Shadowgun update hits Android Market with Tegra 3 support

If you are one of the lucky few that was able to snag a pre-order for the hotly anticipated ASUS Transformer Prime and that beastly quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor then I have some great news for you. One of the best shooter games available for Android called SHADOWGUN has just been updated with Transformer Prime and Tegra 3 support — making it have by far some truly stunning graphics.

We were lucky enough to get a first-hand look at the pre-production version for Tegra 2 devices and did a few hands-on videos for those looking to see just how impressive the graphics can be on a mobile device. In our timeline below will be plenty about Shadowgun and both of our hands-on video posts.
This is probably one of the best games available for Android in terms of third person shooters and really showcases the ability of the NVIDIA processors and gaming prowess. The Tegra 3 supported version has tons of increased graphics and visuals. With real-time lighting effects, amazing water visuals with reflections and more. I had fun just shooting the water and watch the detailed splashes. This is one of those games that really shows what we can expect with mobile gaming in the future and with 2012 quad-core enabled devices.
Here’s a quick demo from our sister site SlashGear and our very own Chris Burns comparing regular Shadowgun to the Tegra 3 version on the Prime

I know many are still waiting on availability and pre-orders and it looks like ASUS might not have nearly as much stock and supply as they should have. Pre-orders have sold out at Amazon, Best Buy, and almost every other online retailer with some expecting shipments to not go out until late January. If you were able to get one — or found stock in a Best Buy then head to the market link below and try out this Tegra 3 optimized game today.
Market Link — Shadowgun

Read more »

Check Out The New Trailer For Shadowgun Enhanced For Nvidia Tegra 3 [Video]

We’ve heard a lot of talk from the developers Madfinger Games that their near console quality shooter, Shadowgun, will have an enhanced version optimized to take advantage of Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor. Well, Nvidia decided to give us a little sneak peak of how things are coming along and if you look closely, you may notice a few improvements.

The most notable improvements come in the enhanced physics, particle effects, and more complex textures. When hit with a shotgun blast, enemies fly across the screen thanks to the addition of ragdoll physics. Water, which seems oddly placed in random areas of the game, ripples and glistens when the player or enemies make their way through it. It’s all these little details that separate the men from the boys. Now let’s hope Madfinger can use some of that extra processing power to enhance the AI a bit.
You can check out the preview video for enhanced Tegra 3 version of Shadowgun below.

[Twitter | Nvidia]

Read more »

First Nvidia Tegra 3 game gets screenshots and video at Tegra Zone

Good news: Tegra 3-enabled games are starting to appear in Nvidia’s Tegra Zone! Bad news: it’s only a pinball-style game at the moment, and a demo at that. Worse news: there’s actually no hardware on sale that can take advantage of it – the first Tegra 3 device, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime isn’t due until December. But hey, look at that quad-core rendering action! “Glowball” will be available in the Android Market, and on some Tegra 3 devices it’ll come pre-loaded.

An Nvidia engineer shows off the new game in a video, demonstrating an underwater level with some truly impressive graphics. In the demonstration all four cores are being used actively on a Honeycomb-equipped Transformer Prime, though the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade is slyly mentioned. The lighting and volumetric effects are dazzling, especially when pitted against a non-optimized version – it’s like jumping from the PlayStation to the PS3 instantly.You can even see the water reflections on the bottom of the ocean floor.
Check out the demonstration below:


Obviously this is just a small taste of the potential of Tegra 3 and other quad-core system-on-a-chip designs. We won’t be able to try out games like these first-hand until December, but the wait might not be as long as all that – Newegg has listed the Transformer Prime for a December 8th release, next Thursday. Here’s hoping the tablet – and its ICS upgrade – get here sooner rather than later.

Read more »

ASUS Transformer Prime kernel source code leaked, quickly removed

Last week the official ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime product page went live from ASUS and while we already know plenty about this quad-core packing tablet it was good to finally see everything official. Apparently the same product page over in Germany had the entire kernel source code nicely listed right on the download page last night, but has since been taken down.


