NVIDIA joins the extending list of companies producing their own line of slates. No longer staying behind the scenes, the market has seen the first try of the company in the tablet industry through the Tegra 4 handheld gaming console. Just recently, NVIDIA unleashed another tablet, the Tegra Note 7. Some sources compared the device to similar flagship devices like the Google Nexus 7. How will it fare against differently sized tablet like Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition? Can NVIDIA hold its ground?

NVIDIA Tegra Note 7

The 7-inch tablet market has been a test ground previously for tech manufacturers. Nonetheless, since Google released the Nexus 7, the platform has evolved and became a major slate category for shoppers. The 7-inch market has grown and it now includes manufacturers like Google, Asus and NVIDIA. The Nexus 7 was considered as a Project Kai device. This means it is a product that seeks to provide premium features but for a good or affordable price. It also strives to avoid compromising features or sacrificing specs to fit in a specific price range.

From the first generation Nexus 7 to the second generation, it has been hard to find a tablet that can match the Kai concept. NVIDIA now challenges that though taking the idea of Kai even further. The company offered beyond a reference design and sought to give a recommended set of components and reach a potential set of suppliers.

NVIDIA prepared a tablet platform that its partners can adopt. The strategy is similar to NVIDIA's GPU approach. For instance, EVGA is in charge of support and sales for the Tegra Note 7 in the United States. As for other regions, the list of partners includes Xolo, Gigabyte, ZOTAC and PNY. The Tegra Note 7 is not just a Kai device rather it serves as an extension project.

Other features include Tegra 4 SoC clocked at a maximum single core clock of 1.8 GHz. This is lower compared to Shield at 1.9 GHz maximum plus active cooling. The 7-inch screen comes with 1280x800 IPS display, 5MP camera, front-facing stereo speakers and stylus.

Another selling point of the device is the price, it starts at $199.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 features 2560 x 1600 pixels, 10.1 inches (~299 ppi pixel density). The device measures 243.1 x 171.4 x 7.9 mm (9.57 x 6.75 x 0.31 in) and weighs 540g (WIFI)/ 535 g (3G)/ 547g (LTE) (1.18 lb). It features a camera at 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash and check quality. The device runs on Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean) including Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 (LTE model)/ Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 (3G model) as well as Adreno 330 (LTE model).

Other features include:

  • SNS integration
  • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
  • MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
  • MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player
  • Organizer
  • Image/video editor
  • Document viewer
  • Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
  • YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa
  • Voice memo/dial
  • Predictive text input (Swype)

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition targets business and working professionals. The Tegra Note 7 can compete with it in terms of flexibility and price. People looking for a simple slate and does not need all the business applications can stick to the Tegra Note 7. It is also great for multimedia and entertainment purposes. Unless users are looking for a higher end and organized tablet then the Note 10.1 is a viable option. The Note 10.1 is more expensive starting at $569.