Asus could be first to release Tegra 3 tablet

The Nvidia Tegra 2 APU is becoming quite ubiquitous in Android tablets and is even beginning to power some high-end smartphones. Nonetheless, Nvidia’s Tegra 3 platform is just around the corner, and reports are claiming that Asus may already be hard at work on a Tegra 3 tablet.

According to an article from DigiTimes, Asus will release a tablet with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 APU, possibly as soon as the processor becomes available for manufacturers. Exact release dates and specifications are still unknown given the early timing, but will almost assuredly be a powerhouse device judging from Nvidia’s “Kal-El” presentation earlier this year at MWC.

The news of a Tegra 3 Asus tablet falls in line with our previous report back in March, where Asus CEO Jerry Shen told reporters that the company was planning on an unnamed quad-core tablet with glasses-free 3D capabilities. Since the Tegra 3 APU will be a quad-core processor as well, it could be safe to assume that the previously mentioned quad-core tablet could be one in the same with the Tegra 3 tablet.

In addition to the Tegra 3 tablet, Asus could also release two more down-to-earth Intel Atom tablets sometime this year, according to DigiTimes. While unconfirmed, TomsHardware predicts the Intel-based tablets to sport Intel Z670 Oak Trail processors.

The upcoming Tegra 3 platform will supposedly be a massive performance upgrade over the current Tegra 2 APU, up to 5 times the raw power with its integrated 12-core GeForce GPU. Production of the “Kal-El” processors is expected to begin this August. Tablets based on the new Nvidia mobile APU, such as the Asus tablet, could theoretically make it to market by late 2011 or early 2012. 

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