LG Announces Optimus Smartphone with Tegra 2

LG is priming Optimus smartphones using Nvidia Tegra 2.

The Nvidia Tegra 2 package is a killer solution for tablets and smartphones. It's curious then, why we haven't seen more of them yet.

LG Electronics will help rectify that absence from the market as it announced that it will introduce a series of fast, powerful smartphones starting in the fourth quarter of 2010, called the Optimus Series, utilizing Tegra 2's dual-core CPU and an Nvidia GPU.

Nvidia says calls the GPU unit on its Tegra chips GeForce, but we're doubtful that they share anything with the PC parts other than branding. Still, Nvidia knows how to make graphics and we want to see Tegra 2 provide some tough competition for the Apple A4, Samsung Hummingbird, and hopefully give us a glimpse at the dual-core splendor that'll come with the Samsung Orion.

LG touts that the two speedy 1 GHz processors sharing the workload can provide up to 2x faster web browsing, 1080p video output and up to 5x faster gaming performance over single core processors running at 1 GHz.

“LG is committed to making its Optimus Series smart devices the de facto standard in speed and graphics performance,” said Chang Ma, Vice President of Marketing Strategy Team, LG Mobile Communications Company. “We selected Nvidia because it is the visual computing leader and has a long history of creating amazing consumer experiences.”

 “The ultimate smartphones will be powered by Tegra, the world’s most advanced mobile processor,” said Phil Carmack, senior vice president of Nvidia’s mobile business. “LG is one of the most popular consumer brands, and their Optimus Series of devices with Tegra is further validation of the processor’s ability to deliver an unrivaled, turbocharged media experience.”

When we think of Nvidia and Optimus, something else comes to mind – but we're sure that Nvidia doesn't mind the name sharing with LG in this case.

LG’s Optimus Series smartphones featuring the NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor will debut starting in the fourth quarter of the year.