ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solution products, announced its second-generation smart displays today.
The 24" (23.8" Vis.) VSD241 is a self-contained Android 4.2 Jelly Bean-based smart display which delivers blazing fast performance, courtesy of an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, making it perfect for local Android apps and cloud-based computing.

Paired with a 2 MP webcam with integrated microphone for video conferencing, and built-in speakers, this dual-point optical touch screen display is ideal for commercial vertical markets such as signage, point of information, and kiosks for interactive applications in enterprise, SMB, education, POS, hospitality and more.

ASUS today announced the new Transformer Pad TF701T, a 10.1-inch Android tablet with a stunning 2560 x 1600 IPS display, the latest high-performance NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core processor and a lightweight Mobile Dock with USB 3.0.

The new ASUS Transformer Pad is perfect for on-the-go entertainment, thanks to a durable metallic design that's just 8.9mm thick and weighs 585g. A high-quality speaker with ASUS SonicMaster audio technology gives loud, clear sound for music, movies and games, while the 17-hour battery life when docked means the new ASUS Transformer Pad lasts for two full working days between charges.

NVIDIA today reported revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2014, ended July 28, 2013, of $977.2 million, up 2.4 percent from $954.7 million in the previous quarter. GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.16, up 23.1 percent from $0.13 in the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.23, up 27.8 percent from $0.18 in the previous quarter.

"The GPU business continued to grow, driving our fourth consecutive quarter of record margins," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "We also began shipping GRID virtualized graphics, which puts the power of NVIDIA GPUs into the datacenter. We look forward to a strong second half, with new Tegra 4 devices coming to market, SHIELD moving beyond the U.S. and broader sampling of Project Logan, our next-generation Tegra processor, which brings Kepler, the world's most advanced GPU, to mobile."

Although NVIDIA's Tegra line of SoCs are among the best performing there are on the market; the high-end SoC market is dominated by Qualcomm and Samsung. These chips are built from scratch by the companies, but the underlying CPU and GPU architectures are licensed from ARM, and the likes of Imagination Technologies, respectively. Imagination's PowerVR graphics cores make up over 80 percent of the embedded GPU market-share. There's a big change of plans at NVIDIA. The company is beginning to think that its expertise in GPU is better proliferated in the mobile SoC space not by waiting for Tegra to gain a foothold, but by licencing its GPU IP (intellectual property) to whoever is willing pay up, much in the same way ARM and Imagination do.

NVIDIA spokesperson David Shannon, in a recent blog post, wrote: "our next step is to license our GPU cores and visual computing patent portfolio to device manufacturers to serve the needs of a large piece of the market... We'll start by licensing the GPU core based on the NVIDIA Kepler architecture, the world's most advanced, most efficient GPU. Its DX11, OpenGL 4.3, and GPGPU capabilities, along with vastly superior performance and efficiency, create a new class of licensable GPU cores. Through our efforts designing Tegra into mobile devices, we've gained valuable experience designing for the smallest power envelopes. As a result, Kepler can operate in a half-watt power envelope, making it scalable from smartphones to supercomputers."

HP today announced the HP SlateBook x2 and the HP Split x2, two detachable PCs that offer the full functionality of a notebook with a removable screen that also is a sleek tablet. Powered by the Android and Microsoft Windows 8 operating systems (OS), respectively, these versatile two-in-one devices combine power and portability, giving customers the flexibility to create, consume and share content in more places.

HP's unmatched portfolio of next-generation PCs is designed to enable users to connect with their information on devices that easily adapt to their needs. By releasing the magnetic hinge, users can move elegantly between the two form factors -- tablet and notebook PC -- all in one device.

NVIDIA updated its GPU micro-architecture roadmap at the 2013 GPU Technology Conference (GTC). Currently spearheaded by the "Kepler" micro-architecture, which drives its GeForce, Quadro, and Tesla product lines, and which will drive Tegra mobile SoCs in 2014; NVIDIA's next-generation "Maxwell" could make its debut some time in 2014. Going by NVIDIA's graph that puts performance-per-Watt against time, "Maxwell" should nearly double performance. Maxwell GPUs feature unified virtual memory, which lets CPUs treat graphics card memory as system memory, for faster general-purpose performance.

