Tag Archives: Tegra K1

NVIDIA Breathes New Life Into the Shield Tablet K1

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NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 00

The graphics card maker has not only refreshed its gaming tablet, but it has also changed the name of the product. The new NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 goes against some rather popular tablets, and since it focuses on gaming, it might actually attract quite the following.

Whether or not NVIDIA’s Shield Tablet needed to be refreshed is debatable. The original version, which only saw the light of the day last year, can still handle some of the most demanding apps out there, and since the manufacturer was well aware of that, it made very small changes in the hardware department. Probably the most significant change is the major price drop of 33%, as the new NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 costs only $200.

Bear in mind that the tablet doesn’t come with many accessories, and that was one of NVIDIA’s strategies for keeping the cost down. The stylus found in the previous version is gone, and so are the power adapter and USB cable from the packaging. Frankly, I believe that all manufacturers should exclude chargers and USB cables from their packaging, as everyone using mobile devices already owns one of these.

Following the “if something works, don’t change it” route, NVIDIA has decided not to change any of the specs of the original Shield Tablet, so the new one only differs in design and materials, but it’s nothing extremely significant.

Hence, the NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 sports an 8-inch 1920×1200 display, and continues to be powered by the same Tegra K1 SoC that includes a quad-core processor clocked at 2.2Ghz, and a Kepler GPU. To make sure that the tablet is capable of multitasking and that it has plenty of room for apps, NVIDIA equiped the Shield Tablet K1 with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, and a microSD slot for expanding this memory. That’s quite a lot of power that the video card maker stuck into a 9.2mm thin body that only weighs 390g.

The stereo front-facing speakers and the two 5MP cameras in the front and on the back are proof that NVIDIA is also serious about the multimedia experience, especially since both cameras can do HDR photos.

In terms of connectivity, the Shield Tablet K1 sports Bluetooth 4.0 LE and Wi-Fi with 2×2 MIMO and dual-band (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz) support.

With the Shield Tablet K1, NVIDIA goes against Apple’s iPad Mini 4 and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S2, and it suffices to say that the graphics card maker’s product blows both of them out of the water, not only in terms of price, but also as far as the technical specs are concerned.

The Shield Tablet K1 is available on Amazon for $199.99. Two bundles are available, one featuring the Shield Controller, costing $259.98, and another one that includes a 128GB microSD card, which sells for $249.98. Given the specs and the price, it’s almost guaranteed that this gaming tablet will be found under many Christmas trees this year.

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[via 9to5Google]

Acer’s Tegra K1 Chromebook 13 Blows the Competition Out of the Water

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Acer Tegra K1 Chromebook 13

The new Chromebook launched by Acer ticks all the important boxes for a powerful and reliable notebook: great graphical performance and processing power, HD display, sleek design, and a battery capable of powering the device for an entire day.

Notebooks running Chrome OS aren’t getting as much love as their Windows or OS X counterparts, but things are about to change, and Acer’s Chromebook 13 is one of the steps needed for getting there. The Tegra K1 Chromebook adds some diversity to the line, as all the other Chrome OS notebooks are powered either by Samsung or Intel processors.

It should be noted that the Chromebook 13 (which was previously leaked as CB5 by a Swedish retailer) will be available in two versions, the main distinction being made by the display resolution. More precisely, the first one, which will sell for $279, sports a 1366 x 768 display, 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM, while the latter includes a full HD 1920 x 1080 display, and otherwise the same specs, for $299. The ones who aren’t satisfied with 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM can opt to double both of them, but that will cost $380.

There are a lot of people who claim that $380 is an exaggerated price for a notebook that only has 32GB of internal memory, but they’re missing the point entirely. Unlike Windows laptops, Chromebooks are a lot more responsive and have a much longer battery life, Acer’s Tegra K1 laptop being firm proof of that. Besides, Chromebooks were mainly built for browsing the web and storing whatever important data users have in the cloud. The cheaper Chromebook 13′s battery keeps the notebook going for 13 hours, while the full HD version can run for 11 hours on a single charge. Since that’s more than a work day’s worth, the longer battery life is a clear advantage Chromebooks have over the competition.

