[CES 2013] Earlier today we mentioned Vizio was introducing its first Windows 8 tablet, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some Android-related news for us as well.

Vizio has now announced a new 7-inch tablet featuring a Tegra 3 processor and pure Android experience without the bloat. Interestingly enough, one of the key features of the Windows 8 tablet was it was also a pure Windows 8 experience, with no vendor-specific junk thrown in.

Besides a Tegra 3 processor, we also know the new tablet will feature Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 16GB of storage, and a 1.2MP front-facing camera.  Vizio has focused on keeping their tablet small so it can be easily operated with one hand like that of the Kindle series e-readers.

There continues to be a massive push by various vendors into the 7-inch market, and many of these options are very competitively priced. As for Vizio? The tablet is expected to drop in the first half of the year, but we have no info on price tag just yet.

Looking for something with a bit more OOMPH? A Tegra 4 10-incher has also been announced by Vizio, though no specifics on price or launch date.

[ source ]

The post Vizio 7-inch Tegra 3 Tablet Features Stock Android Experience appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

That’s exactly what Laptop Mag wanted to find out, so they pit the new iPad against the Tegra 3-powered Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime. First, they ran GLBenchmark 2.1. This revealed that the A5X on the iPad 3 was able to render twice as many frames per second on the Egypt test and it was able to handle more than four times as many texels (texture pixels). So, for pure graphical prowess, the A5X seems like the winner.

However, when they had a look at integer and floating point performance, the Tegra 3 blew the A5X out of the water. It also outclassed Apple’s chip for memory performance, with the exception of memory bandwidth.

But what about the real world? They played Shadowgun and Riptide GP on both tablets and, well, it’s a mixed bag. The Retina display on the iPad provided crisper text and better colors, but the Asus had some visual effects not present in the Apple-friendly version of the games. Check out the video below.

[Source]

The post Benchmarked and Compared: NVIDIA Tegra 3 vs. Apple A5X appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

While HTC has plans to release their newly unveiled S4 powered One S (T-Mobile) and One X (AT&T version) within the next two months, Microsoft is reportedly busy testing a Windows Phone 8 smartphone, which is intended for Sprint’s network, with the dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset. The new info comes to us courtesy of the folks over at The Verge who were apparently tipped off by “sources familiar with the company’s plans”.

According to The Verge, at least one Windows Phone 8 handset will arrive later this year and the company is hoping that their device will exhibit impressive performance with the chip onboard as the S4 has been proven to be better than Samsung’s Galaxy S II (Exynos) and Motorola’s Droid 4 (TI OMAP) via many tests.

Reportedly, Sprint is interested in a Windows Phone 8 handset equipped with the chip and won’t be launching any new Windows phones before the introduction of WP8. The carrier has also contacted Nokia for sharing their LTE specifications.

But it is not known whether Microsoft will be checking out the quad-core Tegra 3 processor on the global version of the HTC One X. Although Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 has done remarkably well on previous tests, the latest benchmarks of the HTC One series show that the Tegra 3 is on par with S4 in processing power, and it actually is better when it comes to graphics performance.

The idea of multi-core processor support for future Windows Phones can never be pushed aside after this leak. And Qualcomm, when asked about the possibility of Windows Phone S4 devices, gave out answers that suggest they know about Microsoft’s tests.

We will keep you updated on the matter, so stay tuned.

The post Windows Phone 8 Dual-Core Smartphone For Sprint Being Tested? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

As expected, HTC has just introduced their Quad-core Tegra 3 handset and the flagship phone appears to be one of the most impressive Android devices ever designed. The One X, which will be part of the company’s new “One” series, comes with awesome specs.

HTC’s One series is basically what the Galaxy series is to Samsung. And HTC has come out with their latest line after listening to feedback and taking a decision to change their strategy completely. And they appear to have delivered.

The HTC One X boasts a beautiful 720p 4.7-inch Super LCD2 display which provides vibrant and bright colors. The screen performed well in bright sunlight and the viewing angles are good as well. The 312ppi screen is no iPhone 4S display, but it surely is very pretty.

