Acer, AsusTek, Toshiba, and Samsung all to use Tegra 2 for 2011 Tablet Offerings
DigiTimes have just dropped word that some of the world’s major consumer electronics manufacturers – Asustek, Acer, Toshiba, and Samsung – will be adopting NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 dual-core chipset for use in tablets starting next year. While none of these manufacturers have specifically targeted any launch windows, we’re going to assume that at least Samsung and Toshiba aren’t aiming for Q1.
But Samsung is expected to use the Tegra 2 in their flagship Galaxy devices, according to analysts via Forbes. It’s quite the claim considering Samsung’s been developing a dual-core chip of their own which most people expect will go into their own products, just as the Hummingbird did with the Galaxy S and Tab.
We already knew LG and Motorola – even bigger names than some on the list above – were in on it, but Samsung joining that list comes as a bit of a shocker for their Galaxy line. When NVIDIA’s CEO Jen-Hsun mentioned last month that Samsung was among their list of most important partners, we figured Samsung were looking to put the technology to work in their internet-connected televisions, blu-ray players, and netbooks.
Unfortunately for Samsung, their competitors will have beat them to the table if they don’t have a product ready to launch in Q1: Motorola is expected to show their Honeycomb tablet and phone off at the upcoming CES trade show, LG already has phones announced and ready for release in a few regions, and they could easily steal any thunder Samsung planned to roll.
If Samsung is indeed planning to unveil a Tegra 2 Honeycomb tablet for Q1 or early Q2, expect to see them doing it at the Mobile World Congress in February or at the big CTIA show in March, just as they did their Galaxy S line. The rumor of a Galaxy Tab refresh coming in Q1 is already roaming the interwebs, and this might be the first bit of concrete confirmation we’ve gotten to support those claims.