On Monday, Nvidia Corp launched its new Tegra chip designed for small devices such as laptops or netbooks. According to Mike Rayfield, general manager of Nvidia's mobile and handheld division, the Tegra architecture, with its 193 sq. mm, is about a tenth of the Menlow platform’s size. The Tegra chip was designed to minimize power; 720p video playback can go to up to 30 hours. The new line’s future generations will be extended battery life-oriented as well and will continue to keep idle power consumption under the 10 milliwatts mark. Two different versions of the Tegra will be made available: the 600, running at 700 MHz and providing resolutions of 1280 x 1024, can playback 720p video; the 650, running at 800 MHz and providing resolutions of 1680 x 1050, can playback full 1080p video. The compatible operating systems are Windows CE and Windows Mobile. The Tegra comes with an on-board Arm 11 chip, system memory, graphics unit and peripheral controllers. Once the chip goes on sale, it should retail for a price of about $200-$250. Mr. Rayfield said that the first batch of devices featuring the Tegra chips is expected to be made available sometime before the fourth-quarter holiday season. He is quite confident that the company’s affordable and efficient product will be well-received on the market.
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