Google (
GOOG) is rumored to be readying the second-generation version of its 7-inch Nexus tablet that will debut later this year. Earlier reports claimed
the next-gen Nexus 7 will be equipped with a 1080p full HD display and a quad-core Qualcomm (
QCOM) Snapdragon processor.
According to Digitimes,
Google and
ASUS (
2357) decided to ditch NVIDIA (
NVDA), which supplied Tegra 3 processors for the original
Nexus 7, because of Qualcomm’s tight integration with 4G LTE radios. NVIDIA recently announced
the quad-core Tegra 4i processor with an integrated LTE chip, however the company may be unable to meet Google’s launch schedule for the second-generation Nexus 7, which is rumored to be set for a debut at the annual I/O Developers Conference in May. Losing Google as a customer will be hard on NVIDIA, which could now see 2013 processor shipments drop by as many as eight million units.
