MSI Tegra 2: The iPad-competitor
MSI released their iPad-like device to the public. The MSI Tegra 2 is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 platform. This slate device will be priced right around $500, putting it head to head with the Apple iPad. No release date is set right now but MSI plans to start shipping models later this year.
Devices specifications: while manufacturers are ultimately designing the various handsets, computers and tablets, we should expect to see multi-touch screen from 5″ to 10″.
Supported OS: windows CE, Linux and Android are on the list. Android is actually a much easier way to deal with Linux apps. For phones, Web OS and Symbian won’t be supported at the moment, so Palm and Nokia (and others) will be out of the game for now.
Smartbooks: It is estimated that Smartbooks will cost significantly less than Netbooks. NVIDIA’s partners will ultimately price the devices, but $199 in retail seems possible.
Netbooks: Tegra can’t run Windows, but NVIDIA says that they have Ion for the Windows market, so the idea is that if you don’t need Microsoft software, Tegra might be a viable solution.
When are we going to see devices?: NVIDIA will reveal a few partners at CES, but typically, Smartbooks and tablets should appear sooner than cellphones, because the qualification times are longer for wireless carriers. Carriers are evaluating devices right now, we’ve been told. The good news is that Tegra 2 is in volume production now.
