Nvidia to Push Tablet Prices to $199 With Kai Platform

Back in March, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang told the New York Times that we could expect to see $199 Android tablets really soon. Not only that, but these cheap and cheerful devices would be based on the company's powerful quad-core Tegra 3 chipset. Huang said that with cheaper components, we could see $199 Android tablets as early as this summer. This week, Nvidia talked a little bit more about how the company plans to get prices down to that magic $200 price point.

The Verge reports that at last week's annual meeting of investors, Nvidia Vice President Rob Csonger revealed Kai, a tablet based on the Tegra 3 chip but developed at a lower cost. According to Csonger, Kai aims to offer Android 4.0 tablets that outgun the Kindle Fire in terms of power but match the Amazon device when it comes to price. 

"Our strategy on Android is simply to enable quad-core tablets running Android Ice Cream Sandwich to be developed and brought out to market at the $199 price point, and the way we do that is a platform we've developed called Kai," he's quoted as saying. "So this uses a lot of the secret sauce that's inside Tegra 3 to allow you to develop a tablet at a much lower cost, by using a lot of innovation that we've developed to reduce the power that's used by the display and use lower cost components within the tablet."

Other than these remarks, we don't know much else about Kai. Still, if Jen-Hsun Huang is right, we don't have long to wait before we're introduced to this mystical Kai platform.

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  • huron
    I'm never going to complain about portable computing getting cheaper. If they can deliver on this, it's likely they will have a win, as long as the sacrifices are not ridiculously high to get to that price point.
    Reply
  • southernshark
    A tablet must have a front facing camera, which the Fire does not have. If this Kai has one, it might be a contender. If it does not have one, then it is just a waste.

    A front facing camera should be standard on all tablets.
    Reply
  • spookie
    PLEASE don't forget the SD(or micro SD) slot!.

    southernsharkA tablet must have a front facing camera, which the Fire does not have. If this Kai has one, it might be a contender. If it does not have one, then it is just a waste.A front facing camera should be standard on all tablets.
    Yea Front facing camera would be a nice addition for the affordable tablet segment.
    Just don't use a useless cheap screen with bad res.
    Reply
  • bobafert
    southernsharkA tablet must have a front facing camera, which the Fire does not have. If this Kai has one, it might be a contender. If it does not have one, then it is just a waste.A front facing camera should be standard on all tablets.
    You mean a front facing camera is a must for you. The Kindle Fire is perfect for what my wife and I use it for.

    And as for this taking on the Kindle Fire, I say it is more likely to find its way into the next Kindle Fire. Just my $0.02.
    Reply
  • GangstaChamp21
    A hdmi slot so you could connect it to your tv would also be nice. Biglots has some android tablets for under 100 dollars. They are actually pretty good. This seems like something I might just get.
    Reply
  • hotroderx
    southernsharkA tablet must have a front facing camera, which the Fire does not have. If this Kai has one, it might be a contender. If it does not have one, then it is just a waste.A front facing camera should be standard on all tablets.
    I love my fire and have no need for a camera period on it. I personally dont care for cameras on items like laptops and tablets. I dont use one never seen a use for one personally. I personally would prefer a better screen or more memory to a camera on a entry level device like this.
    Reply
  • blackened144
    hotroderxI love my fire and have no need for a camera period on it. I personally dont care for cameras on items like laptops and tablets. I dont use one never seen a use for one personally. I personally would prefer a better screen or more memory to a camera on a entry level device like this.Plus now I dont have to worry about my parents calling to find out how to work the camera on their Kindle Fire.
    Reply
  • kawininjazx
    GangstaChamp21A hdmi slot so you could connect it to your tv would also be nice. Biglots has some android tablets for under 100 dollars. They are actually pretty good. This seems like something I might just get.
    To save money, I don't think mini HDMI is a necessity. I have one on my phone and used it once to try it out.
    Reply
  • ukulele97
    Great news, and how many units will Nvidia able to produce? :-)
    Reply
  • plznote
    I got an Acer Iconia A100 for $180 and it works wonders.
    Reply