Nvidia CEO Disappointed With Android 3.0 Tablets

News
By Marcus Yam
published

Nvidia's leader thinks that Honeycomb tablets got off to a shaky start.

Nvidia's Tegra 2 mobile chipset scored a pretty big win as it is the de facto piece of hardware that powers the new generation of Android Honeycomb tablets.

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, however, isn't so impressed with how sales are going for Android tablets. Naturally, there's nothing wrong with the hardware – the problem is in software availability and at the retail level.

"It's a point of sales problem. It's an expertise at retail problem. It's a marketing problem to consumers. It is a price point problem," he said in an interview with Cnet. "The baseline configuration included 3G when it shouldn't have. … Tablets should have a Wi-Fi configuration and be more affordable. And those are the ones that were selling more rapidly than the 3G and fully configured ones."

Huang also spoke of a "software richness of content problem," pointing to the lack of tablet-specific applications available right now. Still, he sees that things are getting better at a rapid pace.

The Nvidia leader also reiterated his confidence in the future of ARM CPU's continued rise in computing. "If you take a look at the number of devices that are being shipped today, there are far, far, far more ARMs computers being shipped than there are x86 computers being shipped," he said, as quoted by ZDNet. "And if that attracts more software developers, then there’s more rich software being developed for ARM that over time you would think that ARM becomes the most valuable platform for enjoying software.

"And so that’s how standardization happens and you know how fast mobile computing and the Internet and these application stores is causing new platforms to make a difference. It was only a few years ago that these ARM-based either iPhones or Android phones came to the marketplace, and just look at how many applications have been downloading, how many gigabytes have been downloaded of applications."

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
43 Comments Comment from the forums
  • icemunk
    Very true, 3G tablets are just a money grab for the telecom industry. Wifi is much better, cheaper, and more practical.
    Reply
  • Nvidia is the one who made the tegra 2, a chip weaker than the A5 in the pad. A chip that can't even decode high level video content.
    For me, the tegra 2 is the weak point in the current tablet.
    And the pricing, but that's something else.
    Reply
  • zkevwlu
    iPad 2 is useless to me for reasons other than my hatred towards Apple products. No flash support, no expendable MicroSD slot, and no USB support for external hard drives. What the hell is the point of 1080p support if you can only fit 3 movies before the puny onboard flash memory runs out?

    After shopping around, I put down my deposit for the Eee Pad Transformer and the keyboard dock last week. So it may not be as polished as an iPad 2, but the additional functionalities more than make up for its shortcomings. At least this tablet has USB ports that supports external storage so I can actually take full advantage of the 1080p capabilities with my 1TB My Passport.
    Reply
  • nebun
    i will refuse to purchase a tablet...i don't see the point
    Reply
  • fyasko
    apple does have the best tablet and the best phone. which is unfortunate for users... the alternatives are frightening as of now. i hope windows 8 forces tablet makers to compete with the ipad.
    Reply
  • AdamB5000
    This CEO is right. The tablet market outside of Apple is flopping due to poor introductory products, prices and marketing. I think the general public knows about the iPad, but ask about any other tablet and they'll probably stare you down with a blank face.
    Reply
  • figgus
    "It is a price point problem," he said in an interview with Cnet. "The baseline configuration included 3G when it shouldn't have. … Tablets should have a Wi-Fi configuration and be more affordable. And those are the ones that were selling more rapidly than the 3G and fully configured ones."
    Usually I think Huang is full of excrement, but I 100% agree with this particular point. Very few people want to take out a 2 year cellular contract for something they will mostly use in their own home.
    Reply
  • rantoc
    "The Nvidia leader also reiterated his confidence in the future of ARM CPU's continued rise in computing. "If you take a look at the number of devices that are being shipped today, there are far, far, far more ARMs computers being shipped than there are x86 computers being shipped," he said"
    Amazing what some people seem to consider "computers" today...
    Reply
  • I have both the iPad 2 and Asus Transformer. My wife was high strung on getting the iPad 2 and I caved in but I wanted a more complete system and this was offered with the Asus transformer. For one the iPad does not play 1080p video any better than the Transformer unless its re-encoded in H264 BASE Level and in this case both of them can play it well. The UI of Honeycomb is so much nicer and enjoyable to use and as far as Apps go, there are apps to pretty much do anything you need to on the Asus. The one big advantage in apps right now on the Apple tablet is Games. There are some really nice games available and the lack of them on the android tablets really is big. The honeycomb browser is much more pleasing to use since all web sites work and work well. I can’t even go check my sons hockey schedule on his teams website since the league created it in flash.
    Reply
  • lamorpa
    nebuni will refuse to purchase a tablet...i don't see the pointIt's a computer you can hold in your hands when you don't have to do much input (surfing, reading email, etc. media), with a screen much larger than your smartphone. Do you see it now?
    Reply