‘A great tablet is better than a cheap PC,’ says Nvidia CEO

Nvidia expects tablet devices to replace cheap entry-level PCs as consumers increasingly use such devices for everyday computing.

That’s the belief of Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, who discussed the topic during a conference call on the company’s first quarter fiscal results.

"A great tablet is clearly better than a cheap PC," said Huang.

"New computing devices are becoming increasingly like your personal computer, [so] performance matters and this is where we can add a lot of value… disrupting the entry-level PC," he said.

The CEO also went on to highlight the Android operating system as a key component of this disruption, as the OS’ user base opt to use Android-based computers in order to benefit from familiarity.

"Android is really quite disruptive. People who enjoy Android phones are going to enjoy Android tablets and Android this and that," he said.

Of course, Nvidia sees the trend as an opportunity for itself and the success of its Tegra 4 processor, which features predominantly in the latest Android-powered tablet devices.

Additionally, Huang revealed that the Tegra 4i, an updated version of the Tegra 4 chip, would begin to feature in devices by the beginning of 2014. Despite a focus on offering high-performance, the CEO emphasised that the chip would be targeted at phones over tablets and other devices.

Nvidia continues to celebrate strong financial results, with net income for the quarter rising to $77.9 million, a sizeable jump from the $60.4 million achieved during the same period last year. Meanwhile, the company’s revenue also saw a 3.2 increase to $954.7 million.