Nvidia unveils first mobile processor with integrated LTE

From CNET News.com: Nvidia's big chance to expand into smartphones has arrived and it's called Tegra 4i.

The company today unveiled its new mobile chip that integrates its app processor and 4G LTE on the same piece of silicon. The processor, previously codenamed "Project Grey," includes 60 Nvidia GPU cores, a 2.3 GHz quad-core CPU based on ARM Holdings' R4 Cortex-A9 architecture, a fifth low-power CPU core, and a version of Nvidia's i500 LTE modem.

Nvidia expects Tegra 4i to appeal to smartphone makers and help it better address that key market. While the Santa Clara, Calif., company has supplied processors for many different tablets, it has struggled to expand into the handset market, largely because it didn't offer an integrated chip.

"This is a huge step forward for Nvidia," Phil Carmack, senior vice president of the company's mobile business, told CNET. "It's the first time we've had an integrated solution, and it radically changes the market availability for us."

Traditionally known for making graphics processing units found in computers and game consoles, Nvidia has been counting on its Tegra mobile chips to help offset weakness in its core PC market. So far, it hasn't been enough. Its presence in smartphones has been minimal, and the bulk of Tegra sales are for a couple of tablets, the Google Nexus 7 and the Microsoft Surface. In addition, Nvidia now is facing more competition in the tablet market.

The Tegra 4i announcement comes only a few weeks after Nvidia unveiled its updated standalone mobile processor, Tegra 4. Tegra 4i isn't as powerful as its sibling -- Tegra 4 has 72 GPU cores -- but was designed specifically to be power efficient and take up less space in a device.

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