Hasta La Gadget!

Between slagging each other off with cartoons like the one above and taking each other to court over chipset licenses, there’s been no love lost between NVIDIA and Intel over the past few years — but it looks like the war is over. The two companies just announced a new six-year cross-licensing deal that will see Intel paying NVIDIA a total of $1.5b over the next five years for access to NVIDIA’s technology, while also giving NVIDIA a license to some of Intel’s patents. The two companies have also agreed to drop all pending litigation, because you know, they’re now friends who just exchanged a billion and half dollars. Crucially, Intel won’t give up rights to x86, flash memory or “certain chipsets,” so we don’t really know if this agreement allows NVIDIA to produce integrated graphics for Sandy Bridge — although most manufacturers are going with an Optimus-style discrete / integrated switchable arrangement that pairs Intel’s on-die graphics with a discrete NVIDIA chip anyway, so we’re not so sure it actually matters. We would love to see NVIDIA support Intel’s Wireless Display 2.0 and the new Insider 1080p movie service, though — and if these two coming closer together results in better Intel on-board graphics that can rival AMD Fusion, well, things will get very interesting indeed. Oh, the possibilities of peace.

P.S.- And seriously, what a turnaround for NVIDIA at CES: it’s gone from being the company that was going nowhere with Tegra to completely dominating the Android landscape with Tegra 2, finding its way into all sorts of cars, and upending the desktop processor space with Project Denver — all while pocketing $1.5b of Intel’s cash. Not bad work for one Mr. Jen-Hsun Huang.

Update: NVIDIA just said on its press call that it has “no intentions to build chipsets for Intel processors,” and that Intel will be able to use NVIDIA’s technology in Sandy Bridge, so we suppose that answers that question.

Continue reading Intel agrees to pay NVIDIA $1.5b in patent license fees, signs cross-license

Intel agrees to pay NVIDIA $1.5b in patent license fees, signs cross-license originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another automaker getting on the bus with 4G? Yes, it’s Audi, who doesn’t actually make busses but is the latest to announce its LTE intentions, though not exactly what it intends to do with it. Mobile SkypeHD video calling? They wouldn’t be the first. Audi has also indicated that its 2009 partnership with Elektrobit, dubbed e.solutions, is coming to fruition. The result is a way to build a layer of abstraction between the car and the hardware running the infotainment system. Currently Audi is down with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 but obviously that’s not going to be the new hotness forever, the idea being that users could swap out units at their dealers whenever they want a taste of what’s new and good. You know how you pulled the factory head unit and its big, scratched up knobs out of your ride in ’96 and threw in that Clarion unit with all the blinkenlights? Like that — but probably a lot more expensive.

Audi gets on the LTE bus, wants to make infotainment more modular originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re seeing a few companies mixing a little Android on the dashboard, most notably Parrot, and while we think the little green guy certainly has a future in next-gen infotainment systems, we’re not quite sure this is it. It’s a prototype display, running on Tegra power and developed in conjunction with Fujitsu Ten. Right now it’s offering little more functionality than a raw Android tablet, made more car-friendly only by the addition of big home, back, and menu buttons. The UI is showing only a simple maps app, centered in Tokyo, and overall things look… early. But, we’re certainly eager to see what the companies can do with Android on the dash — down the road a little.

Continue reading NVIDIA and Fujitsu Ten’s Android Car Nav hands-on (video)

NVIDIA and Fujitsu Ten’s Android Car Nav hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We can’t imagine how this might have slipped your attention, but LG and Motorola used this year’s CES to roll out the smartphone world’s first dual-core devices in the shape of the Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X. Both are built around NVIDIA’s 1GHz Tegra 2 chip, which has been the most popular thing out here in Vegas after the free food and shuttle rides (Moto even has the Droid Bionic, a 4.3-incher bound for Verizon, using it). But what does that extra core matter to you? Well, aside from facilitating 1080p video playback on both phones, it does make them quite formidable mobile gaming stations. NVIDIA took the time to show us a couple of games being handled with ease by the 2X and Atrix before noting that it isn’t leaving it entirely up to Google to provide the compelling content for its hardware. Gaming is, after all, close to the GeForce maker’s heart, and we were told that NVIDIA is working closely with developers to help them exploit the added firepower of Tegra 2 so as to deliver prettier, shinier things on screen. We were also informed of the introduction of a Tegra Zone, an Android app designed to serve as a showcase of Tegra partners’ wares, whether they be video or gaming content, though you shouldn’t fear the specter of fragmentation here — it’s not a separate app store, any purchases will be directed through the Android Market. Anyhow, enough talking, there’s video to be watched after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video)

NVIDIA shows us Tegra 2 gameplay on Atrix 4G and Optimus 2X (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll get this out of the way up front: no, we didn’t get to drive it. In fact we didn’t even get to sit in its creamy white seats, a tragedy that we’re still a little sensitive about. But we did get to open the door of the Tesla Model S, testing out the trick powered door handles that motor themselves out after a touch and then, when the door is closed, zip back flush to the sheet metal. It’s a nice detail, one that we think would probably lose its ability to inspire wonder after about a week. But, for now, it’s cool. Check out a video of that and other details below.

Continue reading Tesla Model S is bundled up at CES, we unwrap it (video)

Tesla Model S is bundled up at CES, we unwrap it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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