While we are still digging for information, taking a look at the US product page we have no such luck and only some USB drivers and a few other unimportant things were available for download. According to our tipster from androidapptests.com the Transformer Prime kernel source code was up and available for download and they quickly snatched it up.

Shown in the screenshot above you can see the kernel (listed around 90MB) the product manuals and FAQ PDF’s as well as some sort of PC Suite application most likely for the keyboard dock. Looking at the date they were just uploaded yesterday so things are looking very new, and pretty close to being ready if you ask me — I just want it already! Apparently the kernel was downloaded before being removed and is available at the source link listed above, but we wont comment further as we are still looking for more information.
The Transformer Prime is set to launch in December so we should start hearing details and seeing more any day now. NVIDIA gave us an awesome demo video showing the Transformer Prime running Android 4.0 ICS earlier this week, and Gamestop has it listed for shipping December 9th. Either way I can’t wait to get my hands on this NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core powered tablet as soon as possible.

Read more »

Zombie Driver HD coming soon for NVIDIA Tegra 3 devices

I was just shown this amazing looking game coming to Android and I figured I had to share it with all of our readers. I will warn you, there is lots of blood but this game looks fantastic. Available for consoles and PC’s the developers behind Zombie Driver are using the extremely powerful graphics inside the NVIDIA Tegra 3 (and Tegra 2) processor to bring this action packed game to Android. If you like awesome games with crazy good graphics and plenty of gore then check out the video after the break.

Unlike most zombie action games here we have cars, not to mention tanks and all sorts of vehicles to cause mayhem. If anyone has played this epic game on PC or consoles over the past few years you’ll know what to expect, only it has been given a huge overhaul for mobile devices and will rock the Tegra 2 and Tegra 3 gaming market. I could go on forever regarding the stunning graphics and all the gameplay types but I’ll just let you enjoy the graphic video preview, as it’ll answer most of your questions.
Zombie Driver HD for Android

With different vehicles and weapons, game modes, races and more you can really play for hours and hours. The car itself is a huge weapon not to mention flame throwers, missiles and everything else you’ve just seen from the epic game trailer above. This game is not new, and the trailer has been around for a while but with Tegra 3 getting close and 2011 coming to and end soon we expect to see this game launched sometime very shortly.

Zombie Driver HD should launch sometime this year for Tegra 2 devices and will be available in the Android Market and the Tegra Zone, and we expect to see an even better version with enhanced graphics and gameplay coming for T3 shortly. Enjoy a few screengrabs below while we wait patiently for this epic bloodbath of a game to be released.
[via Droid Gamers]

Read more »

NVIDIA announces Tegra 3 quad-core processor, we have all the details [Video]

The time has finally come and today NVIDIA is taking the locks down and opening the doors to the world of quad-core mobile computing. We knew it was coming but today its finally official. Project Kal-El will indeed be called the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, and it will power our favorite smartphones and tablets very soon. This truly represents the next step in the evolution of mobile processors. From gaming to daily tasks, everything will benefit — even battery life. Below we have all the details and three awesome videos that will explain the power and efficiency that we will all come to love in NVIDIA’s Tegra 3.

Back in September NVIDIA outlined plenty of details regarding Kal-El and feel free to click that link for all the information. From the fact that Tegra 3 is actually sporting five cores we could call this Quin-core but that might confuse a few people. What will truly make the Tegra 3 special isn’t just that it will be the first quad-core mobile processor, but it has a 5th “companion core” that will handle all the tasks when the others aren’t needed. Making Tegra 3 extremely powerful while also being energy efficient and providing better battery life than Tegra 2 — Yes I said better (according to NVIDIA).

