Nvidia @ CES 2011: The Tegra 2

Nvidia has announced the Tegra 2 chip, which will bring in a new generation of superphones like the LG Optimus 2X.

Nvidia Announces the Tegra 2

By the 1990s, the PC had evolved to a level where people started utilizing its features to help with everyday things. By 2000, we started seeing the introduction of mobile devices and entertainment devices like the iPod, using powerful processors. This year, Nvidia is introducing the Tegra 2 mobile super chip, which is designed to be powerful, yet very efficient in power consumption and low heat production.  The Tegra 2 mobile platform is not designed for worksheets and documents, but specifically for the entertainment industry. Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang explained that the Tegra 2 is designed for watching movies, playing video games, watching photo slideshows, surfing the net, and much more.

Tegra 2 will not be restricted to mobile devices, but will expand to everyday products and even cars (Audi cars currently use Tegra, and BMW is currently developing similar technology).

Nvidia believes that these chips will also be used in so called “Super Phones” that will provide phenomenal graphical power for multimedia.

“Beauty Outside, Monster Inside”

LG’s first Tegra Super Phone will come with a 1080p HDMI connector and provide console-quality performance. As Nvidia explained, this new super phone will have the performance of a PC. The LG phone with the Tegra chip is an Android phone.

The phone will also have the fastest image sensing camera processor available for phones, creating a seamless photography experience.

The phone also supports flash, meaning that web applications can be enjoyed the way they were meant to be. Lots of websites now use Flash, and with the new LG Android Super Phone with the Tegra 2 chip is able to play flash applications and videos online without lags.

 

Tegra 2 Highlights

The Tegra 2 Chip supercharges phones and brings a new generation of devices to life with “never-before-seen experiences.” The Chip features:

• Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU: The world’s fastest mobile dual-core CPU for faster Web browsing, snappier response time, and better overall performance
• Ultra-low powered (ULP) NVIDIA® GeForce® GPU – the ULP GeForce GPU delivers outstanding mobile 3D game playability and a visually engaging, highly responsive 3D user interface
• 1080p Video Playback Processor – Watch 1080p HD movies stored on your mobile device on your HDTV, without compromising battery life.

The Tegra 2 also enables new mobile media and gaming capabilities:

• For the first time, consumers will be able to game with multiple players using different types of devices. For example, a Tegra 2-powered super phone or tablet can be used to play with players on a desktop PC.
• NVIDIA demonstrated a prototype of Skype HD video calling on an Android tablet at its CES 2011 press conference. NVIDIA developed a reference implementation of HD video conferencing on Tegra 2-based tablets using SkypeKit. SkypeKit is a collection of software and APIs that allows virtually any Internet connected device to offer Skype voice and video calls.
• NVIDIA introduced the Tegra Zone app. It allows consumers to find Tegra-optimized games for their super phone or tablet, along with professional game reviews, high-res screenshots, HD video trailers, gameplay videos, and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Consumers can complete their purchase of Tegra Zone games on the Android Market

The first superphone to use the Nvidia Tegra 2 is the LG Optimus 2X. The Optimus 2X delivers faster performance, seamless multi-tasking, full HDMI and true visual gaming for a better user experience.

Specifications:

• 4-inch WVGA screen
• 8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD)
• 1,500 mAh battery
• 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera
• HDMI mirroring
• 1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording