NVIDIA Tegra 2 twice as fast as the original?
updated 03:10 pm EST, Thu November 5, 2009
Tegra 2 may go dual-core, use ARM9
A source today claims the sequel to NVIDIA's Tegra mobile processor could muster double the performance of the original. The new chip is purported by "high ranking" industry contacts to be switching from an ARM7 architecture to the much newer ARM9 and also to use a dual-core design. Combined with improvements to the graphics core, the updated Tegra would be roughly twice as fast overall.
Its release window is only described by Fudzilla as sometime in 2010 but is unlikely to reach shipping products early in the year. The original Tegra only just began finding use in the Zune HD as of September and has yet to reach most any shipping device besides media players.
A leap of the sort is a potential breakthrough for mobile devices, as Tegra chips can already play 720p HD video and in as yet untapped variants already plays 1080p. Large speed increases should make 1080p feasible for media players and cellphones as well as improve 3D graphics and multitasking.
