NVIDIA released the refreshed SHIELD Tablet K1 last month, and now it’s getting a huge software update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The biggest additions here are nothing new — they’ve been hitting devices since Marshmallow first started rolling out to the Nexus line earlier this year — but there are a few things unique to the K1…
Eight months after announcing the 192-core Tegra K1 “super chip,” graphics chip maker NVIDIA has provided details about a new “Denver” edition that will be the first 64-bit ARM processor for Android devices.
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Acer is providing tough competition for Samsung’s Chromebook 2 with its new Chromebook 13, offering 11-hour battery life with full HD display for $100 less. The NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.1GHz quad-core processor should give the 1920×1080 display even better graphics performance than Samsung’s Exynos-powered model, as well as beating its 9-hour battery-life, for $299 against Samsung’s $400.
The downside, as noted by Engadget, is the cheaper-looking casing, being plain white plastic rather than the faux-leather stitching of the Chromebook 2 …
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After weeks of leaks, rumors and speculation, the NVIDIA Shield Tablet and Wireless Controller have officially been announced this morning. NVIDIA posted a series of videos on their YouTube channel promoting the new device with the slogan “high-performance gaming everywhere”.
In terms of aesthetics, the device looks like we imagined. It features dual 5MP cameras, dual front-facing stereo speakers, and an 8-inch, 1920×1200 display. The specs under the hood are equally impressive. The device boasts an NVIDIA Tegra K1 GPU, an ARM Cortex A15 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz, and 2GB of RAM.
In terms of pricing, there are two different models of the device. A 16GB WiFi variant and a 32GB WiFi + LTE version, selling for $299 and $399, respectively. Both models will ship for a July 29th release.
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Following a leaked image of the supposed NVIDIA Shield tablet yesterday, more details have emerged regarding the company’s future plans. According to information obtained by video game website “Video Cardz,” NVIDIA has a new lineup of devices called the “Shield Family” planned. Included in this line-up is the Shield gaming tablet, as well as a Shield Controller.
NVIDIA is reportedly working on a new Android-based gaming platform capable of running PC-level games, according to BBC News. The unannounced device will be powered by the chip maker’s new Tegra K1 processor and it will be able to stream games to televisions via an HDMI-out port and a “budget-priced” controller accessory. In addition to being able to connect to a TV, NVIDIA’s new rig will support mobile gaming and native Android apps, similar to the company’s existing Shield system.
Last month, a report emerged claiming that HTC was working on a new Nexus tablet dubbed the Volantis. At the time, the device was rumored to have an 8.9-inch display and an all aluminum design. Now, the notorious leaker @evleaks has posted some confirmation of the specifications for the Volantis.
A listing for what could be the first Tegra-powered Chromebook may have just been outed by a Swedish retailer. Listed as the Acer Chromebook CB5 13.3″ HD, this unannounced system features a Tegra K1 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD for local storage and a 13.3-inch HD display. At a glance this white Chromebook appears to have a pair of USB ports (presumably USB 3.0) and a 3.5mm audio jack.
New HP 8, with iPad Mini (right)
HP’s new tablet – simply called the HP 8 – not only bears more than a passing resemblance to the non-Retina version of Apple’s iPad mini, it appears to use an almost identical 7.85-inch IPS 1024×768 display.
It looks like a reasonable if unexciting buy for the money, with an Allwinner quad-core ARM chip, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage, a microSD slot (supporting up to 32GB cards) and running Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) …
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Nvidia announced today that it will be releasing a new version of its Tegra Note 7 tablet that will include its i500 LTE model for 4G LTE cellular connectivity. The non-LTE version hasn’t exactly been a big seller, but it’s a welcomed update on a decent 7-inch tablet option that the company is still marketing as “the world’s fastest 7-inch Android tablet.”
