NVIDIA just showed off its very first reference smartphone design. Based on the Tegra 4i "Grey" SoC with ARM Cortex-A9 cores, the Phoenix is a 5" phone with a 1080p Full HD screen. It's not a superphone but a mid to high-range handset, the Tegra 4i is less powerful than the Tegra 4, and the emphasis is primarily on multimedia, photography and LTE. It's unknown when the device will start shipping, and who will sell it.
We still don’t know the exact spec, but the Phoenix looks pretty nice. It is 8mm thick and it features a 13-megapixel camera, backed by Nvidia’s PRISM 2 technology. It is supposed to deliver superior saturation and reduce the negative effects of backlight. Then there is Nvidia’s Chimera Computational Photography Architecture, which should deliver always-on HDR, as well as HDR panorama shots. Sounds neat.
The emphasis is clearly on multimedia, photography and LTE. No surprise, Grey is meant for feature packed smartphones in the mid to high range, while Wayne is reserved for flagship phones. However, we are somewhat surprised by Nvidia’s decision to spill the beans on Phoenix so soon. With Wayne delayed by several months, it could be a tactical move to get a bit more positive coverage ahead of MWC.