Gizmodo says the handset feels very comfortable in the hands as it features a curved back and is light (but strong) since its body is made out of a machined polycarbonate. The device is one of the fastest they have ever played with all thanks to its 1.5GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor. The applications were launching and running smoothly, and multi-tasking is impressive. As you might know, this is the same Tegra 3 seen in the Transformer Prime, and therefore it’s expected to do well. But we will be taking a closer look at its performance later on.

The phone also boasts Beats by Dre audio, 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (and 25GB of free Dropbox storage for two years), NFC, a front-facing 1.3MP shooter (supports 720p video chat), a 1800mAh battery, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Sense 4.0 UI, and comes with 4G LTE.

Many of you out there might not be too excited about Sense, but the new version appears to be quite interesting, although we will have to do a thorough inspection before the final verdict. The device’s rear 8MP camera has “the best optics and sensor (they’ve) ever used“. We will be checking out that later but we do know that it will do well in low light conditions with f2.0. And HTC’s new ImageChip (a secondary processor exclusively for image processing) will make sure that you shoot 1080p video while simultaneously take full resolution stills.

And if you are interested in watching a movie or playing a game on your TV using the phone, the HTC MediaLink, an HDMI dongle, will be  what does it.

HTC is promising that the ONE X will arrive within the next 60 days. It will be available in white or black exclusively from AT&T. No hints on the price, but we are expecting $200-$300 on contract.

The post MWC 2012: HTC One X appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

At CES this week, Cyberlink announced its brand new Android device application, PowerDirector Mobile. The new Mobile version of PowerDirector is optimized for use with NVIDIA’s new quad-core Tegra 3 mobile processor, enabling high-peformance video editing experience to the ARM platform on your Tegra 3 tablet.

The release of PowerDirector Mobile for Android is a major step for ARM processors, up until now there really wasn’t an acceptable video editing solution for mobile platforms like Android.

Here is a break down of just a few features that the PowerDirector Mobile app has to offer:

• Real-time HD video decoding optimized for maximum bus speed, providing two simultaneous 1080p video real-time decode capability.
• Theme-base video editing with transition and video effects. Users can create pro-like movies in minutes using their content along with professionally designed templates.
• 4-thread optimization with unparalleled performance, enabling:
• Live preview of multiple HD video in real-time
• Accelerated real-time video frame composition
• Faster video production with unprecedented encoding speed

PowerDirector Mobile for Android is currently only available for hardware bundling partners, which means that only specific models that utilize Tegra3 and have a partnership with Cyberlink will get this software. Still, this is a big step forward for video editing on the go and hopefully one day it will be an app we can all download.

The post First Images Of Cyberlink’s Android Video Editing App: PowerDirector Mobile appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

There’s a lesson to be learned in the video game industry these days. Nostalgia is lucrative. Just take what was once a successful formula, jazz it up with some prettier graphics, retain the classic style gameplay, and you’ve got yourself a winner. Street Fighter did it. Mario Kart did it. And so did Sonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 has been pretty big for Sega, but they skipped out on the Android love for that title. That’s changing for the next chapter, as Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II is being launched on Android some time this year. They’re saying that the game will be made available to Tegra 3 devices, allowing gamers to take full advantage of the “improved architecture” of the new chip, getting more graphically-intense action for the speedy blue devil.

For now, the only officially announced Android device with NVIDIA Tegra 3 is the Asus Transformer Prime tablet, but I’m sure a huge slate of Tegra 3 devices will be unveiled next week at CES. I imagine a slightly less graphically intense version of S4:EII will be available for the rest of us Android folk too, plus the versions for iOS and home consoles. I’m just waiting for a graphically-intense version of Columns.

Here’s the teaser trailer.

The post Sega Promises Sonic 4: Episode II For Tegra 3 Android Devices appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Tegra 2 processor from NVIDIA has found itself in a huge assortment of smartphones and tablets, quickly becoming one of the most preferred dual core chips for that segment. Even though Tegra 2 is still relatively new, Tegra 3 is just around the corner and it looks like Asus could be getting first dibs at Kal-El.

