NVIDIA CEO demos new stylus touchscreen tech, uses Tegra 4 image processing to reduce battery drain

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="NVIDIA CEO demos new stylus touchscreen tech, uses Tegra 4 image processing to reduce battery drain" data-src-height="340" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/06/nvidiastylus2-1370316301.jpg" style="margin: 4px;" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Elaborating from the battery-saving PRISM screen tech that we saw on Tegra 3 devices, the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off a new software-based touchscreen technology that allows you to use a simple capacitive stylus with a degree of pressure-based input. Showing of his writing skills at Computex on an experimental 7-inch tablet, he used a simple (ie. non-digitizer) stylus to write at several different thicknesses, utilizing a flat surface at the other end of the pen to erase any mistakes -- there's sensitivity to the millimeter, apparently. NVIDIA reckons this will improve battery life while using the stylus and offers a high detection rate (thanks to the software-based processes) for slick, curved lines. The primary hardware necessary? No less than NVIDIA's new Tegra 4 chip, of course, and DirectTouch. Check out the gallery of the stylus in action below, and we can expect the company to elaborate on which devices will house the feature in the near-future. </div></div>

NVIDIA CEO demos new stylus touchscreen tech, uses Tegra 4 image processing to reduce battery drain

Elaborating from the battery-saving PRISM screen tech that we saw on Tegra 3 devices, the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off a new softw...

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HP intros the Split x2 Windows hybrid and the Android-based SlateBook x2

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="HP intros the Split x2 Windows hybrid and Android-based SlateBook x2 (hands-on)" data-src-height="411" data-src-width="619" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/dsc02099-1367875432.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The Envy x2 has never been our favorite Windows 8 tablet, but that hasn't stopped HP from selling loads of them. The device has been such a success, in fact, that the company is expanding the x2 series to make room for two follow-on products: the Split x2 (a Windows 8 hybrid) and the SlateBook x2 (an Android tablet). Starting with the Split (pictured above), this is the first time HP's made a laptop / tablet hybrid with a laptop processor inside, though Microsoft and others have of course done this already. In brief, it's a 13-inch slate with a 1,366 x 768 display and your choice of Core i3 or i5 processor (these are Intel's Y-series Ivy Bridge chips we're talking about). As you'd expect, the keyboard dock packs a second battery, though it <em>also</em> makes room for an optional 500GB hard drive to complement the SSD inside the actual tablet. Other specs include two USB ports (one 2.0, one 3.0), HDMI, Beats Audio, WiDi and expansion slots for both microSD and full SD cards.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The SlateBook (shown below) is a 10-inch tablet with a Tegra 4 chip -- one of the first to be announced by any company, in fact. Though it's a companion to the $169 Slate 7, it packs considerably higher-end specs. There's that Tegra 4 SoC, for one, as well as a 1,920 x 1,200, 400-nit IPS display and the latest version of Jelly Bean (4.2.2). As with other dockable tablets, its keyboard has a battery built in. Here, though, the keyboard also includes shortcuts for Google voice search. There's even a laptop-style trackpad supporting multitouch gestures -- a rarity on products like this. The hardware itself weighs about 2.8 pounds in total, with a spec list that includes two USB sockets, stereo speakers and SD / microSD readers. Both products will be available in August, with the Split x2 priced at $800 and the SlateBook x2 going for $480. Now all we need are some battery life claims. In the meantime, check out our hands-on photos below. (<em>Pssst</em>: the Split unit we photographed was just a mockup.)</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><img alt="" height="434" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/05/dsc02351-1367875519.jpg" width="640" /></div>

HP intros the Split x2 Windows hybrid and the Android-based SlateBook x2

The Envy x2 has never been our favorite Windows 8 tablet, but that hasn't stopped HP from selling loads of them. The device has been s...