Although not backed by a tentative launch year, and assuming "Maxwell" has its run for another two years, 2016 could see the launch of NVIDIA's "Volta" GPU micro-architecture. In addition to advancements by its predecessors, "Volta" could introduce stacked DRAM technology. It would enable GPU memory bandwidths as high as 1 TB/s. Current high-end graphics cards such as GeForce Titan and Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, are capable of breaching the 300 GB/s mark, so NVIDIA's claims don't sound far-fetched.

Ahead of its December launch, Lenovo started taking orders for the IdeaPad Yoga 11, designed for those who do find the IdeaPad Yoga 13 two inches too big for lugging around, given that it's a convertible tablet. The IdeaPad Yoga 11 is driven by Windows RT, NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor clocked at 1.50 GHz. It is available in 32 GB and 64 GB variants (which include installed software), priced at $679.20 and $759.20, respectively.

After launching its high-performance display driver for Linux that boosts GeForce graphics performance by 100%, NVIDIA released an open-source 2D driver code for its Tegra 2 and Tegra 3 SoCs, which is based on the experimental Direct Rendering Manager driver (DRM, not as in digital rights management). DRM was started as an independent project by Thierry Reding, but is now being worked on by NVIDIA, among others.

The open-source DRM driver code published by Terje Bergstrom today provide host1x and 2D on Tegra 2 and Tegra 3 SoCs, and was published by Terje Bergstrom. He writes "nvhost is the driver that controls host1x hardware. It supports host1x command channels, synchronization, run-time power management and memory management. It is sectioned into logical driver under drivers/video/tegra/host and physical driver under drivers/video/tegra/host/host1x. The physical driver is compiled with the hardware headers of the particular host1x version."

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported record revenue of $1.20 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 ended Oct. 28, 2012, up 15.3 percent from the previous quarter and up 12.9 percent from a year earlier.

The company also announced that it is initiating the payment of a quarterly cash dividend, and extending its existing $2.7 billion share-repurchase program, initiated in August 2004, through December 2014.

"Investments in our new growth strategies paid off this quarter in record revenues and margins," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "Kepler GPUs are winning across the special-purpose PC markets we serve, from gaming to design to supercomputing. And Tegra is powering some of the most innovative tablets, phones and cars in the market."

Following last week's announcement of the ARM Cortex-A50 series, SoC designers formed a bee-line to license the ARMv8 IP. Among them is NVIDIA, and not just for its Tegra line of high-performance mobile chips, but also for Tesla, its GPU compute accelerator line. In an interview with InfoWorld, NVIDIA CTO for Tesla, Steve Scott, was quoted saying, "Tegra is going to become GPU computing capable in the not-so-distant future. Sometime this decade we are also going to start bringing integrated CPUs and GPUs together in the Tesla line". NVIDIA perhaps is looking at building Tesla GPU compute servers with the x86 CPU completely replaced with efficient ARMv8 64-bit processors.

NVIDIA's deep expertise in visual and mobile computing, and its extensive collaboration with Microsoft Corp., mean that consumers will enjoy premium experiences running on NVIDIA-powered systems for Windows 8 and Windows RT.

PCs with NVIDIA GeForce GPUs will deliver exceptional experiences for editing photos and video, playing games and browsing the web because Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 now take advantage of graphics hardware. And NVIDIA Tegra processors will power a new generation of amazingly thin and light Windows RT devices that run for days on a single charge.

Ahead of its launch, at a special event no less, ASUS' flagship Windows tablet, the VivoTab RT was pictured at an Office Depot location. The 10.1-incher is powered by NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core ARM processor, and packs 32 GB of storage, half of which is occupied by the operating system, Windows 8 RT. USB connectivity depends on an adapter. Most other specifications, and its price remain under wraps, although it is expected to be priced in the US $599 range.

NEC unveiled the first full-fledged convertible notebook running Windows 8 RT, driven by ARM machine-architecture. The LaVie Y with its 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 pixel screen works as a tablet in your hands, or as a laptop. Its "lid" (the main component housing the touchscreen and central processing) spins almost 360° along the hinge of the base (with the keyboard, trackpad, and ports), letting you orient the device in a number of ways.

Under the hood is an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor clocked at 1.30 GHz, with GeForce graphics; 2 GB of RAM, 64 GB SSD, and connectivity that includes USB 2.0, 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, 5-in-1 card reader, HDMI display output supporting 1080p video playback, and a 1.3 MP web-cam. Its battery can keep the device going for 8 hours before needing a recharge. Measuring 298 x 204 x 15.6 mm (when completely folded), the LaVie Y weighs 1.24 kg. It will be launched after October 26.