Now there are a lot of details we could cover from the vSMP technology in T3, to the companion core mentioned above, or the fact that it actually has twelve GPU cores (graphics) and more but instead I’ll start with a few of those video clips courtesy of NVIDIA we mentioned above. Any thoughts, or questions you may have will most likely be answered in the video demonstrations provided below.
First, we have the “Companion Core” video that shows off and explains just what vSMP actually is and does. This stands for Variable Symmetric Multiprocessing. Which is a multi-core CPU architecture for extremely low power usage, and high performance both. When you need dual-core power it turns on and chugs out power, when you need all four from the quad-core you get those too. Then users only need a low power single-core for daily tasks like viewing photos or browsing the web the companion core kicks in and does the dirty work, while conserving power and battery by shutting down the other four. This is actually extremely impressive and will work throughout any OS and application, it will not need to be supported and instead will just work. This is one of the single handed biggest parts of Tegra 3, although you wont hear too much about it. Check out the video:
NVIDIA Tegra 3: Companion Core




We also have a graph in the gallery below that breaks down why and when each processing core gets activated and what processes require more or less power so don’t forget to look over the gallery of images below.
Next we have an awesome video that will truly show you the graphical power of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 mobile processor. We first saw a demo of the NVIDIA game called Glowball back in May, but today we have something even better — Glowball 2: Underwater
Glowball Part 2: Underwater




The power of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 graphics will truly be unrivaled. With stunning visuals, realistic physics, real-life active lighting and more you can expect some truly impressive and immersive games to quickly come to market once T3 devices start hitting the shelves. I can’t wait for the Tegra 3 version of SHADOWGUN because that game is awesome — and we have a preview of it on T3 in our next video.
Those first two impressive videos should have taught you plenty about the new NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and what to expect, and some you might have already known. Obviously these videos are being made on the coming very soon ASUS Transformer Prime tablet and they mention that right in the video. The last video wont break details down quite the same way the first two did, but this is another extremely convincing video showing just what we can expect from games and gaming with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 platform.
NVIDIA Tegra 3: Next-Gen Mobile Gaming





As you can see in the graph above users can expect double and sometimes triple the gameplay performance across the board with Tegra 3. Obviously not all games or applications will react the same but in general those are some huge improvements. Combine those increases with the vSMP technology you get stellar performance that wont tax the battery and user.
Basically what this all comes down to is the NVIDIA Tegra 3 platform will be awesome. If the videos above don’t have you convinced then I’m not sure anything I say will either so I’ll just leave it at that. The fact that we are getting over double the performance while not suffering a hit on battery life is an impressive task and we are quite excited to see more. The ASUS Transformer Prime tablet will be the first device to take advantage of the new quad-core Tegra 3 processor and we’ll be getting one in for review as soon as humanly possible to give all these new and impressive features a test drive.
I’m sure NVIDIA and all their partners are just as excited as we the consumer are about these new innovations and improvements and I’m assuming we’ll be hearing plenty soon regarding phones and tablets all rocking the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. I have a feeling this Christmas season will be snowing with quad-core tablets rocking the Tegra 3, we’ll just have to decide which one we want. Stay tuned for more details on T3 and quad-core devices as plenty are coming soon.
)

Read more »

NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core demo video leaks

What a surprise we have here, it appears NVIDIA will be going with Tegra 3 for the name of their new quad-core Kal-El mobile processors. This recently leaked promo video teases the Tegra 3 name as well as some features we can expect to see from the powerhouse quad-core chipset. Things like console-quality gaming and high speed web with embedded flash that will give us desktop level browsing experiences and more. The first thing that came to my mind was — where can I get that prototype tablet from the video because it looks incredible (and fake). Check out the video and a few more details after the break.

