NVIDIA Tegra Note

Nvidia have been on a roll lately, first with the top caliber Nvidia Shield, a portable Android-based gaming handheld console. And now, they’ve confirmed the Tegra Note, a 7-inch tablet whose specs and price tag is poised to try to beat the Nexus 7 at its own game. Why is that?

First, it comes with vanilla Android, i.e. AOSP (or at least the way I interpret it) . They didn’t specify which version, other than “the latest version of Android”, so I’m guessing it’s 4.3, though KitKat would be a pleasant surprise. While the tablet will be made by different partner manufacturers, all OTA updates will come from Nvidia directly, again, just like how Nexus updates are set up.Tegra-Note-back

Other hardware specs aren’t too shabby, what with the latest version of the Tegra processor at its heart. RAM, screen, and internal memory are a bit of a downer, though, with only 1GB, 720p, and 16GB, respectively. In contrast, the new Nexus 7 has 2GB RAM, 1080p resolution, and 16 – 32GB internal memory. However, Nvidia ups the ante by providing microSD support for up to an additional 32GB. If we’re able to install apps onto the mSD, then the smaller internal storage would certainly be less of an issue. There’s no spec on the battery but we’re being promised 10 hours of continuous HD video playback.

The “Note” moniker is also warranted, with it having a stylus, a la Samsung’s Galaxy Note series. Nvidia promises that it won’t be an afterthought or a half-baked gimmick. The tablet will come with apps out of the box that will fully utilize the feature.

The icing on the cake is, of course, the price. Nvidia says the price starts at $199, definitely out for Nexus 7’s blood (maybe for using Snapdragon instead of Tegra, my theory, BTW). Notice that I put an emphasis on “starts”. We may be getting different versions, though I would guess that the difference would ONLY be the amount of internal storage space (Nexus 7 has the same setup, with 16 and 32GB versions). If that’s true, then the Tegra Note is a definite contender in being the King of 7-inchers.

[Source: Official Nvidia Blog]

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