As you may recall, Kal-El (inspired by Superman) is the codename for Tegra3 and it’s part of a longer roadmap with more superhero-inspired codenames. What we’re hearing now is that the first device to launch with Tegra 3 will be the next-generation Asus Eee Pad Transformer Android tablet. The current (first) gen Eee Pad Transformer has been a huge hit, partly because it undercut similar devices like the Xoom and Galaxy Tab 10.1 by $100 or more right at launch. Now, the others have had to follow it down to the $399 start point.

I’d imagine that Asus will be very happy to follow up that success with an even faster tablet powered by the quad-core 40nm Tegra 3 chip. What’s interesting is that the quad-core chip is actually more efficient than its dual-core Tegra 2 cousin, consuming less power and thus extending battery life. Considering that I can easily get three days out of the Eee Pad Transformer I’ve been using (when attached to the keyboard dock), the second-gen model with Kal-El is sounding even more appealing.

Look for the Eee Pad Transformer 2 and its other Tegra 3-based compatriots to start hitting retailers in the first quarter of next year.

The post Asus Eee Pad Transformer 2 first to get NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core processor appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Nvidia’s newest SoC, dubbed Kal-El is a stunning combination between a quad-core CPU and a 12-core GPU able to offer amazing dynamic lightning and movement performances.  Kal-El is part the Tegra 3 architecture bringing four 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 cores on a single processor and a 12-core Nvidia GPU able to render 3D stereo, all crammed on the same chip.  As surprising as it might seem, this killer combination has been particularly designed for smartphones and tablets, not your big ole desktop computer.

Nvidia announced the Kal-El project at MWC in Barcelona in February, but the first Kal-El tablets will be delivered in August. Smartphone consumers will have to wait a bit longer since Kal-El smartphones will only ship nearer to the end of 2011. Motorola might be the first company to produce Tegra 3-powered tablets, rumors suggest the Xoom 2 may be a likely candidate.

Kal-El has shown its capabilities in the “Glowball” game where it generated great dynamic light effects and realistic physics in real time. The way light rays sway on the floor and the drapes wave as the ball touches them is just mind-blowing.  Clearly, graphics generated by a quad-core processor is much better than that provided by regular dual-core CPUs. As for the iPad 2, it is highly unlikely that Apple’s A 5 processor equals Kal-El’s graphics quality.

The post Quad-Core Android Tablet Demo Video Unveiled By NVIDIA appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It feels like only yesterday that we were all drooling over the performance capabilities of NVIDIA Tegra 2 and how its dual-coreness blows single-cores out of the water. Well, get ready to be blown away again, this time by NVIDIA’s Project Kal-El. Superman fans probably get the reference.

Realistically thought of as the Tegra 2 successor, Kal-El will be the world’s first mobile quad-core CPU. NVIDIA is already sending out samples and they expect Android devices will start getting released with Kal-El under the hood this August. That’s crazy acceleration, don’t you think? Remember that both Qualcomm and TI OMAP5 aren’t going to show up on devices until 2012.

With Project Kal-El, we can expect five times the performance of Tegra 2, support for “extreme HD” (2560×1600), and silky smooth 60fps gaming on the go (compared to just 20fps on Tegra 2). In a CoreMark benchmark, Kal-El actually outperformed a true Intel Core2Duo T7200 processor by a score of 11,354 vs. 10,136.

But wait. There’s more. NVIDIA revealed its roadmap for the next few years, following up Kal-El by Wayne in 2012, Logan in 2013, and Stark in 2014. Project Stark is expected to deliver 100x the performance of Tegra 2 and that’s just three years from now. It’s a good time for mobile enthusiasts and it’ll be really interesting to see how Qualcomm and TI respond to NVIDIA’s bold moves.

The post Quad-Core Kal-El Android Devices Coming This August appeared first on Mobile Magazine.