We’ve seen a few NVIDIA roadmap leaks suggesting a November launch for Tegra 3 and last month they shared a few details on just how awesome Kal-El will really be, including that fifth core. Here is where things get interesting — we’ve recently learned that the Transformer 2 may in fact be the first quad-core Kal-El tablet. Then just last week we heard the Transformer 2 could be launching in early November.
While launch dates and all the details have been very scant and tight lipped, the chance for a November launch would line up with NVIDIA’s roadmaps and the recent leaks about the new tablet both. Mix that in with the ASUS Transformer 2 tablet teaser video released just this morning and we may have something developing here. Before I continue check out the Tegra 3 demo video below:
Tegra 3 demo video




Now all of this can just be speculation, but we’ve been hearing for a while that ASUS could be the first tablet maker to launch with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and that was confirmed this morning also. NVIDIA and the Tegra 3 may still be a little ways off and the Transformer could just ship with a more powerful dual-core and ICS and make everyone happy, but a quad-core Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet sure would be awesome right? Either way now that Ice Cream Sandwich has been announced we have a few exciting months coming ahead in the world of Android.
[via Androidandme]

Read more »

NVIDIA shares details on Kal-El, adds a fifth core

The next revolution in the mobile market it almost here, and that is quad-core processors. We’ve heard tons about them in the past and are about to here plenty more in the future. Today NVIDIA is shedding some light into their world of quad-cores, project Kal-El, and even broke some news about a fifth core — yes we said fifth as in five. Would we call that a quin-core processor?

NVIDIA today has added some details giving us a more in depth look at Kal-El quad-cores as well as everything else you’d possibly need to know with a pile of white papers full of useful information. The addition of a fifth stealth-core to help save on energy, and the amazing levels of power efficiency we will be seeing with their quad-core processors that are coming soon. It also looks like 1080p is a thing of the past, with Kal-El and future chips offering 2560×1600 HD video and more. With that high of resolution support I’m excited to see what Kal-El will offer in terms of 3D video output, as I’m sure a few will be excited to give that a try with some 3D gaming or video playback.
Today NVIDIA unveiled that project Kal-el will have something called a stealth-core that is a fifth processing core that will save on energy, keeps things efficient, and pop up to do some tasks only when its needed and let the big guns sleep until their numbers are called. Everything is right here in the NVIDIA white papers. Basically during those daily tasks that are lightweight such as music playback, e-reading, and YouTube watching Kal-el will completely power down all four cores and activate the single companion stealth-core. For higher performance tasks, Kal-El disables its companion core and turns on its four performance cores, one at a time, as the work load increase. Instead of sucking power with all four cores all the time NVIDIA plans to operate in a highly efficient system.
The second whitepaper by NVIDIA details how as crazy as it sounds, quad-core Kal-El uses less power than dual-core processors across all performance points, and even less than single-core processors too. Instead of overloading any single or dual chips Kal-el is able to efficiently and evenly distribute the brute workload and this causes an overall environment that consumes less power.
With faster browser rendering and load times, stellar benchmark performance and multi-threading and more the power of Kal-el aims to impress. Below is a view of Coremark comparing many current dual-core processors and it shows Kal-el performing quite impressively. Delivering over two times the performance of dual-core processors all while using less power is a pretty big task, and NVIDIA seems to have nailed it.

What all this means in the Android tablet and smartphone world remains to be seen. The last leaked roadmap from NVIDIA showed us Kal-El and Kal-El+. I’m wondering if the + will be an even more efficient platform that they’ll use for quad-core smartphones.
I’ll ask you guys the same thing NVIDIA asked us. So, does a quad-core processor that outperforms other processors while using less power appeal to you?

Read more »

NVIDIA roadmap leaks, Kal-El and more coming soon

NVIDIA and their Tegra 2 superchip for phones and tablets has been on a roll lately, with all the recent talk about quad-cores and Kal-El things are about to get even better this holiday season. Over the weekend a leaked roadmap showing a few us NVIDIA’s upcoming plans and chips may have leaked and it shows us plans up to 2013. One interesting thing I noticed is Kal-El+ on the chart for 2012.

