The mobile CPU is at the moment, the most important part of any gadget. It ensures that the device runs like 10 Hours (ARM processor) or is a disaster. The big boys (Intel and ARM) are at the moment the dominant players in the market and have become the norm.
NVIDIA however is most well known for being a graphics card manufacturer that also make a few chips for tablet devices. The Tegra CPU can be seen as a system on a chip solution which is found on various tablets, smart phones and PDA’s. NVIDIA have made a bet on an Engish company called Icera. The bet is a very big one ($367 million) and can potentially be seen as a way for them to compete more closely with Qualcomm.
As a result of this acquisition we have two of the most important processors in mobile computing,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia’s CEO.
This also shows that NVIDIA is trying to become a bigger player in the mobile market. Icera currently develops wireless baseband processors that allow mobile phones to connect to 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. So NVIDIA has a CPU (Tegra) and a wireless processor to provide to their manufacturing partners. I have to ask and this is speculation; are NVIDIA contemplating building their own devices or will they continue being a supplier? Secondly, will ARM and Intel respond to this in any manner? Time will tell but the $367 million illustrates how serious NVIDIA is in being more than a graphics card manufacturer.
