Nvidia's Icera purchase bears fruit in ZTE device
Chinese vendor's first Android 4.0 offering, Mimosa X, includes Tegra processor, Icera HSPA+ modem and GeForce GPU, all from Nvidia
Published: 21 February, 2012
READ MORE: Processor | Handset | Android
Nvidia followed Intel's lead last year by acquiring a smartphone modem specialist, Icera, so that it could offer a full handset platform. It has yet to integrate its Tegra processor and its baseband as tightly as Qualcomm does, but ZTE has bought the benefits of a single-vendor offering, and both the key Nvidia chips will feature in its new Mimosa X model.
This is a bighitting device from the Chinese firm, which aims to expand rapidly from its traditional featurephone base this year and establish itself as a smartphone brand in the US and elsewhere. The Mimosa X sits close to the cutting edge in silicon terms, with the Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, GeForce graphics processor and Icera 450 HSPA+ modem, plus Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Buying the chips from one supplier means the Mimosa X will cost "substantially less" than most comparable handsets, the partners claim.
The product, which will make its debut at Mobile World Congress next week, is the first to use the latest Icera chip, though some other features are more midrange and will be easily overshadowed by Samsung - no OLED or SuperLCD screen, and only a 5-megapixel camera. However, there are good multimedia features, such as advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP), DLNA compatibility for content sharing, HD video recording and dual microphones.
"The Tegra processor and Icera modem will play an important part in the development of the mobile handset market, and ZTE has worked closely with Nvidia to develop the Mimosa X smartphone in time for launch," said the head of ZTE's terminal division, He Shiyou. Michael Rayfield, general manager of the mobile business at the chip supplier, added in the statement: "This is the first time that both Nvidia Tegra and Icera processors are powering a smartphone."
ZTE has previewed two other MWC debuts with Android 4.0, though it has not yet announced plans for quad-core (supported by processors such as Tegra3, and likely to be a big theme at the show). The two handsets are the ZTE PF200, which will be LTE-capable, and the N910, which are candybar models. The former is the more highly specified version, with 4.3-inch QHD capacitive touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera and HDMI-out as well as 4G, while the N910 is a CDMA EV-DO product with WVGA touchscreen, 5-mp camera and DLNA support.
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