Just last week we heard quad-core Kal-El chips were slightly delayed but we would still see tablets this year with the powerhouse CPU inside. Like recent names of NVIDIA desktop CPU’s Kal-El+ will probably be a more refined and efficient version of their first quad-core chips, but more efficient and aimed for android phones sometime in 2012.
Next on the list we are already seeing possible successors to Kal-El coming late 2012 and early 2013 with support for not only Android but also Linux, Windows 8, and WP7. Interesting to note if we are reading it right NVIDIA doesn’t plan to support Windows until 2013. That can’t be right can it? According to the roadmap it also appears that Kal-El+ will power both smartphones and tablets and then mid to late 2012 NVIDIA plans to split up into different divisions for their CPU’s.
Showing project “Wayne” for tablets and superphones, then project “Grey” will be for mass consumption and a more standard mid-range smartphone market rather than the high end. Grey will take use of NVIDIA’s recent acquisition of the 3G/4G wireless modem company Icera and will be an all in one SOC (system on chip) solution for most smartphones by the end of 2012 and into 2013 to compete with the likes of Qualcomm.
Hopefully we will learn more on Kal-El+ in the comings months and what NVIDIA has planned for the future with Wayne and Grey. The map is a bit confusing and lumps those last two together in the middle so it seems they are still a bit unsure as to what the future holds. Then again aren’t we all?
[via SlashGear]

Read more »

NVIDIA CEO talks Quad-cores and the future of mobile CPU’s

In a recent sit-down, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang broke down all sorts of good news for the mobile industry and Android. Not afraid to talk about business or revenue Huang safely discussed the future of Android tablets, quad-core processors and NVIDIA’s role as a hardware manufacturer for Android and mobile devices.

Moving on to revenues, Huang said analysts had predicted $4.45 billion for NVIDIA and the company is expected to post figures in the $4.7 billion to $5 billion range and beat most expectations. Then moving on to the future he also noted that new devices running the Kal-El quad-core NVIDIA chips should hit stores in Q4 putting them in time for the holiday season, but slightly later than the original projections. This is both good and bad news because at least we have official word that they are coming this year, but bad because they might be later than expected.
With mobile markets and the mobile processor industry only getting bigger and bigger NVIDIA will continue to aim more focus on these markets. With big plans for Q4 2011 and even more for 2012 they have some exciting things ahead of them. With the recent acquisition of Icera, NVIDIA will be integrating 3G/4G wireless modem chipsets into their Tegra processors for an all-in-one solution to better compete with the likes of Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.
Huang briefly mentions part of the initial delays for the quad-core Kal-El is for changes as they continue to make improvements to increase efficiency and performance. I have a feeling NVIDIA has more than just quad-core tablets and phone planned for 2012 but we will just have to wait and see. The next few months should be really exciting in the world of Android. Then again isn’t every month exciting?
[via SlashGear]

Read more »

NVIDIA Announces Tegra Zone Website for all your HD gaming needs

Today NVIDIA has just announced the new TegraZone.com, a brand new website dedicated to mobile gaming on your favorite Tegra-powered superphones and tablets, and the companion site to the Tegra Zone Android app. Along with the official website launch NVIDIA has also updated the Tegra Zone Android app with new features and a brand new game called Sprinkle.

To get right into the action and explore the new website head over to Tegrazone.com and get started today. Another great option with the new site is potential game developers can tune into the Tegra Zone and submit their new games for consideration and more. Users will be able to browse all the amazing applications and games that make NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 powered Android devices just that much better.

Users and potential buyers will be able to browse some of the best and most advanced games for mobile devices all from the website. With tons of reviews, details, screenshots and the ability to share, +1, and retweet your favorite games to all their friends.
Conveniently NVIDIA has included reviews of all the popular games right on the site and what do you know, yours truly, Android Community is at the top of the list for more than a few of them. Check out all popular THD (Tegra HD) games such as Monster Madness, Riptide GP, Pinball THD and more because we have reviews of all of them.

Thanks for the shout out NVIDIA!
Don’t forget to sign up and head over to the community portal as they have incorporated forums for members to talk, brag about gaming scores, and keep up with all the latest NVIDIA Tegra 2 news. They are also giving away five Acer Iconia A500 Tab’s to a few lucky community members, but more details on that will be coming shortly.
Again head to TegraZone.com to get started or go download the Tegra Zone Android App available in the Android Market.
)

Read more »