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The proper basis for a marriage is mutual misunderstanding - Oscar Wilde
Tegra chip could save Zune brand
IT'S IMPOSSBLE TO DENY THAT Microsoft's range of Zune portable media players (PMP) have lived in a perpetual shadow cast by the ever-present Ipod and its manifold siblings, but an announcement from Nvidia could shine a light for fans of Microsoft's also-ran pocketable music and video jukeboxes.
Graphics chip giant Nvidia has announced that the next iteration of the Vole's player, the Zune HD, will be armed with a dual-core Tegra processor.
Based on blueprints from Brit chip shop ARM, one of the two processor cores will take care of the operating system, and graphics duties will be taken over by an Nvidia Geforce GPU.
And ARM has applied its usual skill at squeezing a hell of a lot of processing punch out of a tiny amount of electrickery, with the whole Tegra chipset drawing less than half a Watt of power, not least because clever software will shut down parts of the chips not being used. So, if you're listening to music, the graphics side of the hardware will sit idle until needed.
In fact, the APX2600 SoC has seperate blocks for HD encode and decode, 2D graphics, 3D graphics, still imaging and audio, all of which can be independantly switched in or out, depending on the requirements of the ARM system core. Unfortunatley, processor draw is only part of the story, and unless Microsoft can ensure that the device's OLED screen doesn't suck the life out of the battery, then all will be for naught.
The forthcoming Zune won't be the only device to have Tegra under the covers. Nvidia reckons there are around 50 devices currently in R&D that might use its CPU chip, including smartphones and tablet devices.
But the Zune HD's fortunes will depend on its available applications, and in this market the killer apps that will surely make or break the hardware will almost certainly be games.
So lets see if Microsoft, ARM and Nvidia can take on Sony's PSP and Apple's Ipod Touch all in one fell swoop. Stranger things have happened. µ
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It doesn't matter how good the hardware is if the software is junk. 'Twas ever thus.
May be great hardware and yes the Zune is on the whole a superior player than the iPod classic.
But if MS doesnt have the balls to sell it outside the USA then it aint going anywhere. How many dry runs do you need?
I was a big supporter of the Zune but I've lost patience with MS and its reluctance to actually push or promote the thing.
The Zune Marketing dept must be the laziest bunch around.
The software side for the Zune has improed dramatically. IMO its far better then itunes...at least on the PC.
For full success MS MUST fully integrate XBL with the Zune Marketplace and offer games. The infrastructure is fully there.
The Hardware has always been better on the Zunes then ipods.
The Ipod classic and Nano hardware wise were inferior to the 2nd and 3rd generation Zunes. MS just needs to put the pieces together now.
Otherwise the player is looking quite amazing
Hardware wise this is one kick ass player and from all the videos i have seen of this in action at this date, looks like this runs smooth as butter.
The UI looks better then what the iPod touch has. I like the artist bio feature for all your songs no matter where you got your song from. Damn slick i must say.
All is left is the support from xbox live and the App team and game development.
Get those things in order and then add in a firmware release later on for flash support, and Apple has some tough competition on its hands.
THINGS YOU NEVER HEAR #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrGeY9nhMK8
I can't help but wonder if maybe they should put one of these chips in the XBOX handheld that keeps getting rumored, I mean surely with .Net some of the existing XBOX 360 stuff on Live Arcade could be ported over easily enough.
Still probably wouldn't buy one though, I'm happy with my DS for games and Nokia e63 for videos, music, texting and calling.
Rob
xmas present for me
Why the hell its taken microsoft so long to even think about releasing the zune in the UK, a market well known not to buy into pitch and sales gumph?
I have been following the zune since first it came to light, it will be my next MP3 player
(note I said MP3 not PMP) if it can get its act together before I get tired and buy a Sony OLED Walkman NWZ-X
I have nowt against Ipod and all its success, I just have a love for the Zune and its progression
(without leaving past owners behind in software stakes)
I've owned 2 Ipods and am now using a Sony(modified) all have their pros and cons as I'm sure the Zune will too
I'm boring myself now and have come nowhere near to making a fair argument for what is in the end only my opinion
so I will leave it at this.
May your Gods keep you safe
Tegra is awesome but M$ isn't! Let a netbook or internet/game/phone/linux tablet out the gate with tegra then it'll take on the ipod but who would own something from a company that puts out crap that will get a virus and destroy your data/songs/movies.
"...Nvidia reckons there are around 50 devices currently in R&D that might use its CPU chip, including smartphones and tablet devices..."
Finally there will be a decent phone around. The only concerns now are:
1.Dose Tegra come in quard (core)?
2.Will there a un-restricted Linux be run on it?
For the first time, a proper phone is coming.
Well, I kinda fail to see how a device without any buttons, without any distribution system and without any licenced titles which are of a higher class than Mahjong clone 14 or Marble Magic 18 could fight the PSP. Especially when it's four years late to that show.
Maybe if MS and Nvidia gave away the developers tools for free they could at least grab some of the market share from Ipod and consorts. But on the other side, Nokia, Samsung, etc. are also pushing into the market of mobile music and video players.
Wow I will definitely avoid it since it has nVidia chip!
The hardware is just powerful enough to run Vista bloated code on Zune. I am not sure how it stands against PSP and iPod touch.
PSP is a much more powerful platform. Developers and Gamers are all on PSP if performance matters. Zune does not offer much to these audiences.
For casual users, performance difference between iPod and Zune does not matter.
Nvidia is good at creating fancy names to fool consumers buying it's stuff, like "GTX280M" and "GTS250" to sell old 8800 generation chips, and "CUDA" to sell DirectX 10.1 incapable cards.
Yeah my video card Nvidia 8600 just crap on me the other day! So it reminded me of this bump problem. Sic.
I believe nVidia and M$ PR folks as I believe in easter bunny and santa claus.
Paper accepts anything, let's see the proper hardware!
Less than half watt they say, but that's still a lot of juice to a cellphone sized gadget, expected to have a battery live of at least about 15 hours. Or will it come bundled with a backpack sized Lithium polimer battery?
If Tegra was anything worth using, it would be on Iphone 3GS, as apple uses nVidia chipsets on all its computers nowadays.
@ Steve, Umm Apple gets Nvidia hand me downs, how long did it take for Apple to get the HD 4870?
Wait wait no, how long did it take Apple to even get a GTX series card from Nvidia? This summer they JUST got the GTX 285, Apple is ALWAYS behind on highend gaming graphic solutions. Sure they might get some nice Workstation cards but a VERY limited selection, nothing compared to what you can use and customize with PC's.
Yes they use a "little" bit of both ATI/Nvidia chipsets, but thats just it, "little" which explains their desktop marketshare "little". Apple is and always will be "little". The "Apple is gonna catch up", has been touted since well....forever, wow they have an MP3 market...wow...and?
can't wait... bring on the VS SDK, MS!!!!!!!!
Creative's Zii is gonna kick ass.
http://www.zii.com/Developer/SDKProducts.aspx