Few companies hype their SoCs (system on chips) as much as NVIDIA. It’s actually quite disturbing how often they try to remind press people that they’re still around. What’s odd, however, is that no one uses their silicon. The last smartphone, that I can think of at least, that used a Tegra chip was the HTC One X. And even then, the American version used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 because it was simply more power efficient and had a built-in 4G LTE modem.
According to DigiTimes, device makers agree. Using Tegra, specifically the Tegra 4, is pointless. The chip is expensive compared to what MediaTek charges for their products. If you’ve been following the rumors about the next Nexus 7 and the next Surface RT, you’re already familiar with big companies shunning NVIDIA. The first generation of those devices used NVIDIA chips, but it’s widely believed that the second generation will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 instead.
Can NVIDIA turn things around? Maybe. DigiTimes goes on to say that the Tegra 4i, the first Tegra with cellular connectivity bundled, might make companies change their mind. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until 2014 to see whether or not that’s true.
