power while in standby or using background tasks such as music, Facebook updates, and email syncing.  With this companion core, the main quad-core is essentially able to shut down completely, allowing your device to last much longer.

Both papers are great reads for anyone interested in learning all there is to know about this upcoming Kal-El chipset.

White papers:  Benefits of Quad-core | Multi-core CPUs: Low Power and High Performance 

NVIDIA Releases Two White Papers About Project Kal-El, Secret “5th Core” Revealed? is a post from: Droid Life

A roadmap of NVIDIA’s current mobile processor plans for now through 2013 may have leaked online over the weekend, potentially giving us a look at an already-updated Kal-El (quad-core) chip and their goal of dividing the company into to separate businesses.  We had heard last week from CEO Jen-Hsun Huang that Kal-El processors had been delayed slightly, but would be available in tablets some time this year.  What we had not heard, was that there may be a Kal-El+ processor that will replace it just a few months after those initial device releases.  No details on what the + means in this new quad-core chip were made available in this leak.

The other interesting bit of info we get from this roadmap is the mid-2012 splitting of their mobile processor unit.  There had been talk of NVIDIA entering the non-superphone market to help grow this business and I would say this certainly confirms that.  Project “Wayne” appears to be the superphone and tablet division, while “Grey” could be their “mass consumption” line of processors.  So not only will we see NVIDIA producing a line of game-changing processors that match up with best of them, but we will also see a set of standard processors make their way into the average super phone.

And yes, Windows Phone is listed on there.  Would make sense for NVIDIA to jump into bed with additional operating systems.

Via:  Heisse, Android and Me

NVIDIA Roadmap Leaks: Kal-El+ and Separate Processor Divisions Coming in 2012 is a post from: Droid Life

We love NVIDIA’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang here at Droid Life.  The dude has a ton of energy, an addicting personality, and most importantly, loves for his company to push the envelope.  After exploding onto the Android scene at CES this past January with their Tegra 2 dual-core chips, Huang wasted no time showing off what they had planned next – quad-core processors.  Codenamed Kal-El, these were expected (still are) to be the world’s first mobile quad-core processors with an estimated launch in tablets of this past August and in phones by the end of the year.  Unfortunately due to setbacks, neither of those time frames will/has been met.  Don’t worry though, we are still expecting to see a quad-core of some sort this year, it just won’t be in a phone.

During a sit down with media this week, Huang mentioned that their time line has now changed.  They still expect to launch quad-core tablets this year, but phones will likely be pushed into next year.  He also announced plans to move into the mass-processor consumption market, meaning they will do more than just produce processors for superphones and tablets.

On an interesting side note, Huang made a comment about his competitors – well there is only one according to him.  During his chat with press, he pointed out that Qualcomm and NVIDIA are really the only two serious players in the game right now:

“We’re the only people seriously on the dance floor with Qualcomm,” contends Huang, who is known for being outspoken. “We’re really the only two active players [in the high-end mobile processor market].”

The funny thing here is that Google has already chosen a Texas Instruments processor to develop their next version of Android on.  So while we just professed our love for Huang, we find it odd that he would take such a blatant cheap shot at TI.  Is he miffed at the fact that they weren’t chosen for Ice Cream Sandwich or does he really just think that TI processors are crap?  Who knows exactly why he left them out, but it sure gave us a good laugh.

Back to the point of the article…anyone saddened by the delay news?  Are we surprised by delays anymore?

Oh, and speaking of NVIDIA.  We have goodies to give away.  Stay tuned for those details.

Via:  Forbes

NVIDIA CEO: Quad-core Tablets Still Coming this Year, Phones Likely Not Until 2012 is a post from: Droid Life

Along with the launch of NVIDIA’s TegraZone.com, we get a new Tegra-optimized game to check out called Sprinkle.  As a “water physics-based puzzler”, you’ll see some of the more polished graphics and water physics of any game on the market.  The idea is simple – put out fires using an adjustable water cannon.  Completing that task isn’t always so simple though, and requires you to reach back to your childhood fire hose days for inspiration.

The game is available for $1.99 today in the market along with its 46 levels that can be unlocked by tapping 5 fingers on the screen.

*Note – There will be a Kal-El-optimized version of Sprinkle once a device running that new processor has been made available.  

Market Link | TegraZone Link ($1.99)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sprinkle Released as the Newest Tegra-Optimized Game, Will Have Kal-El Support in the Near Future is a post from: Droid Life

While it may not look anything like the picture above when it arrives, the Asus Transformer 2 has been rumored to be rocking the world’s first NVIDIA Kal-El “Tegra 3″ quad-core processor when it arrives this fall.  We were originally expecting to see tablets with this new chipset this summer, but due to delays, it could be another month or two. As one of the top selling Android tablets in the world, we’re excited that Asus could be the first, but what we really care about is if this new quad-core chip can live up to its minimal power consumption reputation.  According to NVIDIA CEO Jen Hsun Huang, the Kal-El could consume less power than its predecessor, the Tegra 2.  Leave it up to chip manufacturers to give us extended battery life, since the battery gurus on the planet are still stuck in 1980 with their tech.

Exciting, to say the least.  Original Transformer owners, are you all-in on Asus as being worthy of having the Kal-El?

Via:  Fudzilla, Engadget

Rumor: Asus Transformer 2 Will Sport the First Kal-El Tegra 3 Quad-Core Processor is a post from: Droid Life

There has been much anticipation around the Kal-El quad-core line of processors by NVIDIA, originally appearing to be ready for release on Android tablets in August, and later on this year for mobile phones. The world’s first quad-core mobile processor, 5x faster than NVIDIA’s Tegra 2, would deliver the power/power management to take mobile tech into the future. Well today, there has been a bit of sad news coming from the NVIDIA camp. Our buddies over at Android and Me got the official word from NVIDIA, that release of Kal-El devices wouldn’t be happening for at least a couple more months. Bummer.  

Project Kal-El-powered tablets are coming this Fall, and phones around the CES 2012 timeframe.

“Coming this Fall”. It could always be worse. Looks like we will have to add NVIDIA to our list of booths to stop by during next year’s CES. Project Kal-El is definitely expected to be worth the wait, and we’re hoping the delay just means a better product at time of release. Is anyone shocked by the announcement of the delay of release?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: Android and Me, Fudzilla

Looking Forward To A Kal-El Tablet This Month? NVIDIA Pushed Them Back To October is a post from: Droid Life

File this one away under gigantic rumor, but word in the component shipping world pegs Asus as preparing their first Kal-El (quad-core) Tegra 3 version of the Transformer for an October release.  While our first reaction is to say that this seems highly unlikely, we do know that NVIDIA is expecting tablets with their new Tegra chip to start shipping some time around the end of the Summer.  We’re only calling it “unlikely” because of the lack of internet buzz surrounding any manufacturer’s quad-core tablets.

It would make sense for Asus to rush to be the first, especially after seeing the success of their Tegra 2 Transformer which DigiTimes is calling the number one non-Apple tablet in the U.S.  Why not capitalize on all of the buzz that has surrounded one of the hardest tablets on the market to find?  Hell, even we struggled to find one to give away.  OK, that’s an exaggeration, but it was the hottest of all of the tablets that we gave away.

To our Transformer readers out there – are you ready for what’s next?  Is Asus now your tablet brand of choice?

Via:  DigiTimes

Asus to Introduce Quad-Core Tegra 3 Transformer by October? is a post from: Droid Life