Tegra Note 7 tablet to get an LTE refresh, early adopters pick up KitKat update
BY SEAN BUCKLEY @SEANICCUS FEB 21ST 2014 9:00AM — Itching for a Tegra-powered gaming device, but insist on a slate with LTE support? You're in luck: NVIDIA is building a tablet just for you.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Tegra Note 7 began life as NVIDIA's own-branded showcase for its mobile silicon, and the company has kept it current since launch: [[a:1201497|December's software update added Always-On HDR, DirectStylus improvements for left-handed users, and Android 4.3]]. With this announcement it splits the line two ways — an LTE variant aimed at buyers who want cellular, and a KitKat push to the earliest owners, barely two months after the 4.3 rollout.
The move continues a strategy NVIDIA has run before at higher price points: the Transformer Prime put Tegra 3 in ASUS's flagship back in October 2011, but here NVIDIA controls the product itself rather than leaning on a partner. Eight outlets picked up the story on the day, suggesting the reference-tablet approach is drawing attention well beyond enthusiast coverage.
First-order effects
- Buyers who held off on the Tegra Note 7 for lack of cellular now get an LTE SKU, removing the main spec objection to a Tegra-powered gaming slate.
- Early adopters move from Android 4.3 to KitKat within roughly two months of their last major update, an unusually fast cadence for a sub-flagship Android tablet.
Second-order effects
- OEMs building on the Tegra Note reference design gain an LTE configuration they can carry into carrier distribution channels without developing cellular support themselves.
- Budget Android tablets that ship Wi-Fi-only at similar price points face a cellular-equipped competitor, pressuring vendors to justify the missing radio or match it.
Third-order effects
- If NVIDIA keeps iterating both hardware and OS updates on its own-branded tablet, Tegra shifts from being silicon other companies choose toward a vertically steered platform — a direct contest with Qualcomm's grip on LTE-enabled Android devices.
The trend: Mobile chipmakers are increasingly shipping their own reference hardware to control how their silicon reaches the Android market, with update speed becoming part of the pitch.