Nvidia pushes 4G LTE compatible Tegra processors, puts pressure on Qualcomm
Summary: Now that AT&T has approved the HTC One X+, the first 4G LTE-compatible smartphone powered by the Tegra 3 processor, Nvidia is now in the perfect position to put pressure on Qualcomm and its Snapdagon S4 processors.
AT&T becomes the first U.S. carrier to approve an Nvidia Tegra 3-powered smartphone with 4G LTE support for its network.
The goal of mobile processor makers is to bring as much of the functionality of the smartphone or tablet onto a single piece of silicon. It makes sense because it means that fewer separate components are needed, reducing costs and power consumption, and allowing manufacturers to keep shrinking the device.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 processors enjoy integrated LTE support, while Nvidia had to rely on third-party LTE modems, usually Qualcomm parts. However, Nvidia's acquisition of soft modem chipset maker Icera showed that the company was serious about getting into the 4G LTE.
HTC's One X+ Android smartphone becomes the first Tegra 3 quad-core smartphone with 4G LTE capability in the U.S., and according to Nvidia's figures, this smartphone is 67 percent faster than its predecessor, the HTC One X LTE, a smartphone powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon dual-core processor.
While this Icera LTE modem is a separate component, Nvidia has new processors -- codenamed "Wayne" -- in the pipeline for next year that will have integrated Icera 410 LTE modems. Integration of the modem with the processor will simplify manufacturer's production lines, keeping costs down.
And Nvidia isn't planning to stand still either, with plans to integrate the more advanced Icera 500 LTE modem into future mobile processors.
Nvidia now represents a real threat to Qualcomm, because the LTE support, combined with the Tegra 3's superior graphic capabilities puts Snapdragon -- even the high-end Qualcomm S4 Pro -- on the back foot. This, combined with the fact that Nvidia expects Tegra shipments to double during 2012, puts the company in very a strong position to grab a lot of the smartphone and tablet market action.
Image source: Nvidia.
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Talkback
grammar correction
integrated LTE
Qualcomm way ahead of nvidia
And instead of advancing their core designs from the Cortex-A9 that was top of the line back in 2011, Nvidia chose to just add extra cores to their processors and overclocking them all the while ignoring LTE. Nvidia has not come close to taking advantage of the yields from 40nm production that they thought they would need in 2012.
Qualcomm went with 28nm technology, advanced their core design for 2012 and integrated LTE onto the SOC. Qualcomm as a result has succeeded in winning most of the high end smartphone designs for USA in 2012.
The momentum Qualcomm has gained will be hard for Nvidia to reverse.
I look forward to benchmark comparisons between the Tegra 3+ and the APQ8064. I doubt that the Tegra 3+ will be better than the S4 Pro APQ8064 but I'll look at the benchmark comparisons to confirm the same. So far in benchmark comparisons, the dual core S4 has competed well against the quad core Tegra 3; performancewise it has been very close. I'd be surprised if the quad core version of S4 comes up short against an overclocked version of the Tegra 3 (the so called Tegra 3+).
As good as the big guy?