Nvidia delays Tegra 4 launch
Nvidia (NVDA) says it will delay the launch of its Tegra 4 processor and accelerate the launch of the Tegra 4i, which integrates an LTE modem. Nvidia calls the Tegra 4 the world’s fastest mobile processor, a claim that has been supported by independent analysts. But the company clearly sees that chip speed is not enough and wants to come to market with product that can take full advantage of the fastest network speeds. It says it chose to delay the launch of the Tegra 4 in order to focus resources on the LTE version (4i) and get that to market faster.
Nvidia told investors that with these schedule changes its Tegra business will be “about flat” this year. However, the company continues to generate plenty of cash and says it will return $1 billion to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and dividend payments, in addition to the previously announced $100 million in share repurchases and $100 million in stock buybacks.
Intel expands support for HTML 5
The world’s largest chipmaker has launched the Intel HTML5 Development Environment last week at IDF Beijing. The company says the goal is to help developers create apps that can run across multiple device types and operating systems. HTML5 is an open source programming language that facilitates the creation of apps that can run across different platforms. Intel (INTC) has an interest in the growth and success of iOS, Android, Windows, BlackBerry and Mozilla as it works to grow its mobile processor business. It says developers can access the HTML5 Development Environment for free from the Intel Developer Zone.
Freescale showcases SDN
The Open Networking Summit takes place in Santa Clara this week, and Freescale (FSL) is taking the opportunity to demonstrate its software defined networking solutions. The company says its QorIQ processors and VortiQa software support OpenFlow version 1.3 with L4-L7 extensions for broader networking functionality. The OpenFlow protocol offers network operators a programmable interface to manage network traffic.
Freescale is also showcasing network function virtualization (NFV) solutions at the Open Networking Summit. The company says NFV seeks to implement network functions such as load-balancing, firewalling and deep packet inspection on virtualized compute hardware platforms, which can further leverage SDN standardization efforts.
