14 DAY TRIAL // You certainly never thought of Nvidia as a company that will deliver a lot of mobile solutions. Neither did I but, they now have come to contradict us all by unveiling their state of the art GoForce multimedia applications processor which, as Nvidia describes it, is a "highly integrated multimedia applications processor that combines the flexibility of highly optimized DSP technology with hardwired acceleration to deliver the ultimate power optimization - consuming less than half the power of other application processors available on the market today. As a result, the NVIDIA GoForce 6100 delivers rich multimedia features to the mobile entertainment and communications market, enabling mainstream users to enjoy more - more moments in their life with more time left on the battery life".
On the specifications side of this new multimedia processor Nvidia has just showcased at the 3GSM convention, I can only tell you it probably has everything you've ever wanted in a mobile processor.
The specifications sheet of the GoForce 6100 begins with the high performance 250 MHz ARM1176JZ-S core and continues with the integrated Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/i/e baseband and analog front-end, the support for all available DRM formats (if it will still be necessary after Steve Jobs' statement concerning the DRM), the high quality analog audio subsystem with full integration, support for Linux, Windows Mobile, Windows CE 5.0, the integrated TV encoder and the video DACs, the Wmv9/VC-1 and H.264 codecs with support for video files up to 30 fps VGA resolution, the up to 8 megapixel digital camera sensor support, the integrated USB 2.0/OTG PHY, the 802.11e for VoWLAN QOS support, and finishes in a grand style by mentioning the "hardwired acceleration for all processing-intensive multimedia and security functions".
What will you get if you will buy a cellphone equipped with this Nvidia multimedia processor? First of all and I'm sure you'll be glad to hear this, iPod quality audio playback, then you'll be able to benefit from its capability to connect with multiple network standards (ISDB-T, DVB-H and DMB), its ability to connect to any network (be it Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, WiMax, HSPDA) and, probably one of the most important features, you'll get an ultra low power consumption even if you will run on your handset high-performance media applications.
In conclusion, Nvidia is coming to the mobile world and is bringing along every goodie the desktop users have enjoyed for years: audio quality, high quality graphics and everything else you might think has made your life easier while you were wasting time (or working) on your personal computer.