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Tegra 4 reference tablets use SanDisk iNAND Extreme, mate a fast CPU with fast storage

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><hr dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" /> <div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Tegra 4 reference tablets use SanDisk's iNAND Extreme, match fast chips with fast storage" data-src-height="340" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/sandisk-inand-extreme-32gb.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> It's well established that NVIDIA's Tegra 4 is at least reasonably quick. It's only quick when the storage isn't a bottleneck, however, which is why SanDisk has negotiated a repeat partnership as the official storage supplier for reference Tegra 4 tablets. Pop open one of the designs and you'll find either 16GB or 32GB of SanDisk's iNAND Extreme keeping pace with the quad-core processor. The reference deal may be more than just a publicity grab: it raises the chance that companies will use the speedier flash memory in their own Tegra 4 slates. Whether or not SanDisk makes it to shipping devices, the deal could lead to balanced tablet hardware that seldom leaves us waiting.</div><div class="open" dir="ltr" id="pr_box" style="text-align: left;"> <div id="pr_box_button">Hide Press Release</div><div id="pr_text"> <em>SanDisk iNAND Extreme Optimized to Provide 'Extreme' Speed and Responsiveness for Next-Generation Tablets</em><br /> <em>MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2013, Barcelona, February 25, 2013 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that the iNAND Extreme™ Embedded Flash Drive (EFD) supports tablet reference designs based on the NVIDIA® Tegra® 4 – the world's fastest mobile processor1. Optimized for use in the tablets powered by Tegra 4, iNAND Extreme delivers an outstanding user experience by enhancing processing performance and providing reliable, high-quality digital storage.</em><br /> <em>Tegra 4-based tablet reference designs offer a technical "recipe" for mobile device developers using the new mobile processor from NVIDIA, significantly accelerating the process of developing powerful new tablets.</em><br /> <em>With tens of millions of mobile applications downloaded every day worldwide2, smartphones and tablets are increasingly an essential part of today's smart digital lifestyle. The demand for mobile platforms with more computing capability, responsiveness and reliability continues to skyrocket.</em><br /> <em>"We knew we needed to offer an outstanding SanDisk flash memory storage solution to match up to NVIDIA's impressive Tegra 4 processor," said Drew Henry, senior vice president, OEM marketing, SanDisk. "Our iNAND Extreme product provides tremendous storage performance and high reliability to the NVIDIA Tegra 4 platform, drawing on SanDisk's 25-year legacy of enabling the industry's most innovative digital devices."</em><br /> <em>Incorporating 72 custom NVIDIA GeForce GPU cores and the first quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU, Tegra 4 delivers record-level performance, outstanding graphics, and great battery life to mobile devices. Featuring an advanced controller, the iNAND Extreme EFD dramatically enhances the sequential and random performance for applications running on Tegra 4, enabling users to load web pages faster, launch and enjoy applications at blazing fast speeds, and store more digital content. For shutterbugs, iNAND Extreme improves photography application performance on mobile devices with Tegra 4, allowing even quicker multi-shot and faster image capture and store. The innovative iNAND Extreme EFD is included in Tegra 4 tablet reference designs in capacities ranging from 16GB to 32GB3.</em><br /> <em>"By pairing Tegra 4 with the iNAND Extreme, smartphone and tablet makers can create faster, quicker mobile devices with an even better consumer experience," said Phil Carmack, senior vice president, mobile business unit, NVIDIA.</em><br /> <em>iNAND Extreme is built on SanDisk's 19 nanometer (nm) process technology, the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing process4, and is designed for use in next-generation tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices. iNAND Extreme significantly improves multimedia synchronization speeds, file-transfer rates, and operating-system responsiveness.</em><br /> </div></div></div>

Tegra 4 reference tablets use SanDisk iNAND Extreme, mate a fast CPU with fast storage

It's well established that NVIDIA's Tegra 4 is at least reasonably quick. It's only quick...

