Incorporating 72 custom NVIDIA GeForce GPU cores and the first quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU, Tegra 4 delivers record-level performance, outstanding graphics, and great battery life to mobile devices.

ENGADGET: Tegra 4 reference tablets use SanDisk iNAND Extreme, mate a fast CPU with fast storage

At the core of Project SHIELD is the world's fastest mobile processor, the new NVIDIA Tegra 4, which delivers enormous power from its custom 72-core GeForce GPU and the first quad-core application of ARM's most advanced CPU core, the Cortex-A15.

ENGADGET: NVIDIA unveils Project Shield, a Tegra 4-powered Android gaming handheld

It said the deal would help it compete against ARM, the British firm whose CPU designs power most smartphones.

BBC: Imagination challenges ARM with Mips takeover

In some cases the technologies sit side by side in devices - Apple's iPhone 5, for example, features a PowerVR GPU based on Imagination's architecture, and Apple's A6 CPU which is based on ARM's work.

BBC: Imagination challenges ARM with Mips takeover

This year looks to be no easier for the company as the CPU market will get more crowded by the entry of ARM-based processors and shortage will impact results for at least Q1 2012.

FORBES: AMD Stock A Longtime Loser But Parts Add Up To $8.50

Despite its fairly recent entry into the CPU business, the company is one of the more active ARM developers.

FORBES: This Ain't Yer Grandpaw's nVidia

As you'll no doubt be aware having read our headline above, there actually isn't a 1GHz CPU at the helm, as AnandTech and IOSnoops report the dual-core ARM chip is dynamically clocked around 900MHz, likely in search of reduced power consumption.

ENGADGET: iPad 2 specs discerned, 900MHz dual-core ARM CPU and PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU blow away graphical benchmarks