Nvidia CEO: Android tablets could outsell iPad in 3 years

Android tablets could outsell Apple's iPad in less than three years, says Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, according to Reuters.

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang

(Credit: Nvidia)

Speaking at the Reuters Technology Summit in New York on Monday, the outspoken CEO noted that it took Android smartphones less than three years to outpace the iPhone.

"The Android phone took only two and a half years to achieve the momentum that we're talking about," Huang said at the summit. "I would expect the same thing on Honeycomb tablets."

With Nvidia supplying the Tegra 2 processor that powers many Android tablets, Huang has been both a cheerleader and sometime critic of Google's mobile OS and the devices that it powers.

To outpace Apple's popular iPad--the company said in March that it had sold 15 million iPads to that point, and accounted for 90 percent of the tablet market--the Android ecosystem will need to see improved tablet models and more mobile apps. Huang believes that will happen as the Honeycomb version of Android catches on and developers create more games and other apps to take advantage of the latest version of Android.

There also need to be improvements in Android tablets' retail presence, Huang told CNET blogger Brooke Crothers last week. "It's a point of sales problem. It's an expertise at retail problem. It's a marketing problem to consumers. It is a price point problem," Huang said.

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Huang admits that the first round of Android tablets were hampered by technical issues and a lack of marketing, prompting consumers to complain about prices and performance. He's especially pointed out the limitations of the Android versions prior to Honeycomb as they were designed for phones rather than tablets.

"You can't just do another product," Huang told CNET in an interview last November. "Look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab. It's a tablet that uses a phone operating system on a large display. A tablet is not a large phone."

However, his opinion of the second wave of tablets has been much more upbeat--he sees the newer devices as more affordable, more available, and more diverse. He's also more optimistic about Android with the release of Honeycomb, the first version optimized specifically for tablets.

Huang's upbeat expectation for Android tablets overtaking iPads has been echoed by Michael Dell. The CEO and founder of PC maker Dell, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal last month, used the same smartphone reference point. "If you look at 18 months ago, Android phones were like, 'What is that?' And now there are more Android phones than iPhones," Dell said.

As with any new product, initial kinks always need to be worked out and "the first versions tend to be a bit clumsy to roll out," Huang said, according to Reuters. That statement holds true even for Honeycomb 3.0, which he admits has certain shortcomings that everyone was aware of. But he seems happy so far with the follow-up version of Honeycomb 3.1, which he dubbed "delightful."

Nvidia is also ready to push the envelope of Android tablets with the upcoming release of its Kal-El mobile processor. Christened with Superman's birth name, the new chip will offer a quad-core processor and higher-resolution graphics, promising five times the performance of Nvidia's current Tegra 2 chip.

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Nvidia head sees competition for iPad

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple's iPad is finally about to get some real competition. At least according to Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and chief executive of chip designer Nvidia.

In under three years, he says tablets using Google's Android platform -- and his company's processors -- could overtake Apple Inc's red-hot iPad as improved versions and more applications hit the market.

That would be about how long it took smartphones running Google's Android software to overtake the iPhone.

"The Android phone took only two and a half years to achieve the momentum that we're talking about. I would expect the same thing on Honeycomb tablets," Huang told the Reuters Technology Summit in New York on Monday.

Sportscar enthusiast Huang said tablets using new versions of Android, including Honeycomb, would outsell iPads as developers create and improve more games and other software for them.

The maker of graphics chips for PCs became a Wall Street darling this year with the launch of its Tegra 2 processors, establishing it as a major player in high-end smartphones and tablets by manufacturers like Samsung and Motorola Mobility.

But with stiff competition from the iPad 2, some investors question whether Apple's lead in tablets is too big for Android-based tablets to catch up.

With its touchscreen and on-demand applications, Apple's iPhone set the standard for smartphones when it was launched in 2007.

But phones using Android now outsell iPhones and are increasingly popular in China and other emerging markets.

Huang said Nvidia's next-generation mobile processor, code named Kal-El, has already won spots in several devices planned by major PC and phone manufacturers, including phones, tablets and low-powered laptops.

"It's got to be at least 10. We have five major phone companies and we have five major PC (manufacturers)," he said.

Kal-El will boast quad-core processing and higher-resolution graphics as competitors Qualcomm and Texas Instruments also gear up to launch new tablet chips.

INTEGRATED GRAPHICS

Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia is racing to build its mobile business as competition heats up in its traditional business of designing graphics chips for PCs.

It posted stronger-than-expected results and guidance last week, but its shares slumped 11 percent in the following session as investors focused on a sluggish growth outlook for PC graphics, which generate two-thirds of the company's revenue.

Rivals Intel and Advanced Micro Devices have launched central processors with integrated graphics this year, which might erode demand for Nvidia's low-end chips, and some consumers are buying tablets instead of PCs.

But shares of Nvidia have gained about 35 percent over the past six months, largely due to optimism about its small but expanding Tegra chip business.

APPLE VS THE WORLD

Apple tightly controls the design of its gadgets and the software that runs on them in order to deliver very specific experiences to its customers.

But Google gives away Android for free to manufacturers, who use it on their own smartphones and tablets.

"As a result of so many different parties working together, the first versions tend to be a bit clumsy to roll out. However, as is the nature of these organic industries with very, very large players, you have continuous improvement at a very rapid pace," Huang said.

"Everyone recognized the shortcomings of Honeycomb 3.0, jumped in working on Honeycomb 3.1, and if you haven't had a chance to oplay with it -- it's just delightful," he added.

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