So long, Ninja: Nvidia rebrands Tegra 3 architecture '4-Plus-1'

A look at the 4-Plus-1 architecture in the Tegra 3 processor.

(Credit: Nvidia)

Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor will be making an appearance on a host of mobile devices this year, and when that happens, it will no longer come with its clumsy architecture branding.

The chipmaker announced yesterday that it has ditched "variable symmetric multiprocessing," "companion core," and even "ninja core," to describe Tegra 3's architecture. Nvidia will now describe it as the "4-Plus-1" architecture.

"The reason is that, the more popular this technology became, the more our customers wanted a name for it that's unique and descriptive," Nvidia wrote in a blog post yesterday. "A name they could put on a box or a store sign that immediately represents its value."

Nvidia has struggled for months to describe the Tegra 3's unique architecture. The processor comes with four high-performance cores to handle demanding tasks, like gaming, and a low-performance core designed to save battery life and handle less resource-intensive tasks, like accessing e-mail.

The new branding will not impact the Tegra 3's name. As Nvidia points out in its blog, the name-change applies only to the processor's architecture.

The Tegra 3 is expected to be running on several smartphones and tablets this year, and many of those devices will be announced at the Mobile World Congress next week. Just last week, in fact, LG's specs for its upcoming X3 smartphone were leaked. The handset, expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress, will reportedly come with a 4.7-inch HD display and a Tegra 3 chip.

If you're interested in finding out about all the devices that'll be revealed at Mobile World Congress, be sure to stick with CNET. We'll have all the latest details from the show, so you won't miss a beat.