If it’s numbers you’re interested in, Acer Chromebook 13 is 0.71 inches thick and weighs 3.31 pounds. The notebook sports 2 USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port that should come in handy when connecting the Chromebook to a projector or an external display.

Chromebook 13 is currently available for preorders on Acer’s website, and should start shipping sometime in September. Now it’s time for Acer’s competitors to make their move.

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Tegra K1-Powered Shield Tablet Expands Nvidia’s Gaming Console Line

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nVidia Shield Tablet

Nvidia’s new Android gaming console has finally been confirmed. The Shield Tablet, as it is called, is meant to exhibit never-seen-before performance in gaming, mostly due to the Tegra K1 SoC that powers it.

Even though the original Shield was impressive on its own, it was rather niched, both because of its form factor and price. The Shield Tablet, on the other hand, should appeal to more people, as its screen size makes it ideal for gaming. Most people assumed that Nvidia’s tablet would come with a detachable controller, but the graphics card manufacturer surprised us with another accessory. Those who would rather press physical buttons instead of tapping the display of the tablet have the Shield Wireless Controller at their disposal.

The 8-inch display of the Shield Tablet is flanked by (what I assume to be) stereo speakers. A screen of that size, paired with the Tegra K1 chip that Nvidia claims to be a lot faster than the Tegra 4 that powered the Nvidia Shield, turns gaming into a very enjoyable experience. It’s a bit weird, though, that Nvidia decided to go for a 1920×1200 resolution instead of 1920×1080.

Nvidia’s TegraZone has been renamed in order to accommodate what is now a family of products. Now known as the Shield Hub, it provides the interface necessary for gaming. As for the games that people can play on the Shield Tablet, there are plenty of options, both among Android titles and games that are streamed from PCs running particular models of Nvidia graphics cards. The technology that enables this is intuitively called GameStream, but Nvidia’s Grid cloud will also be tested out.

The Shield Wireless Controller will enable gamers to control the Shield Tablet over Wi-Fi. It sports headphone and microphone jacks that facilitate communication while gaming. On top of that the Shield Controller can be used for media playback and Google voice commands.

The Nvidia Shield Tablet and Shield Wireless Controller will be launched on July 29, but anyone interested in these can already place a pre-order at select retailers. Depending on the storage capacity and on whether the tablet has LTE support or not, the price will range between $299 and $399. The Shield Wireless controller, on the other hand, will cost $59.

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Nvidia’s New Android Console Closes the Gap between PC and Mobile Gaming

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Nvidia New Android Gaming Console

When Nvidia launched the Shield Android gaming console last year, it made some ripples, as the device packed quite a few never-seen-before features. The next iteration is meant to be even better.

The following information isn’t coming directly from Nvidia, but from BBC, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. The news network claims that the tech company is looking to tighten the knot between PC and mobile gaming by enabling people to stream PC games on the handheld console. Even though BBC’s sources are currently unknown, one thing’s certain: the new gaming machine developed by Nvidia will be based on one of the most powerful SoCs on the planet, the Tegra K1.

In January, at CES, Nvidia told Jared Newman from PC World that GameStream will be implemented in tablets this year. With recent rumors of a Shield Tablet piling up, the possibility of the Shield handheld console’s successor being a tablet becomes more probable.

A simple tablet wouldn’t impress the world, even if it were based on the Tegra K1 chipset. Xiaomi MiPad is already a beast, and it’s based on the very same SoC. Nvidia’s Shield Tablet could stand apart if it included some budget-priced external controller for gaming. In the absence of this controller, the device could still be used as a regular tablet, so no functionality would be lost there.

Still, Nvidia’s products are not without downsides. The Shield could only stream games from PC if people had a GeForce GTX 650 or newer. In other words, owners of cards older than 2012, or even worse, owners of AMD graphics cards (no matter how new), could not stream games. It’s one thing to encourage gamers to buy products from the same manufacturer, but limiting the functionality so drastically could’ve meant game over for Nvidia.

On top of that, Nvidia Shield’s initial price of $300 (that was prior to the $100 price cut) put it quite close to the $400 PS4. Now I’m not sure about your preferences, but I’d gladly give up on mobile gaming for such a gaming beast that is Sony’s PlayStation 4.

