NVIDIA：安卓平板不是为打倒iPad而生的

NVIDIA总裁兼CEO 黄仁勋(Jen-Hsun Huang)稍早前表示，Google 的Nexus 7平板并不只是一种比苹果(Apple) iPad便宜的替代品，它的优势还未完全发挥，事实上，是在全球数百万Android使用者领域中，它极具成长潜力。 “Nexus 7 并不是为了成为更便宜的 iPad 而诞生，” 黄仁勋说。 过去的Android平板都未能抓住主要趋势。但黄仁勋认为， Nexus 7 是第一款能让 Android 使用者轻易上手，享受所有内容和应用的平板电脑，这些使用者已经惯于使用拥有较大的、高分辨率屏幕的Android智能手机。 “我们已经花了很长时间去建立一个能真正为 Android 使用者增添附加价值的平台，”黄仁勋说。“它并不是iPad的替代品，它是真正为Android使用者开发，可提高用户体验的产品。目前全球的Android使用人数已经破亿了。” NVIDIA上周公布第二季销售收入和利润报告，以及对第三季的预期，均超出分析师预期。 包括分析师和3C产品达人们，都纷纷猜测 Nexus 7 能否打破iPad雄霸平板电脑市场的局面。根据Canaccord Genuity的调查，去年 iPad 在平板电脑市占率达66%，今年预计也有61%。 Nvidia的Tegra 3应用处理器甫获Nexus 7采用，自上个月开始出货。这也是首款采用Android 4.1版(代号Jelly Bean “糖豆”)操作系统的平板电脑。 黄仁勋表示，首款执行在平板电脑上的Honeycomb Android操作系统，事实上与Android手机操作系统差异颇大。Jelly Bean和它的前身──Ice Cream Sandwich则是为了可同时执行在平板计算机和手机上而设计，让使用者能无缝地在设备之间共享内容。 黄仁勋表示，Nvidia虽然没有赶上最初的平板热潮，但他们将在最适当的时机切入。他指出，Nvidia一直努力降低Android平板电脑的成本，提高功能性和品质，以便在产品推出之际便能满足大众需求。 “我对于Android平板电脑终于找到确切定位，获得市场共鸣感到非常兴奋，”黄仁勋说。“如果你有一部Android手机，你再去买一部Android平板，它们将能串连你所有的内容。” 黄仁勋预计，其Tegra应用处理器将在平板电脑市场获得比智能手机更大的成长动能，据Canaccord Genuity统计，Nvidia拥有约2%市占率。 28nm供货问题仍然存在 尽管本季季报成表亮眼，但Nvidia公司高层表示，该公司将继续面临代工厂台积电(TSMC)的28nm产能限制挑战。黄仁勋指出，Nvidia预计供货限制将持续到第三季。“我们不知道在面临供货限制时损失了多少业务，”黄仁勋说。 Nvidia截至7月29日的季销售额为10.4亿美元，较前一季成长13%，较2011年同期成长3%。依照一般公认会计原则(GAAP)计算，该公司最新一季净利为1.19亿美元，较上一季成长97%，但比去年同期下降了21%。 Nvidia 公司表示，其消费性绘图处理单元业务──包括PC、笔电、内存，以及来自该公司和英特尔(Intel)的交叉专利授权营收──本季成长了15%，达 6.683亿美元。该公司消费性产品业务季营收成长35.5%，达1.797亿美元，这部份主要来自Tegra应用处理器。 而Nvidia的专业解决方案业务──包括工作站绘图和运算芯片──则下滑了7.7%，来到1.963亿美元。该公司的Quadro工作站芯片在美国和亚太地区的销售情况稳定，但在欧洲则受到经济因素引起的需求持续影响。 而针对将在今年10月结算的第三季，Nvidia表示预期销售收入可望增加到11.5亿至12.5亿美元之间，较第二季成长11%~12%。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译： Joy Teng 参考英文原文：Nvidia: Android tablets have arrived ，by Dylan McGrath

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{pagination} Nvidia says Android tablets have arrived Dylan McGrath SAN FRANCISCO—Google Inc.'s Nexus 7 tablet is not a less expensive alternative to Apple Inc.'s iPad, but the best realization yet of a tablet with the potential to tap the millions of Android users worldwide, according to Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of chip maker Nvidia Corp. "The Nexus 7's value proposition is not to be a cheaper iPad," Huang said. "It's to be a peripheral or a companion device for someone who is really invested in the Android operating system." Previous Android tablets have failed to catch on in a major way. But Huang said the Nexus 7 is the first to make it really easy for Android users to enjoy all of the content and applications they have invested in for their Android smartphones on a device with a larger, high-resolution screen. "I think it's taken this long to really build a platform that adds value to Android users," Huang said. "It's not an alternative to the iPad—it's really a device that enhances the user experience for someone who is an Android user. And there happens to be hundreds of millions of Android users." Huang's comments came on a conference call with analysts Thursday (Aug. 9) following Nvidia's strong second quarter financial report. The company reported sales and earnings for the quarter and gave third quarter guidance that exceeded analysts' expectations. Analysts and gadget enthusiasts have speculated on the potential of Nexus 7 tablet to break the iPad's strangehold on the tablet market. The iPad held 66 percent share of the tablet market last year and is projected to have 61 percent market share this year, according to a recent report by Canaccord Genuity. Nvidia's Tegra 3 is the applications processor