NVIDIA on Tuesday announced the upcoming availability of its Shield gaming console. The Android-powered handheld will be one of the first devices to be equipped with NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 processor, which includes 72 custom graphics cores and four Cortex-A15 processing cores. The controller features dual analog joysticks, a full-sized D-Pad, left and right analog triggers and A/B/X/Y buttons, and can even stream PC games from a GeForce GTX GPU-powered computer. The Shield is also equipped with a built-in 5-inch 720p multi-touch display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD slot, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a mini-HDMI port and runs a stock version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
“These pieces, put together by a company full of gaming fanatics, add up to an amazing new open platform gaming portable,” NVIDIA said. “It’s the best way to play Android games. And because it’s an Android device, it works with both Tegra-optimized and regular Android games – as well as Android apps.”
Users will be able to access apps and games through the traditional Google Play store and also NVIDIA’s TegraZone marketplace.
Shield will begin shipping in June for $349 and will be available from Newegg, Gamestop, Micro Center and Canada Computers. NVIDIA will begin taking preorders on Tuesday for those users who previously registered, and will open orders up to the general public on May 20th.
