Nvidia, ZTE Intros Tegra 2 + Icera Smartphone

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

The ZTE Momosa X will be the first mainstream smartphone to feature both Nvidia's Tegra 2 and Icera 450 HSPA+ modem together in 2Q12.

Monday night Nvidia said that the ZTE Momosa X will be the first smartphone powered by both its dual-core Tegra 2 SoC and its new Icera 450 HSPA+ modem, the latter of which was obtained by the company through it's $367 million acquisition of Icera back in May 2011. The Mimosa X marks the first time Nvidia technology powers all major processors in a single smartphone, and a "mainstream" smartphone at that, meaning it won't require consumers to take out a second mortgage to purchase.

"The ZTE Mimosa X is exciting for a few reasons," said Michael Rayfield, General Manager of the Mobile business at Nvidia. "The Mimosa X marks the first time Nvidia technology powers all the major processors in a single smartphone, and also the first time a premium mobile computing experience is coming to the mainstream smartphone market."

According to Nvidia, the Nvidia Icera 450 HSPA+ modem includes both baseband and RF processors. The phone itself will include Google's new Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" OS, a 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) screen, rear 5MP and front cameras, and 4 GB of storage expandable to 32 GB. Also thrown into the mix will be an advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP), Dolby sound, DLNA compatibility for sharing content, HD video record and play, dual microphones, a built-in gyroscope and more.

Nvidia didn't provide pricing, but said the mainstream smartphone will not only provide the speedy web browsing of high-priced smartphones, but smooth multitasking and HD video playback. It will also offer "console-quality" gaming via the TegraZone thanks to the GeForce-laced Tegra 2 SoC.

"The Nvidia Icera 450 supports up to 21 Mbps category 14 HSPA+ with fast downloads in fading channels, IceClear interference cancellation technology for even faster throughput at the cell edge and advanced Release 7 features for an ultra-low latency network response," Nvidia said on Monday.

We expect to see the ZTE Momosa X make an appearance at Mobile World Congress next week, so stay tuned. So far the phone slated to launch sometime around 2Q12.

Kevin Parrish
6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • tacoslave
    budget friendly smartphone thats more powerful than 80% of phones out there hell yeah i'll take one if its less than 300 off contract.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    A tegra 2 smartphone under $400 will be quite a steal (AUSD, here SGS2 is $500+ still). Hopefully they price it somewhere around that.
    Reply
  • lordstormdragon
    Phones are not smart. Most people aren't even smart.

    Stop talking about these stupid toys, stop reporting the new models of crap that doesn't matter in any possible way, and let them just be what they are: personal portable adult imager and video viewers.

    People are paying more for phones than for companionship, these days. Nobody cares how cool your phone is, and more importantly, real women do not care. Get some.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    lordstormdragonPhones are not smart. Most people aren't even smart. Stop talking about these stupid toys, stop reporting the new models of crap that doesn't matter in any possible way. Nobody cares how cool your phone is, and more importantly, real women do not care. Get some.
    Last time I checked, Tom's Hardware was a TECHNOLOGY site. Isn't it their job to report on the cool little things that pop up so we become aware of those things?

    Plus it's always fun to compare value/performance etc with past, current and future models.
    Reply
  • kawininjazx
    joytech22Last time I checked, Tom's Hardware was a TECHNOLOGY site. Isn't it their job to report on the cool little things that pop up so we become aware of those things?Plus it's always fun to compare value/performance etc with past, current and future models.
    There isn't ground breaking technology news every day, you don't have to read every article.
    Reply
  • olaf
    nice cheap smartphones :) take that samsung and apple :D
    Reply