The new LG Optimus 2X is the first smartphone that will come with a dual core Nvidia Tegra 2 system on chip and as such it constitutes a very significant milestone for the Californian-based semiconductor giant.
Nvidia is known mainly for its graphics processing units (or GPU) which have single handedly changed the graphics card market more than one decade ago.
But, just as it caused many of its competitors to adapt or perish (3D FX, Number Nine, 3D Labs), Nvidia has been forced to reassess its current situation in a market that will change significantly next year.
The coming to market of the first AMD Fusion to face Intel's own Sandy Bridge processors - which combine the CPU & GPU on a single die - means that Nvidia has no other option but to explore a third way.
And because the company doesn't have strong vested interests in the x86 market, it means that it was easy for Nvidia to embrace ARM and its rapidly growing ambition to rival Intel and AMD on their own playgrounds.