It remains to be seen what form factor Nvidia will adopt for its next gaming machine. The price will definitely be a factor that will attract or deter gamers.

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Acer CB5 Is the World’s First Chromebook Powered by a Tegra K1 CPU

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Acer Chromebook CB5 Tegra K1

Nvidia has big plans for its Tegra K1 CPU, and Acer is among the first ones to have welcomed it with its open arms. Acer CB5 is a yet-to-be-released Chromebook that has a Tegra K1 at its core.

Chromebooks may not exactly be powerful machines, but they’re great for Internet browsing and even some office tasks. The most recent Chromebook, Acer CB5, was listed by Swedish retailer Komplett.se prior to being officially announced by the manufacturer.

Notebooks running Chrome OS were until now based on Intel low-power CPUs, and on some rare cases, on Samsung EXYNOS. That’s not to say that Chromebook manufacturers will ditch the previous two CPU producers, it’s just that Nvidia wants to join the party, as well, and its Tegra K1 CPU seems to be the most appropriate for such a move.

The Swedish retailer also provided some details regarding other technical specs of the Acer Chromebook CB5. The CPU will run in tandem with 4GB of RAM. The operating system and the user files will be stored on a 32GB SSD that’s meant to run everything smoothly. Users will visualize their content on a 13.3″ HD display.

In terms of connectivity, Acer Chromebook CB5 is equipped with a headphone jack, two USB 3.0 ports and an ethernet port. It’s safe to assume that this notebook also sports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

There are a few skeptics out there that believe that the leaked images are fake, or at least that the technical specs mentioned by the Swedish retailer are. Until the manufacturer decides to launch this product officially, there will still be a shadow of a doubt.

The pricing and the additional specs that were listed on the page are now gone, that the listing was discovered. Still, people should appreciate that the retailer left the images and the name of the future Chromebook on the page.

Acer Chromebook CB5 might be not only the first Chromebook to be powered by a Tegra K1 CPU, but really one of the first ever commercially available devices based on Nvidia’s latest chip. Until it will be launched, it’s hard to say how it stacks against Intel CPUs that powered previous Chromebooks. Hopefully Acer won’t delay the launch too much.

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NVIDIA’s Tegra K1 Means to Make Dashboards Buttonless

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Nvidia Tegra K1

Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Projected Mode might be taken by storm if NVIDIA has its way with its Tegra K1 chip. All-touch dashboards might become the norm, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that most drivers have nothing against that.

The Tegra chip can already be found in Tesla’s Model S infotainment system, as well as in the new Audi A3, but NVIDIA wants more than that. Tesla’s Model S dashboard still looks nothing less than spectacular, but in the end, what stands in the center of the infotainment system is nothing more than a vertical 17″ touchscreen display. To give drivers a feeling of uniqueness, dashboards need to have more spectacular shapes and functions, and that is exactly what NVIDIA achieved with JEEP at GTC 2014.

David Anderson, Senior Automotive Solutions Architect of NVIDIA’s Automotive Business Unit, admitted that the demo JEEP, or his “pet project,” as he likes to address it, takes some inspiration of Tesla’s electric vehicle, while not copying it. Anderson explained SlashGear that “Tesla’s all-touch approach is the direction we think dashboards will go.” After all, the only button on Model S’ dashboard is used for opening the glove compartment.

In JEEP’s case, the main display has a custom inverted teardrop shape, and it dominates a 3D printed dashboard. The second Tegra chip is used for powering the display located in front of the wheel. The car’s capacitive touchscreen is divided into three sections that all display different, yet relevant information. Navigation takes up the upper third of the screen, while the media carousel is found in the middle. Both of these can be customized to display information in a manner that suits the driver’s needs and taste. The HVAC section dominates the bottom of the screen. This is where the driver or the passenger sitting at his right can change the air conditioning or heating settings.

Personally, I believe it’s a good thing that NVIDIA decided to take the matter in its own hands, with a firm believe that it can do better than Apple or Google. Regardless of what infotainment system future cars will include, it’s great to see that there are a few options to choose from. Also, competition will determine car infotainment manufacturers to strive for progress, which is good for anyone wanting to buy a vehicle.

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