NVIDIA has teamed up with Foxconn with the intention of churning out tablet PCs that some believe can shake up the Tablet PC segment that currently has a single ruler – the iPad. Featuring an 8.9-inch capacitive multi-touch widescreen that boasts of a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels and a display of 720p HD, the sleek Tegra 2 powered tablet was there to be seen at the Google IO conference. The tablet on display was used to demonstrate the Android game Backbreaker.
The Tablet PC however is firmly in prototype territory though the little that have been known till now of the tablet is pointing to a device that will have a Tegra 2 processor with a clock speed of 1GZ at its core, which incidentally is the same that the iPad can boast of. It will be running the Android OS, though the specific version again is a mystery as of now though with the Android 2 being recently unveiled, its likely to be the preferred OS for the new device. The Tegra 2 chip includes a dual core Cortex A9 ARM-based processor with Nvidia graphics and is touted to be a generation ahead of the silicon that the A8 chip of the iPad is based on since the all new ARM Cortex A9 architecture is able to deliver 25 percent more power than Cortex A8 core of the iPad.
However, there’s a dark side to the story as well since with 25 percent more power along with a gig of RAM, which is 4 times that of what you have on the iPad, and twin USB ports, it can be more demanding on the battery. In fact, it is the dismal performance of battery that was the prime reason behind HP scraping its Slate project though its still presumed Nvidia’s Tegra 250 chipset would make it to upcoming devices like the Notion Ink Adam and the ICD Ultra. The Nintendo 3DS gaming device too may have on board a variation of the chipset.
Other technical details available include 1 GB of RAM along with other stuff like a forward facing in built camera, an SD card slot and a micro SD card slot. There’s a SIM card slot as well that would make for easy access to 3G services. Apart from these, the tablet on display also had twin USB ports along with microphone and headphone jacks and a docking port. The tablet will be WiFi ready and will come incorporated with an accelerometer. Then the tablets are also likely to have a HDMI port. The display tablet also had a thickness of just 0.4 inches though NVIDIA has confirmed that the more recent prototypes are slimmer and lighter thereby enhancing its go anywhere appeal.
So, those who have been waiting for a tablet built around a Tegra 2 chip, this should come as a good piece of news. Also lets hope the actual tablet begins to appear in markets in a few months time from now.
More details will be made available as and when they come along. So watch this space where you’ll also have the most latest e-reader news along with stuff form the Tablet/Slate segment.
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With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.