NVIDIA Tegra 2 to double performance, arrive in 2010?
By Vladislav Savov 
posted Nov 6th 2009 4:18AM
posted Nov 6th 2009 4:18AM
Word on the grapevine is that NVIDIA is preparing to mount a fresh assault on the mobile front, with a successor to Tegra that moves to a dual-core ARM9 CPU and adds improved graphical performance to produce what's said to be twice the power. This sort of aggressive roadmap meshes with earlier rumors of a Tegra platform powering the next generation of Nintendo's DS, and promises an equally tantalizing upgrade to the Zune HD specs. Keep in mind that the info comes from those highly anonymous and entirely unaccountable "industry sources," but given the time that will pass between the availability of the first Tegra chipset and the suggested 2010 release of Tegra 2, it makes sense to believe that the engineers have had sufficient opportunity to optimize and energize their platform. It's not like NVIDIA has been wasting its time setting up anti-Intel websites and putting together snarky cartoons about its competition, right?
I was originally thinking I wasn't going to hold out for a phone with Tegra on it, but now I have to hold out for a phone with Tegra 2 on it.
I'm starting to think I'm never going to be able to buy a new phone
wasn't = was
I think you need to wait for Tegra 3 with qual core chip .
that is the best comment I have read in along time. Saw myself in the mirror on that. Still holding on to a Sammy 970 waiting for the next phone..... If that doesn't make me a lunatic, nothing does.....
Same thoughts from me. I need a new phone asap, but Snapdragon is leading the way right now. No Tegra yet and there is another competitor - Marvell Armada with 1.2ghz devices coming soon.
My thoughts exactly. Now I'm in the uncomfortable (but typical) position of having to either buy something soon that I know is suboptimal or not have anything until the great version arrives some time in the future. I hate technology.
lol i'm still using my (I don't even remember how old it is) Nokia 2865i dumbphone, which no longer vibrates, and randomly restarts its self just because the battery will last all weekend on a single charge and i'm terrified by the battery life of these new fangled smartphones lol.
I would rather see the Tegra platform use the ARM Cortex A9 cores rather than dated ARM9 chips.
If you don't know what you are talking about, then STFU!
'Tegra 1' uses a dual-core ARM11 based system on a chip. (not ARM9, not Cortex A8). This new 'Tegra 2' will use a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9, NOT ARM9.
**** I've said it 10 times, but I'll ay it again. Engadget needs to get some writers who aren't ignorant geeks, and actually have a decent understanding of technology ********
Niceness ! ;D
Is it just me, or does it seem like Nvidia is making plans for a 2010 release of a new Tegra and Ion platform right when the two starting to catch on? And saying Tegra has caught on is a stretch.
Dual Cortex A9, not Dual ARM9!
That site confuses me. It says they're making the switch from ARM7 to ARM9. Everything I've read says that Tegra was ARM11
Tegra or Tegra2 is not ARM9, it is just someone confusing brands. Tegra is Cortex-A8 and only ARM cpu supportting dual-core setup is newer Cortex-A9, which makes Tegra2 an Cortex-A9 design.
Tegra uses ARM11 core (like in Nokia 5800 for example), not Cortex-A8. Tegra2 is indeed (or should be) Cortex-A9.
Maemo 6 device with this should be nice. NVIDIA should join Symbian Foundation, it would be really nice since from Symbian^3 UI will be HW accelerated. Symbian^4 doesn't even work without proper GPU.
Not to get ahead of myself but that sounds like the perfect processor for the HTC HD3 running android 3.1 Jellydonut.
Tegra 1 actually has two ARM cores, an ARM7, and an ARM9, whereas the ARM core(s) used in the Tegra2 has not yet been confirmed, but Mike Rayfield has hinted that it will use a Cortex-A9 core, as Nvidia purchased a license to use it in future products.
Tegra2 products are potentially ready for production. A Tegra 2 netbook was recently demonstrated at the Adobe Conference last month. see http://armnews.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/tegra-2-netbook-unveiled/ for details.
Tegra 2 could be with us all very soon.
Tegra1 has an ARM7 core but that's not actually usable by normal software. It's basically an embedded micro for doing some ancillary stuff. The main core is an ARM11, not an ARM9.
Tegra2 should be 2 x Cortex A9 and I'm expecting it to be closer to four times the performance of Tegra 1 and to take the performance lead in the ARM space plus give Atom a hell of a run for its money (software compatibility aside)
@Fnuky: Really hope you're right. Dual-core Cortex-A9 should just about be fast enough to power a (fanless, small-screen, reasonable life from small battery) netbook. The current trickle of ARM 'smartbooks' are just not powerful enough. This should be.
I'm hoping there will be a whole slew of these things next year - back to netbook sizes (9" screen), small and light, and no-moving-parts (probably 16GB or so of SSD) and good prices. Oh, and running a real Linux please - or at least compatible with Ubuntu or whatever if they have to start off in Android...
Still waiting to see something like this in a handheld. Where is my PSP2 with dual analogs, capacitive touch screen and all kinds of other craziness?
Yes, where is our PSP2 with accelerometers, capacitive touchscreen, dual analog sticks, front-fracing camera, microphone, A2DP+PAN and a Webkit browser?
PSP Go = fail
the Go isn't supposed to be the PSP2, stfu and get over it kid. I'm sure the actual successor will be better. There weren't nearly as many complaints about the DS Lite, or the DSi, which is probably a better comparison, as it loses the Advance cart slot. It's just an alternative.
So many possibilities to believe regarding what ARM Tegra uses, damn.
NO COMMENT
To everyone saying that Tegra has an ARM7 or an ARM9: All the Tegras have an ARM11 Core. The Zune HD has a Tegra APX 2600 chip, which has an ARM11 Core.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zune_HD
Zune HD2?
I thought Nvidia announced their roadmap last year. This isn't exactly a rumor.
I don't get why we aren't seeing phones using Tegra yet.. The ZuneHD runs so much smoother than any handheld I have used and it isn't like it cost a ton either? What is the hold up? Seems like every phone should be running this
Isn't there only 1 officially released device with a Tegra in it right now? This sounds a bit like the NGage, where nobody bought it (or nobody USED it in this case), but they are still making a new one.
I was so pumped about Tegra way back when they showed the first videos. They'll have to not only be ahead of the game with Tegra 2 for me to become interested again, but actually succeed in pushing them to manufacturers.
Maybe I'm not quite as impressed anymore because of the A8. Anyone know the differences between A8 and the mobile class Tegra? Does Tegra really push many pore polygons or draw that much less power? Honest question. :D
Thr only reason anyone talks about Tegra is because of ignorance and Nvidia marketing. The CPU is a 650mhz dualcore ARM11, which is about equal to a 650mhz single core ARM Cortex A8 such as thr one in thr iPhone, Pre, or Droid.
Likwise, The GPU in tegra has nothing to do with Nvidias other gpu technology. It uses a graphics core they bought from a 3rd party company a few years ago. It Is not really any better than the latest PowerVR tech from imagination technologiies (as used in iPhone, pre, droid, etc)
How many tegra devices are out there right now anyways?
If it comes to light--due to the new FCC rulings concerning blogs and financial payments from tech companies--that this site is really a paid agent of a company, are you guys liable for industrial espionage charges due to your soliciting of leaks and proprietary company information/time lines?
I'm of course referring to genuine leaks--not those purposefully put out there.