Last year, Nvidia launched its Shield gaming handheld, an Android-based device that combines an Android tablet with a console game controller. It was technically impressive and made even more useful after some major software updates, but it remains a fairly niche device.
Nvidia is now expanding the Shield into a broader line of mobile gaming devices. The Nvidia Shield is now the Shield Portable, and is joined by the new Shield Tablet and Shield Wireless Controller.
The Shield Tablet is an 8-inch Android tablet in a much more conventional form factor than the original Shield. It boasts a Tegra K1 processor, Nvidia's newest mobile chipset and, according to the company, is significantly faster than the Tegra 4 in the Shield Portable. It's a heavily gamer-focused tablet, with Nvidia's TegraZone (now renamed Shield Hub for Shield devices) interface and access to Android titles and games streamed from a PC with GameStream or over Nvidia's Grid cloud gaming service beta. It also features an HDMI output, and offers the same Console Mode as the Shield Portable that outputs video in 1080p and offers an HDTV-friendly interface.
At a briefing last week, Nvidia demonstrated the graphical power of the Tegra K1 on the Shield Tablet. It displayed the Unreal Engine 4 "Rivals" demo shown off at Google I/O in June, highlighting the engine and chipset's graphical effects capabilities. The demonstration also showed off Trine 2 played natively on the Shield Tablet, using the same graphical engine as the PlayStation 3 version of the game. The Tegra K1 supports full OpenGL in addition to the mobile-focused OpenGLES, and has the technical capability of outputting in Ultra HD/4K.
Besides the direct power and gaming features, the Shield Tablet will have some other useful tricks. It supports Twitch video streaming and Nvidia ShadowPlay game capture, letting players record what they play. Its front-facing 5-megapixel camera allows Twitch users to include a facecam in their streams. The Shield Tablet also includes a stylus that fits inside the tablet when not in use, and incorporates Nvidia's DirectStylus 2 technology, which add GPU acceleration into painting. The included Dabbler app will let users paint with watercolors and oils with simulated gravity and reflection effects.
Nvidia also announced the Shield Wireless Controller, a gamepad designed for use with the Shield Tablet. It's a Wi-Fi-based controller similar to the Shield Portable's controls, and features a headphone jack and built-in microphone for use with games, voice chat, media playback, and Google voice commands. It will be compatible with the Shield Tablet and Shield Portable.
The Nvidia Shield Tablet and Shield Wireless Controller are currently available for pre-order from online retailers, and will ship July 29. It will come in 16GB and 32GB versions with optional LTE support, with retail prices ranging from $299 to $399. The Shield Wireless Controller will retail for $59.