The Nvidia Shield is now available to pre-order in the US and Canada with the Android gaming console shipping by the end of July.
Priced at $349 (£228), the Nvidia Shield will be available to pre-order from today on Nvidia’s website for Canadian and American consumers if they hit the “Notify Me” button, though they won’t actually receive it until July. The general public can pre-order the console from May 20.
The Android console will ship with a silver lid, AC Adapter, USB cable and two full games – Expendable: Rearmed and Sonic 4 Episode 2 THD.
Anyone interested in Nvidia Shield accessories can purchase a carrying case, carbon fibre or glossy black lid for the console when they pre-order.
No details have been offered on a Nvidia Shield UK release date as yet.
Nvidia Shield Features
Previously known as the Nvidia Project Shield, the Android console features an Nvidia Tegra 4 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and 72-core Nvidia GeForce GPU.
Providing a 5-inch 1280 x 720p multi-touch display with 294ppi, the Nvidia Shield has 16GB flash memory expandable via micro SD and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS connectivity.
Playing host to a mini-HDMI output and micro USB 2.0, the Nvidia Shield has three inbuilt Axis Gyro and three Axis Accelerometer motion sensors and strongly resembles a standard gaming console controller.
Introduced at CES 2013 in January, the Nvidia Shield runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and can run games downloaded from the Google Play store, Steam and Nvidia’s own TegraZone. Via the Wi-Fi connection, the Nvidia Shield can play games streamed from PCs packing an Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 GPU or better.
The Android gaming console will face increased competition from the next-generation Xbox 720 and PS4 consoles that will hopefully arrive at the end of the year.
Next, read why Nvidia Project Shield is a tech success bound for failure.
