Nvidia to Unveil Tegra 2 with 3D, Tegra 3 with Four Cores

Early last year, Nvidia formally unveiled the 40nm Tegra 2 processor that combines a dual-core ARM (News - Alert) Cortex A9 core at up to 1 GHz clock speeds with Nvidia graphics to power a number of HD tablets, netbooks and smartphones.

Based on a leaked slideshow screenshot, PCMag.com reports that  the graphics leader is preparing to unveil Tegra 2 3D processor at this year's Mobile World Congress in mid-February in Barcelona, Spain.

In fact, according to this report, two versions of the Tegra 2 3D processor chips are in the works. An AP25 version is aimed at mobile phones and a T25 model will target tablets. According to the leaked slides, writes PCMag.com, Nvidia expects that its processor will be able to hit 5,520 million instructions per second (MIPS). That is 520 more MIPS as compared to 1 GHz Tegra 2 chip.

The report also suggests that LG's G-Slate could be one of the first products to exploit Tegra 2 3D processor. According to the PCMag.com write-up, a spokesman for LG France has indicated that the G-Slate was expected to have a glasses-free, 3D display. Also, it is expected to debut around the same time Tegra 2 3D chips will be demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) in Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Mashable’s Charlie White reports that Tegra 3 launch is due any time now, probably at next month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This guess is based on a quote from Nvidia's general manager of Tegra, Mike Rayfield, in an interview with Hexus.

"I'm going to come pretty close to my cadence of a launch every year," Rayfield said. "It will be in production around the same time as my competitors' first dual-cores will."

As per the Mashable report, Tegra 3 supports four cores to further boost browsing and gaming on tablets and smartphones. In addition, writes White, multiple cores can run at half speed to accomplish the same tasks that a single core requires at full speed, further conserving power to enhance battery life.

Want to learn more about 4G wireless technologies? Then be sure to attend the 4GWE Conference, collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) ITEXPO East, taking place Feb 2-4, 2011, in Miami. The 4GWE Conference provides unmatched networking opportunities and a robust conference program representing the wireless ecosystem. The conference not only brings together the best and brightest in the wireless industry, it actually spans the communications and technology industry. To register, click here.