The Tegra NOTE 7 serves up a bundle of cutting-edge mobile technologies – including one of the world’s fastest processors, Tegra 4, a superb stylus, exceptional audio, Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), and, of course, great NVIDIA gaming. And that’s at a starting price of just $199. Now, we’re added lightning-fast mobile data to the mix. Tegra NOTE 7 is available with LTE and HSPA+ mobile connectivity, and it can operate on popular carriers across the world.
The new LTE version will arrive in Q2 for $299 and Nvidia is also rolling out KitKat updates to its entire Note 7 family and releasing the tablets in new markets in Western Europe, Brazil, and Ukraine.
Nvidia made some pretty big claims when it launched its 192-core Tegra K1 mobile processor, notable among them that it would out-perform many of today’s PC chips. Benchmark results posted on the WCCFtech site suggest that the claims are true: a tablet with a Tegra K1 delivered GFX GLBenchmark of 60fps at 1080p, making it significantly faster than two basic Intel Graphics notebooks included in the comparison.
As you can see the only device included in the bench to beat the Tegra K1 chip was Nvidia’s own GT 740M; and seeing this is a full fledged dGPU with 45W TDP it doesn’t mean much. However for the target niche the Tegra K1 was actually created; it leads with a major gap. Scoring a rock solid 60fps in an off screen 1080p Benchmark it fares significantly better than the Tegra 4. The predecessor to this chip can only manage a measly 16fps so you can see for yourself how great a difference this is …
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Nik Software, the company behind Snapseed, the popular image editing app for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, announced yesterday that it will “soon” port the program to Tegra-powered Android tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich for $5 a pop.
Nik Software President and CEO Michael J. Slater said:
We’re thrilled with the success and worldwide recognition of our popular mobile app and are excited to bring the Snapseed experience to Mac users for the first time. By bringing Snapseed to the Mac App Store, we’re able to quickly extend our reach to a worldwide audience of creative amateur photographers while offering our existing mobile users the fully-featured Mac experience they’ve been asking for.
Nik collaborated with Nvidia on the project so expect some snazzy visuals and smooth performance, which is the hallmark of the iOS version. Snapseed sports cool filters and tools like grunge, vintage and drama to make the best out of your photographs. The full list of features follows…
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Huang Jen-Hsun, Nvidia’s co-founder and CEO, predicts tablets will outperform mobile PCs five years from today, echoing a similar sentiment from UK fabless chip maker ARM Holdings. The Tegra revenue could even surpass Nvidia’s GPU business, he tells chatting with reporters at a Computex press conference in Taipei, Taiwan. The CEO dismissed Intel’s latest mobile strides by expressing pessimism about their re-newed focus on tablet and smartphone silicon. Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes quoted Jen-Hsun as saying that “consumers do not care whether their products use x86- or ARM-based processor”, adding:
As for the impact bring by the tablet PC, Huang pointed out that PC and tablet PC each has its own unique functionality; therefore, the traditional notebook should not see any danger of being replaced. However, netbook, which does not have a full functionality as a traditional PC, is being impacted deeply by tablet PC.
Nvidia, of course, is betting big on ARM-branded processor designs (versus Intel’s desktop x86 and mobile Atom architectures) that dominate the smartphone industry and are slowly but surely becoming a norm in the tablet space. Tegra chips typically combine ARM processing cores and Nvidia’s custom graphics cores. Even the iPad’s A5 chip is custom-designed around ARM’s CPU blueprints and the graphics unit licensed from Imagination Technologies. Nvidia’s technology roadmap is pretty convincing and they’ve been working their way up the mobile chain. The company is set to become the leading silicon provider for mobile gadgets…
Asus yesterday unveiled the Eee Pad Slider, a gadget designed around Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chip.
Prepare to be impressed:
A few months back, we unveiled Project Kal-El – our next-gen Tegra super chip – as the world’s first mobile quad-core processor. Kal-El combines a battery-friendly, powerhouse of a quad-core processor with a 12-core NVIDIA GPU that supports 3D stereo.
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