NVIDIA Adds LTE to Tegra Note 7
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 21, 2014 9:00 AM EST
As Brian, Josh, Ian and myself prepare to head to Barcelona for this year's MWC, NVIDIA makes its first announcement before the show: the Tegra Note 7 will now be available in an LTE version.
The Tegra Note 7 LTE keeps the same 7-inch Tegra 4 based platform as the original Tegra Note 7 while adding NVIDIA's own i500 LTE modem. The addition of the i500 brings the Note 7's MSRP up by $100 to $299. The WiFi-only version will continue to be available at $199.
| NVIDIA Tegra Note Family | |||||
| NVIDIA Tegra Note 7 | NVIDIA Tegra Note 7 LTE | ||||
| Dimensions | 199 x 119 x 9.6 mm | 199 x 119 x 9.6 mm | |||
| Chassis | Plastic + Rubber back | Plastic + Rubber back | |||
| Display | 7-inch 1280x800 IPS | 7-inch 1280x800 IPS | |||
| Weight | 320 g | 366 g | |||
| Processor | 1.8 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 4 (4 x Cortex A15) | 1.8 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 4 (4 x Cortex A15) | |||
| Memory | 1 GB DDR3L - 1600 MHz | 1 GB DDR3L - 1600 MHz | |||
| Storage | 16 GB + microSD | 16 GB + microSD | |||
| Battery | 15.17 Whr | 15.17 Whr | |||
| WiFi/Connectivity | 802.11b/g/n, BT 4.0, GPS/GLONASS | LTE, 802.11b/g/n, BT 4.0, GPS/GLONASS | |||
| Camera |
5 MP Rear Facing w/AF VGA Front Facing |
5 MP Rear Facing w/AF VGA Front Facing |
|||
| Pricing | $199 | $299 | |||
NVIDIA expects the Note 7 LTE to be available through its usual partners worldwide (EVGA in the US) beginning in Q2 of this year.
A list of supported LTE and HSPA+ bands are in the table below. NVIDIA will also offer a 3G-only version for areas without LTE:
There are presently three Tegra Note 7 LTE SKUs listed in bold above (LTE-US, LTE-EU and 3G). The go to market SKU list hasn't been finalized yet so we could see more. Although NVIDIA only lists voice as a feature on the 3G SKU, there's nothing preventing the other two LTE SKUs from also supporting voice.
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chizow - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
Interesting, mainly because I think it points to what direction Nvidia is heading with Tegra K1 designs later this year. This will be more proof of concept to show integrated isn't a must-have if they can get the SoC + LTE modem TDP low enough that SoC performance overshadows the benefits if integrated LTE.ToTTenTranz - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
$100 for a baseband chip? Is this normal?How much profit do they get in selling this chip? 5000%?
chizow - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
It also weighs another 46g, so it may have improved build quality or bigger battery to compensate for the LTE modem. But yeah I agree 50% premium for LTE is pretty high. I think the actual selling price will probably be closer to $50-60 more, it just comes off as a bit of sticker shock because the Note 7 is a pretty low-priced device as is.teiglin - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
It's actually right around average for the add-on cost of cellular radios for other tablets--$130 (iPad), $100 (Kindle Fire), $80 (Nexus 7) off the top of my head. I have no involvement in supply chain concerns so I can't say how much cost there is from manufacturing, but beyond the increased BoM for the cellular silicon, there are additional licensing costs as well from the technologies involved. Aside from that, I assume that, like upgrading storage, OEMs use the addition as a margin-builder.Anders CT - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
You have to license a sh!tload of patents when adding radios to a consumer electronics device. A 100$ premium for LTE is quite average. But still obscene.One wonders about the 46 grams of extra weight.
sonicmerlin - Saturday, February 22, 2014 - link
Those patents are all FRAND- pennies on the dollar.Rocket321 - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
Wish the screen was higher res than 1280x800...Morawka - Saturday, February 22, 2014 - link
and i wish a 32 GB LTE ipad didnt cost $730chizow - Sunday, February 23, 2014 - link
Updated Tegra K1 model Note 7 is rumored/leaked to sport 1920x1080 resolution. Should be out Q2/Q3 of this year.Aidic06 - Friday, February 21, 2014 - link
Any word on how they're using the micro-SD card slot on Android 4.4.2? I have heard some very strange things about how Kit Kat changes SD card usage and utility.