in Nexus 7, which was announced in June and began shipping last month. It is the first tablet to use version 4.1 of Android, nicknamed Jelly Bean. According to Huang, the Honeycomb version of Android which ran the first Android tablets was actually very different from the Android phone OS at the time. Jelly Bean and its predecessor, Ice Cream Sandwich, are designed to run both tablets and smartphones and make it much easier to seamlessly share content and applications between devices, Huang said. Huang said Nvidia notched design wins in 60 or more Android tablets during their first 18 months of existence, none of which caught on in a meaningful way. It took that time to get the cost, functionality and quality of experience of Android tablets to get where it needs to be, he said. "I am really excited about the fact that the positioning of Android tablets is really starting to resonate with the market place," Huang said. "If you have an Android phone, you go get yourself an Android tablet, and all of your content just shows up." Huang said he expects the tablet market to continue to offer more potential for Nvidia's Tegra applications processors than smartphones, where the company has about 2 percent market share, according to Canaccord Genuity. 28-nm supply contraints remain Despite the strong quarterly report, Nvidia executives said the company continues to be challenged by constrained supply of 28-nm capacity at foundry vendor Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Huang said Nvidia expects supply constraints to continue through the third quarter. "We have no idea how much business we left on the table" due to the supply constraints, Huang said. Nvidia (Santa Clara, Calif.) reported sales of $1.04 billion for the quarter ended July 29, up 13 percent from the previous quarter and up 3 percent from the same period of 2011. The company reported a net income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of $119 million, up 97 percent from the previous quarter, but down 21 percent from the year-ago quarter. Nvidia's second quarter sales exceeded consensus analysts' expectations of about $1.01 billion, according to Yahoo Finance. Nivida's non-GAAP net income for the second quarter, $170.4 million or 27 cents per diluted share, also exceed analysts' expectations of about 14 cents per share, according to Yahoo Finance. Nvidia said its consumer graphics processing unit business—including desktop, notebook, memory, and license revenue from the company's patent cross license agreement with Intel—increased 15 percent sequentially to reach $668.3 million. Revenue from the company's consumer products business increased 35.5 percent sequentially to $179.7 million, Nvidia said, mostly due to record revenue from Tegra applications processors. Revenue from Nvidia's professional solutions business—including workstation graphics and computing chips—declined by 7.7 percent to $196.3 million, Nvidia said. Sales of the company's Quadro workstation chips remained steady in the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region, but experienced softness in demand in Europe on continued weak economic conditions, the company said. For the fiscal third quarter, which closes in October, Nvidia said it expects sales to increase to between $1.15 billion and $1.25 billion, up 11 to 20 percent compared to the second quarter. The company's target for the quarter exceeded consensus analysts' expectations, which called for third quarter sales of about $1.09 billion, according to Yahoo Finance.