Michael McConnell, an analyst at Pacific Crest, is stating that the new Nexus 7 will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor instead of NVIDIA’s Tegra 4. Simply because Qualcomm’s technology has a tighter integration with modem technology. Mainly meaning that the Qualcomm chip is able to handle LTE if it were something Google might be planning for in the next tablet line. The move to a Qualcomm S4 Pro will also simplify supply and lower the cost of manufacturing the tablets. It could be a win win for everyone, except NVIDIA. The current Tegra 3 chips run between $20 and $25 each and at the rate the Nexus 7 sold, they would be losing out on roughly $200 million.
McConnell is pegging the Nexus 7 to start shipping in Q2 of this year. That matches all thoughts and rumors of a Google I/O announcement and availability. All the chatter is pointing next-gen tablet to pull in 1080p resolution, a much thinner bezel but holding true to the $199 and $249 price tags.
The move makes quite a bit of sense really. Although I can’t say that I am super excited about it. The next Nexus 7 will be remarkable either way. I was looking forward to picking up this year and having the wonders of THD quality games available. If the analyst is right and Google ops for the Qualcomm chip, then I will lose out on that option once again.
What do you guys think about this potential news? Will it matter either way to you which chip it has inside as long as the whole device is better?
Source: CNET
