I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving Day yet and already I'm rumor mongering for next year. But this is kind of exciting. IntoMobile (via The Inquirer) is reporting that Microsoft is hard at work on a smartphone based on NVIDIA's Tegra platform. I got a hands-on preview of Tegra at NVIDIA's NVision conference a few months ago, and it was very impressive, indeed. Tegra is an all-in-one mobile chipset that packs some serious computing punch, particularly when it comes to multimedia on the go. The demo I saw featured 720p HD video playing on a Tegra-based handheld device with a very snazzy interactive UI, and running via TV-out cable to a 50" (give or take) HD flat panel at the same time. The video quality was exceptional.
The next generation of Tegra, the Tegra 650 chipset, is set to feature an ARM CPU, ultra-low power GeForce GPU, and separate imaging and audio processors all integrated into a mobile chip that's "up to 10 times" more efficient than its competitors. And we may see Tegra in action on a commercial product as soon as next February: IntoMobile expects Microsoft to debut their NVIDIA-powered phone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and to begin shipping the device "shortly thereafter."
Sweet! Check out the demo from this past August in the video below:
