Tegra series is a system-on-chip developed by NVIDIA. Compare the first generation of Tegra (Tegra 1), which is based on ARM11 design, NVIDIA skipped ARM Cortex A8 design, and went straight to Cortex A9 design(faster that Cortex A8!)
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Cortex A9 is expected to significantly outperform Cortext A8 based processors but currently no benchmark results exist to prove this yet (well, almost - read further). Currently no smartphones on the market are using Cortex A9 based processors. Future Cortex A9 based processors include 3rd generation Qualcomm processors, Samsung's Orion and Texas Instrument's OMAP 4 platform.
more info about Tegra ,check out :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_Tegra
Tegra 2's GPU core is NVIDIA's own design. It is essentially the same design as the one found in Tegra 1, but faster. NVIDIA claims about 2-3x the performance improvement. I believe it since the bandwidth alone between the processor and the memory increased 2x.
They also claim far less power consumption when Tegra 2 chip is decoding music and video compare to Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors. If this is true, Tegra 2 based phones will last significantly longer when listening music and watching YouTube video.
So what makes Tegra 2 CPU core go fast? This is really asking a question of what makes ARM Cortex A9 fast. ARM has implemented out-of-order execution on its dual-issue pipeline. It also features a shorter pipeline which helps complete instructions faster. Cortex A9 is expected to feature significantly better IPC (instructions per clock) than Cortex A8. I
1GHz Cortex A9 core will perform significantly better than 1GHz Cortex A8 core (about 25% improvement!). And on top, Cortex A9 is known to clock well - up to 2GHz. However, whether NVIDIA can scale other components in Tegra 2 will be a separate question all together.
Comparison Between Cortex A9 and Cortex A8
1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 will destroy any 1GHz single-core Cortex A8 based processors. Also, NVIDIA's design can be extended to quad-core packaging. Eventually, we may see a quad-core Tegra 2 processors if there is a market for it.What we are seeing here, is essentially a repeat of the evolution of the desktop processors in a smaller, more efficient package.
Tegra 2 Can be found on the following tablets PC...Price might dropped as time goes by.check out the latest price at respective website.
- Motorola Xoom WiFi [RRP - US$599] (Costco.com)
- Motorola Xoom 3G (CDMA) [RRP -US$799] (Verizon Wireless)
- Motorola Xoom 4G (WiMAX) [RRP - N/A]
- Toshiba Folio AS100 [RRP - RM1599]
- T-Mobile G-Slate (aka LG Optimus Pad) [RRP - US$750] without contract (T-Mobile USA)
- Acer Iconia A100 16GB [RRP - 299.00 pounds] (Amazon.co.uk)
- Acer Iconia A500 32GB (RRP - US$450)
- ASUS Eee Pad Slider [RRP - N/A]
- Asus Eee Pad Transformer 16GB no keyboard [RM1498.00]
- Asus Eee Pad Transformer Keyboard (RM301.00)
- Asus Eee Pad Transformer 32GB no keyboard [RRP - US$499]
- Dell Streak 7 [RRP - USD 449.99]
- ViewSonic G Tablet [RRP - USD 279.99]
- Toshiba ANT-100 (Thrive/Regza), 8GB [RRP - US$450 (Newegg.com)]
- Toshiba ANT-100 (Thrive/Regza), 16GB [RRP - US$500 (Newegg.com)]
- Toshiba ANT-100 (Thrive/Regza), 32GB [RRP - US$580 (Newegg.com)]
- Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet (also known as Think Slate - 3G & 4G) [RRP - USD 499.00]
- Sony S1 9.4" Display, 3G & 4G [RRP - TBA]
- Sony S2 2x 5.5" Display, 3G & 4G [RRP - TBA]
Tegra 2 specification And Key Features:
* 1080p H.264/VC-1/MPEG-4 Video Decode
* 1080p H.264 Video Encode
* True dual-display support
* 1080p (1920x1080) HDMI 1.3 capable
* WSXGA+ (1680x1050) LCD capable
* NTSC/PAL TV output
What We Found on Tegra 2
# Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU — The world's first mobile dual-core CPU for faster Web browsing, snappier response time, and overall better performance. The Cortex-A9 is the first mobile CPU with out of order execution for more efficient processing, resulting in a better overall experience.
# Ultra-low power (ULP) GeForce GPU — Architected for low-power applications, the ULP GeForce GPU delivers outstanding mobile 3D game playability and a visually engaging, highly-responsive 3D user interface.
Specifications:
| Processor | |
| CPU | Dual-Core ARM Cortex A9 |
| Frequency | 1 GHz, per core |
| L2 Cache | 1 MB |
| L1 Cache (I/D) | (32KB / 32KB) per core |
| Memory | |
| Frequency | DDR2-667 (Tegra 250) LPDDR2-600 (Tegra 230 and Tegra 250) |
| Memory Size | Up to 1GB |
GPU | |
| Architecture | ULP GeForce |
| Cores | 8 |
| Fully Programmable | Yes |
| OpenGL ES Version | 2 |
| OpenVG | 1.1 |
| EGL | 1.4 |
Video (1080p) | |
| Decode | H.264 VC-1 AP MPEG2 MPEG-4 DivX 4/5 XviD HT H.263 Theora VP8 WMV Sorenson Spark Real Video VP6 |
| Encode | H.264 MPEG4 H.263 VP8 |
| Video Teleconference (VTC) | H.264 MPEG4 H.263 VP8 |
| Audio | |
| Decode | AAC-LC AAC+ eAAC+ MP3 MP3 VBR WAV/PCM AMR-NB AMR-WB BSAC MPEG-2 Audio Vorbis WMA 9 WMA Lossless WMA Pro G.729a * G.711 * QCELP * EVRC * * Through third party |
| Encode | AAC LC AAC+ eAAC+ PCM/WAV AMR-NB AMR-WB |
| Imaging | |
| Primary Camera | 12 MP |
| Secondary Camera | 5 MP |
| Mpixel/s | 150 |
| Digital Zoom | Up to 16x |
| JPEG Decoding/Encoding | 80MP/sec |
| Still image stabilitization | Yes |
| Video stabilization | Yes |
| Features | Auto Exposure Auto White Balance Auto Focus Lens Shading 9th order De-Mosaic Sharpening Programmable De-Noise |
| MIPI CSI | Yes |
Display | |
| Display Controllers | 2 simultaneous |
| HDMI 1.3 | 1920x1080 |
| LCD | 1024x600 (Tegra 230) 1680x1050 (Tegra 250) |
| CRT | 1280x1024 (Tegra 230) 1600x1200 (Tegra 250) |
| MIPI DSI | Yes |
Package | |
| Package | 12x12 PoP (Tegra 230 and Tegra 250) 23x23 BGA (Tegra 250) |
| Process | 40 nm |
Ref Sources:
http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-a/cortex-a9.php
