The Xbox 360 was released in 2005. Back then, its three-core PowerPC CPU and ATI R520-based GPU were respectable pieces of hardware. Today, almost 40 per cent of PC gamers have quad-core CPUs and a video card that would disintegrate the Xbox 360′s “Xenos” GPU with a mere glance. But it’s not the PC, or even consoles, that holds the attention of the gaming industry. No, mobile phones are the focus now.
We recently reviewed — and rather liked — the Asus Transformer Prime. It was the best Android tablet out there. Oh, until Asus dropped its new higher-end Transformer Prime, complete with a 1080p screen and improved back panel. Joy!
While we’re all waiting to play with tablets running on NVIDIA’s smokey quad-core (plus one) wonder, Wireless Goodness got its mitts on photos of the chip in the flesh.
NVIDIA completed its purchase of Icera, a wireless modem company. With this technology under its belt, NVIDIA can build a mobile processor with a cellular radio and a baseband applications processor. Icera already develops a product that combines NVIDIA’s Tegra processor with an HSPA+ radio and support for Android.
Last year, the CSIRO’s supercomputer was ranked as the 145th most powerful supercomputer in the world. Powered by NVIDIA’s Tesla GPUs and constructed by Aussie company Xenon, the supercomputer is used is a fine example of the benefits of using GPUs for scientific discovery. but according to NVIDIA’s GM of Tesla computing, Andy Keane, it’s the current developments in the mobile processing space that will drive the next generation of supercomputers.
It’s everywhere. CES, which hasn’t even officially started yet, has already given birth to more Tegra 2 phones and tablets than I care to count. So, again, what’s so special about this thing again?