Lenovo today announced a new family of four convertible devices designed for Windows 8/RT to change the way people use PCs and redefine the future of mobile computing. For consumers, the touch-optimized family includes the IdeaPad Yoga 13, a foremost blend of play and productivity, Yoga 11, a svelte, all day mobile companion, IdeaTab Lynx, a premier dual core Intel Atom-based tablet, and for professionals, the ThinkPad Twist, a business-ready device that puts a new spin on the traditional convertible tablet.

"Our family of Ultrabook convertibles addresses the unique needs of consumers, businesses and everyone in between by creating high performance laptop-tablet combinations in new designs and different sizes," said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, Lenovo, and president, Product Group, Lenovo. "We think these innovative convertibles are the best devices for a groundbreaking touchscreen experience, plus their multi-modes give people even more ways to use their PC."

The enterprise CPU market is about to flare up soon, with the introduction of a third player in high-performance chips, next to Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron. X-bit Labs unearthed plans by NVIDIA to build on its Tegra success by designing high-performance server processors based on the ARM machine-architecture. The server market is far more varied in terms of machine-architectures, than PC, and the addition of an ARM-based high-performance chip is unlikely to fail. NVIDIA reportedly codenamed its development "Project Boulder."

Due in 2014, the CPU built under Project Boulder will be designed to, at least initially, replace traditional x86 Xeon/Opteron CPUs in Tesla Compute Accelerators, machines loaded with Tesla GPUs to process complex computational problems. The Boulder chip will be designed to handle serial processing loads, leaving parallel loads to the GPUs. A lot could ride on Boulder's success, as it could motivate NVIDIA to address other computing segments.

Kickstarter prodigy OUYA, a $99 (for backers) gaming console based on the Android platform, driven by NVIDIA Tegra 3, is finally up for pre-order to non-backers. It starts with a console + single controller option at US $109 (US buyers), $119 (international buyers); $139 (US buyers) and $149 (international buyers) for console + two controllers; and $199 (US buyers), $209 (international buyers) for console + four controllers. The first deliveries will start just in time for next summer, in April 2013. Head over to this page, if you're interested.

EVGA is celebrating its 13th Anniversary and the way we like to do that is by thanking our community and giving away tons of prizes for participating in tons of games. We have so many prizes to giveaway that the list is too long to include here… but they all add up to more than an incredible $70k!

Our 13th Anniversary Grand Prize that will see three lucky winners sent undercover to Florida, USA, for an unforgettable 007 Mission Experience. Each of our Secret Service agents will be swept away in limos, scooped up in helicopters, sent tumbling in stunt planes and thrust through the waves in offshore raceboats.

You could soon have NVIDIA Tegra 3 processors running entry-level PCs. COM (computer-on-module) and IPC (industrial PC) designer Kontron developed an NVIDIA Tegra 3 system board in the slim mini-ITX form-factor (170 mm x 170 mm), which is compatible with most ITX/ATX cases. The board has most common PC peripheral interfaces, and is fit to drive an entry-level PC. The KTT30/mITX from Kontron features an NVIDIA Tegra 3 SoC, with 4+1 ARM Cortex-A9 cores clocked at 900 MHz and GeForce ULP graphics. The GPU is fit to drive 1080p displays with H264 MPEG-4 encoding/decoding acceleration. Display outputs include HDMI 1.4a (up to 1920x1080 pixels), and LVDS 24-bit (up to 2048x1536 pixel @ 18bpp).

The Kontron KTT30/mITX packs 2 GB of DDR3L memory. For storage, it has an mSATA 3 Gb/s port, two SD card slots, and a bootable eMMC slot. Two mPCIe slots and a SIM card slot (for 3G HSDPA) handle on-board expansion. System interfaces include two RS232 (serial/COM), three USB 2.0. Apart from 3G HSDPA, the board supports gigabit Ethernet. For audio, there's 2-channel analog and multi-channel digital (S/PDIF) audio outputs. The board draws power from a 2-pin DC input. The board should be able to run most distributions of Linux for ARM (including Android and Chrome OS), and technically should also be able to run the upcoming Microsoft Windows 8 RT operating system.

