NVIDIA: Intel's Moorestown is like an elephant on a diet, iPad set bar too low
By Joanna Stern 
posted May 24th 2010 5:16PM
posted May 24th 2010 5:16PM
Leave it to NVIDIA to kick off the week with some good old Intel trash talking. Let's start with the company's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, who when asked if the Atom Z6 processor could be competitive, quickly responded with a "not possible." Why? Well, if you ask him, "you could give an elephant a diet but it's still an elephant." He called out the Z6's x86 roots and being behind Tegra in wattage -- he claims it will be years before they can reach the power levels of the ARM based chip. That's certainly an interesting analogy, but NVIDIA product director Bill Henry also has a way with words. When talking about Tegra versus Atom in tablets at the Netbook Summit, he said Intel was trying to put the power of a dump truck into a Tonka toy. Oh, but the strikes weren't only at Intel -- Henry added that the "iPad set the bar too low" and cited the typical lack of Flash and inability to handle 1080p video shortcomings of Apple's tablet. That all sounds good and well, NVIDIA, but it's time to stop talking and start showing some real Tegra 2 phones and tablets.
Apple set the bar too low, huh?
At least they set the bar. All of these other companies talk a big game. Let's see how they follow through.
@SuperNa7uraL Apple definitely set the bar too low, you know how easy it will be for the next guy to come in and sell a million tablets in about 2 months. Man Apple really dropped the ball on this one, once NVIDIA comes out with their tablet with 0 apps, 1080p movies and a 2 hour battery life Apple will be wondering "OMG what were we ever thinking releasing the iPad"
@budice4ever I believe it will have more then 2 hours of battery life sir!
If any of you have watched an HD episode of anything purchased it looks fantastic on the iPad. Who needs 1080i... especially on a device smaller than the iPad LOL! Video out looks great at 720 on a 60" DLP. If you want 1080 just get a damn AppleTV. Who is really gonna use 1080 out on the go on any kind of a regular basis. Come on...
it's time for Nvidia to put up or shut up. I think it's more than a bit telling that Microsoft is not using them in winpho 7, after using tegra in the Zune hd.
I feel sorry for the poor woman that got her head sucked on by an elephant while wearing an Intel Atom shirt...
NVIDIA is so full of shit; so it's IMPORTANT that people be able to watch 1080p video on a screen as small as iPads (it's "a shortcoming"), but when (as a product manager for Alienware) I asked them 8 years ago to please start putting TWO DVI ports on a $500 card (instead of one DVI and one VGA), they quipped: but lots of people still have VGA monitors and we don't want to add the cost of a DVI-to-VGA adapter with each card. Then, when asked to PLEASE include at least one HDMI port (not even with audio), they responded: "HDMI is for home theater applications" or "HDMI is for video AND audio" or "it will cost too much extra" or so on and so on.
It's always so easy for them to ridicule others for the things they (others) do, but try to constructively point out how they can make their products better for their own customers and forget about it....
@koneill It's funny how Nvidia itself does not have any 1080p capable Tegra products in the market either...
Is 1080p even needed or required in a tablet, slate or netbook?
I don't think it's necessary.
The iPad does what it can given its shortcomings.
And, I don't think a smartphone needs to have 720p playback in the firstplace.
It should still be portable and a mobile, first and foremost. We're asking too much of our mobile devices and cramming so much into it.
After reading about Flash 10.1 on 'Froyo' Android 2.2 on here on Engadget about the device getting hot after 30 minutes, I don't think the hardware is up there YET to handle full Flash or 1080p video.
Device makers need to be reasonable.
Hey Nvidia, When you come out with a product and sell a million (or millions in the case of Atom netbooks) . then you have all the right to talk smack.
Otherwise just STFU!
@n19htmare That's a bold statement to make without googling NVidia. How about NVidia being one of the top choices in Video card chipsets? NForce, NForce 2? They must have sold a million of something by now. I think they have earned the right to talk smack.
@Andy4
id say multiple millions, i dont know many people who dont have an nvidia graphics card
@Andy4
I wasn't talking about nVidia's GPU market. I was replying to the topics discussed in this article. I know who nVidia is and what it is in the GPU market.
This article is about the Tegra processors. NOT their GPUs.
NVIDIA should walk the walk, not talk the talk. You can criticize the iPad all you want and complain about the lack of Flash and other functions/features but at the end of the day, Apple has sold over 1 million units in the US in 28 days versus NVIDIA having zero products on the market as of now. Sales figures aren't matching up with NVIDIA's claims.
As far as the "iPad set the bar too low", how many Tegra 2 tablets has NVIDIA sold? That's right none. So 1 million units in 28 days is somehow lower than zero units and zero products? Elementary math. Don't get me wrong, I think Apple could have done a lot better, but why bother when there isn't any competition as of now and people are stilling buying them like crazy?
@jckchn Sure, why bother? It's Apple's style anyways. Release a baseline then incrementally add features to followup hardware releases. They're following the same strategy as Nintendo and Sony handheld game consoles.
wow Nvidia talking about setting the bar but they dont have a single tablet out. And if you talk about smartphones what do they have? the Kin??! lol.
That's what you call giving head..lol
Wasn't this guy praising Apple not too long ago. The iPad will continue to evolve, that's inevitable. The webcam, HD output, etc will come. Look at the upgrade from 3G to 3GS. Nvidia and their partners need to put up or shut up.
I would only listen to you NVIDIA until you can make something that surpasses those. So less talking, more doing.
Love reading about all these trash talk. We already see Google teaming up with intel, Sony, and Adobe, trash talking Apple. Will we see Apple teaming up with nVidia (and maybe AMD?)? Popcorn time!
@pika2000
i dont see why apple would team up with nvidia...
and nvidia seem happy enough working with the likes of MS (optimus anyone?) than working with apple, who seem to have got something wrong creating their version of optimus...
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/20/iphone-3gs-totally-capable-of-1080p-video-playback/
"...start showing some real Tegra 2 phones and tablets. "
And netbooks! Please, for crying out loud give us decent ARM netbooks!
Before NVIDIA wants to talk trash, they need to make sure their drivers actually work- I just had to roll back to a previous driver due to a crappy 'upgrade'.
/rant
Camera playback is always nice. Are we also going to assume that tegra 2 can only run on tablets. Whats wrong with htpc or just in a tv. I'm sure there are many potential markets for the product. I dont see why they shouldn't cater for them.
Not needing a feature because current products (ipad) cant use them doesn't mean that no one else will use them and create products that will.
Arrogance isn't aiming high. Its believing that because you cant do it no one can.
For a second, I thought that was the other end of the elephant.
@glennS
Now that's where the AMD equivalent belongs right now...