Nvidia’s announcement of Project SHIELD during CES 2013 came out of left field. It was truly unexpected but it is nice to see a company willing to push the envelope and try something different. Project SHIELD is more than just a handheld gaming system for Nvidia; it is a way to showcase exactly what gaming can be with Nvidia’s Tegra 4 and other chipsets. Nvidia has been hosting PC Mondays & Android Thursdays to show off Project SHIELD in action. Here's a look at what they've shown off so far
Depending on your computer setup, you can play games through Steam, games installed on your computer, or Android games from Google Play. From the demos, it appears that you will need a GeForce GTX-enabled PC with GFE (GeForce Experience) to have the best experience with Project SHIELD.
If you are a Steam user then this next part is for you. Nvidia announced and demoed Steam support on Project SHIELD. So long as there's an in-game option to use a control pad rather than a mouse, all the games you have purchased on Steam can be played on Project SHIELD. The idea alone sounds pretty cool but actually seeing it in action is even better. Nvidia is really showing the gaming potential on an Android device with the SHIELD application.
FEATURES -
Custom 72-core NVIDIA GeForce® GPU
Quad-core A15 CPU
5-inch 720p retinal multi-touch display for high fidelity visuals
Custom, bass-reflex, tuned port audio system delivers fidelity and custom range never before experienced on a portable device
802.11n 2x2 MIMO game-speed Wi-Fi provides high-bandwidth, ultra-fast wireless for seamless game streaming
Project SHIELD is stocked with the latest Android Jelly Bean operating system from Google, providing access to all your favorite Android applications and games
Project Shield is powered by Tegra 4, Nvidia’s freshly unveiled quad-core Cortex A15 chip. All the details on Tegra 4
The amounts of RAM and storage have not been announced yet. We assume that the device features 2GB of RAM. Users will be able to expand storage using a microSD slot. Ports include a USB port, a standard audio jack, and HDMI output.
Apparently, the device will support LTE, although at this point the beta version we were shown only supports WiFi.
Battery
The Shield comes with built-in Li-Ion batteries rated at 38Whr. Nvidia says that playing PC games on the Shield (see below) will not require that much battery juice, because all the hard work is done by the PC. The Tegra 4 chip is said to be more power efficient than the Tegra 3, which could also contribute to an extensive battery life for the Shield.Nvidia promises between 5 and 10 hours of gaming for the Shield and up to 24 hours of HD video playback. We have to wonder about the weight of the device, considering how quickly a 3D game can munch through a regular smartphone battery. To achieve 5 to 10 hours of gaming, Nvidia must have fitted the Shield with some extra-large batteries.
Controller
Nvidia calls the controller on the Shield “console-grade”, and from the looks of it, the device delivers on the promise. At first glance, you could even mistake the Shield for a PS3 DualShock 3 controller.The Shield controller buttons and sticks:
- 2 joysticks
- a D-pad
- ABXY buttons
- left/right bumpers
- left/right analog triggers
- Start/Back/Home/Volume buttons
- a multi-function NVIDIA/Power button
Stock Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and ecosystem
The Project Shield runs stock Android 4.2. Kudos to Nvidia for acknowledging that the latest iteration of Android is a great operating system with a great interface, that doesn’t require tweaking and skinning just for the sake of it.Because Shield runs stock Android, users will have access to all the 600,000+ apps in the Play Store, all the Google services, and all the media content (music, movies, and books) in Google’s store.
Nvidia revealed that Android games optimized for Project Shield would be made available in the TegraZone portal. These include so far:
- Arma Tactics
- Blood Sword
- Burn Zombie Burn
- Dead Trigger 2
- Real Boxing
- Rochard
PC requirements
According to Nvidia, the following specs are required to stream PC games on the Shield:- GPU: NVIDIA® Kepler™-based GeForce GTX 650 (Desktop) or GTX 660M (Notebook) or higher
- CPU: Intel Core i5 or equivalent or higher
- System Memory: 4 GB or higher
- Software: GeForce Experience™ application and latest GeForce drivers
- OS: Windows 7 or higher
- Router: Router: 802.11a/g/n (Recommended: 802.11n Dual Band / MIMO Router)
SOURCE - NVIDEA