A new Kickstarter project is making waves, by proposing an open-source, hacker-friendly platform using Android as its backbone. "OUYA" merges the "satisfying" experience of a console with the developer-friendly nature of the Android marketplace. The project is seeking nearly a million dollars in funds, but it's already managed to reach more than half its lofty goal within just a day. The project's goal is $950,000, a figure it's likely to hit. It's been less than a day, and it's hit more than $590,000. That's no doubt because the higher dollar amounts, $95 and $99, offer the console itself as a reward. So far, the project hasn't outlined any stretch goals, but they seem likely. The funding will go towards converting the prototype to production models with approvals from regulatory agencies, development kits, production orders, and possibly some first-party game development. It also claims that games will be required to offer a free element, be it a demo or the full game with microtransactions. OUYA has already specified its technical specs, including a Tegra3 quad-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of flash storage, an HDMI connection, and Android 4.0. The controller looks fairly standard for consoles, with eight action buttons, two analog sticks, a D-pad, and the addition of a touch pad.

SanDisk Corporation, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced it is using the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing process to produce SanDisk's highest performing embedded memory products.

iNAND Extreme is now being built on SanDisk's 19 nanometer (nm)* process technology to enable the large-capacity, high-performance embedded NAND flash memory products that are ideally suited for high-end tablets and smartphones. Products running the Android operating system as well as the upcoming Microsoft Windows RT version of the Windows 8 operating system can benefit from iNAND Extreme capacity, performance and small size.

NVIDIA today reported revenue of $924.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 ended Apr. 29, 2012.

"Kepler GPUs are accelerating our business," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "Our newly launched desktop products are winning some of the best reviews we've ever had. Notebook GPUs had a record quarter. And Tegra is on a growth track again, driven by great mobile device wins and the upcoming Windows on ARM launch.

"Graphics is more important than ever. Look for exciting news next week at the GPU Technology Conference as we reveal new ways that the GPU will enhance mobile and cloud computing," he said.

Announced at Mobile World Congress in February, the new ASUS Transformer Pad is a powerful, yet affordable, tablet with a host of features onboard. Available in three stylish colors, the ASUS Transformer Pad is aptly named thanks to the mobile dock that allows it to transform from a tablet into a notebook. When docked, total battery life is rated up to 15 hours, while also increasing productivity with a full QWERTY keyboard, multi-touch touchpad and USB/SD Card ports.

Housed in the Transformer Pad is a powerful NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-core CPU, ASUS SonicMaster technology for an incredible audio experience and an 8MP auto-focus camera that shoots crystal clear photos. The Transformer Pad is running the Android 4.0 operating system (Ice Cream Sandwich) that is upgradable and features exclusive software for added productivity.

China's leading mobile Internet company KONGZHONG Corporation and the world leader in visual computing technology industry NVIDIA officially announced the agreement on a strategic cooperation. The cooperation of the two sides in technology, channel and marketing will be implemented in PC online game and mobile online game areas.

After 10 years of development, online gaming in China has evolved into a dozen games available every day from the earlier resource-scarcity in the industry which produced dozens of games just annually. Nowadays, online game users have higher requirements on the game quality, particularly on the game's graphics and game play. They want visual effects of online games that can be compared with the graphic expressiveness of a console game.

NVIDIA confirmed today that it is working with Microsoft on a program to distribute Windows 8 test PCs to software developers and device manufacturers powered by the Tegra 3 quad-core mobile processor with 4-Plus-1 architecture.

This seeding program enables these parties to create a rich ecosystem of apps and devices for Windows 8 on ARM-based processors.

In addition to officially announcing the Full HD-capable Transformer Prime TF700T flagship, ASUS today also revealed another 10.1-inch tablet powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 3 4-PLUS-1 processor, the Transformer Pad 300.

Codenamed TF300T, this new model measures 263 x 180.8 x 9.9 mm, it weights 635 grams, and features a plastic chassis (colored in red, white or blue), a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) Super IPS capacitive touchscreen, a 1.2 GHz Tegra 3 chip, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of built-in storage (plus 8 GB of ASUS WebStorage), a microSD card slot, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.2 MP front camera, and a battery enabling up to 10 hours of operation (battery life goes up to 15 hours when the tablet is connected to the separately-sold keyboard dock).

ASUS' tablet also comes with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity, a micro HDMI port, an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, a gyroscope, an e-compass, GPS, and it runs Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich). The Transformer Pad 300 is said to cost $399.