Nvidia has announced it is working with Microsoft on the second generation of its Surface tablet platform.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang told CNET that his company is "working really hard" on the Surface 2 with hopes it will be more successful than its predecessor, after the first version forced Microsoft into a $900m write-down after it sold far fewer units than the makers expected.
Huang said a big problem for Surface RT, the version of the tablet that runs on ARM-based chips instead of Intel, is that it did not have Outlook available at launch.
"It is the killer app for Windows," Huang said. "Now we’re going to bring it with the second-generation Surface. We’re working really hard on it, and we hope that it’s going to be a big success."
Microsoft is reportedly developing new Surfaces which include a version with a small screen.
CNET reported that Qualcomm and Nvidia were believed to be the chip suppliers for the Surface RT versions, though neither firm had confirmed.
Last month, Microsoft revealed that Surface tablet sales totalled $853m (£562m) in their first eight months on sale.
Earlier this year, Nvidia revealed plans to license its graphics cores and visual computing patents to other chip makers, as part of its efforts to widen its revenue base.
