MUST READ: Congress demands answers from Google over Glass privacy concerns

Topic: Banking

Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

Summary: Nvidia's Tegra 3 is the first quad-core mobile chip, but it's unclear whether the company can snag design wins from Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Nvidia introduced its Tegra 3 quad-core mobile processor, but analysts are counting the design wins and casting doubts about the company's prospects in the smartphone and tablet markets.

The graphics and mobile chip maker said its Tegra 3 processor will land in December and the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime will be the first quad-core tablet. Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor, formerly known as Project Kal-El, promises better battery life and more performance. In other words, the Tegra 3 is supposed to enable a lot of multi-tasking.

For Nvidia, the Tegra stakes are high. Nvidia is out front with a quad-core chip and is betting it can gain share on the likes of Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. The problem is that analysts aren't really buying the Tegra 3 argument.

JMP Securities analyst Alex Gauna downgraded Nvidia, which reports its third quarter earnings on Thursday. Gauna said:

We are not optimistic for Tegra 3 prospects based on how the design win landscape is shaping up. In addition to our concerns over the absence of phone wins, Tegra 3 is emerging in higher performance but weaker brand SKUs that strike us as moving in the wrong direction given the emergence of lower priced Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet class entries that use OMAP. We note key customer Samsung is favoring its own solution or Snapdragon in the 1500MHz Superphone category and appears to be passing on Tegra 3, with platforms that could, in theory, use it.

Gauna also noted that the Motorola Xoom 2 booted Nvidia's Tegra for Texas Instruments' OMAP chip. Motorola also ditched Nvidia for Texas Instruments with the Droid Razr. Meanwhile, Amazon and Barnes & Noble both use TI's OMAP processor. Other analysts such as Evercore's Patrick Wang noted concerns about Tegra's design wins.

Add it up and Nvidia looks like it will face a skeptical crowd on its earnings call on Thursday. Analysts are expecting an in-line quarter. Wall Street is looking for earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $1.06 billion.

Related:

Qualcomm: Windows 8 will take us beyond smartphones

Topics: Banking, Hardware, Laptops, Mobility, Processors, Tablets

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

11 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

    Windows 8 will add an interesting dynamic to the ARM SoC race. It may actually make good use of the cores. So, if the post-PC market is real, Windows 8 could determine the winner of the ARM race.
    THA1210
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

      @THA1210

      I wonder if the Chainfire3d app can help out with playing Tegra 3 games...
      Fat Albert 1
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

    I can't wait to get my hands on a Tegra 3 Transformer Prime. I'm not in the market for a crappy, cheap tablet. I suspect that I am not alone.
    txscott
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

      @rshol You will have to settle for crappy cheap software though.
      hayneiii@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

        @hayneiii@... You really need to go compare the Android Market to the App Store... It is roughly 80% the same titles with more coming over every day.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

        @hayneiii@...

        Nope. I have the TF 101 now and love it. Runs Android 3.2.1 rooted, no software problems noted (your mileage may vary). Compares well software wise with my iPhone 4 (Drobpox, Evernote, gmail etc.) Streams movies from my Linux server running MiniDLNA like a champ. Can't wait for TF Prime and ICS.
        txscott
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

      @rshol: Me too. I cannot wait to get my hands on a Transformer Prime. I'm waiting for ICS to be ready though. Which is due shortly after the Prime's US launch. Good job it's not coming to the UK until January then.

      AFAIK Nvidia make the best mobile ARM chips and that right now means Tegra 3. Intel/AMD are Desktop providers and the rest aren't as powerful.
      bradavon
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

    Tegra 2 took awhile for the tablet manufacturers to optimize and Android wasn't fully optimized until 3.2.2...

    Also, it had problems with LTE which cost Moto because they had to push of the 4G Upgrade on the Xoom.

    On top of all this, almost nobody updated their benchmarks to show it was only slightly behind the iPad 2 in performance.

    Ultimately, a bad first impression can go a long way and now nVidia has to prove to the other tablet manufacturers that this time things will be different.
    slickjim
    Reply Vote

    • Sorry to defend Android .... but

      @Peter Perry ... there is nothing the OS can do when the target platform SUCKS!!.

      Sorry, but Tegra is one of the worst MPUs in the market.
      wackoae
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

        @wackoae Can you educate me why Tegra is one of the worst ...? My curiosity. Thanks.
        PWsY
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Is Nvidia's Tegra mobile domination plan in trouble?

    what's not to like about tegra3, its got quad cpus, its got a real NEON SIMD on board and runs the ARM NEON optimised x264 code just fine, you cant say that about several other arm CPUS
    techU
    Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close