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NVIDIA Tegra 4 benchmarked, breaks all sorts of speed records

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="image-container" dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="NVIDIA Tegra 4 benchmarked, breaks all sorts of speed records video" data-src-height="412" data-src-width="546" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/02/dsc05202-1361706877.jpg" /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> When NVIDIA unveiled Tegra 4 back at CES, we scrambled to get hands-on with a reference device. And though our initial performance impressions were positive -- it runs 1080p video and games smoothly -- there was only so much we could say to illustrate how fast the performance is. After all, Tegra 3 already does a fine job handling games and full HD movies. What we <em>really</em> needed were benchmarks, some quantitative data to help show the difference between Tegra 4 devices and whatever's currently on the market. Fortunately for all of you, we just got our chance: here at Mobile World Congress, the company has reference tablets set up expressly for the purpose of running tests. So, we did just that... over and over and over until we had a long list of scores. Meet us after the break to see how it fared.</div><table class="table table-striped" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <thead><tr> <th style="text-align: left;"> </th> <th style="text-align: left;"> Tegra 4 reference tablet</th> <th style="text-align: left;"> Sony Xperia Tablet S (Tegra 3)</th> <th style="text-align: left;"> ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity (Tegra 3)</th> </tr></thead> <tbody><tr> <td> <strong>Quadrant (v2)</strong></td> <td> 16,436</td> <td> 4,349</td> <td> 4,685</td> </tr><tr> <td> <strong>AnTuTu </strong></td> <td> 36,305</td> <td> 11,301<br /> </td> <td> 12,027</td> </tr><tr> <td> <strong>SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms)</strong></td> <td> 499</td> <td> 1,608<br /> </td> <td> 2,012</td> </tr><tr> <td> <strong>CF-Bench</strong></td> <td> 41,325</td> <td> 12,625</td> <td> 7,874</td> </tr><tr> <td colspan="4"> <small>SunSpider: lower scores are better</small></td> </tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> As you can see, those numbers are pretty impressive, but before we go any further, we feel compelled to offer a little disclaimer. Ideally, we would have had some of our older Tegra 3 review units with us here in Spain -- you know, the Sony Xperia Tablet S, the ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity, maybe even the Acer Iconia A700. Basically, other 10-inch Android tablets with quad-core processors. Unfortunately, we didn't have them on hand, so we couldn't re-run the benchmarks on those devices with the latest software installed. That would have made for the best comparison, and we plan to do just that when we eventually start reviewing some Tegra 4 products.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Still. C'mon. Just <em>look</em> at those benchmark scores. Even if we were to repeat all of our benchmark tests on those older tablets, we're pretty sure a software upgrade would not be enough to help these older tablets match Tegra 4, or even come close. Quadrant scores in the 16,000s? CF-Bench results in the 40,000 range? All unheard of.</div><blockquote class="quote right" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Just <em>look</em> at those benchmark scores.</blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Particularly stunning was that SunSpider result, which should give you a strong idea of what you can expect in terms of web browsing performance. In short, the tablet chewed through all that code in just 499ms (keep in mind that lower numbers are better in this particular test). To give you some perspective, the iPad 4 scores an average of 865ms in the test. So if you enjoy the web browsing experience on your iPad, you're going to be pretty pleased what NVIDIA has to offer here. Put differently, when we ran SunSpider on a laptop, the desktop version of Chrome achieved a score of 188.8ms -- we're used to seeing a much bigger gap between desktop and mobile browsers.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> In addition to letting us benchmark our hearts out, NVIDIA showed us a demo of that same reference tablet hooked up to the same sort of power meter OEMs use to measure power consumption. As you can see in the video below, we've got a 1080p video running, with the power rating hovering around 950 milliwatts, compared to 1.2 watts on some other 1080p devices. The result, says Matt Wuebbling, director of Tegra product marketing, is an extra two hours of battery life compared to the competition. Of course, we can't take his word for it -- we'll just have to wait until we get our first Tegra 4 phone in to review. If nothing else, though, that clip below gives you another chance to see how Tegra 4 handles full HD movies. Take 'er away, and stay tuned for some proper reviews -- hopefully in the not-too-distant future.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <strong>Update</strong>: We decided to remove Tegra 4's GLBench score (57 fps) from the comparison table because the older tablets listed there were benchmarked using a different version of that test. Suffice to say, though, NVIDIA says a score of 57 fps in that benchmark is typical for a Tegra 4 device.</div></div>

NVIDIA Tegra 4 benchmarked, breaks all sorts of speed records

When NVIDIA unveiled Tegra 4 back at CES, we scrambled to get hands-on with a reference device. And though our initial performance impres...

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