After weeks of leaks, rumors and speculation, the NVIDIA Shield Tablet and Wireless Controller have officially been announced this morning. NVIDIA posted a series of videos on their YouTube channel promoting the new device with the slogan “high-performance gaming everywhere”.
In terms of aesthetics, the device looks like we imagined. It features dual 5MP cameras, dual front-facing stereo speakers, and an 8-inch, 1920×1200 display. The specs under the hood are equally impressive. The device boasts an NVIDIA Tegra K1 GPU, an ARM Cortex A15 CPU clocked at 2.2GHz, and 2GB of RAM.
In terms of pricing, there are two different models of the device. A 16GB WiFi variant and a 32GB WiFi + LTE version, selling for $299 and $399, respectively. Both models will ship for a July 29th release.
Also new today is the NVIDIA Shield Controller. The controller is not totally new, as we saw this controller on the original NVIDIA Shield Portable; the difference today is that this is wireless. Also noted by early hands-on coverage is that the controller feels more rounded, similar to the Xbox controller.
It also utilizes WiFi Direct, a feature that allows the controller to have less latency than a standard Bluetooth counterpart. But perhaps the best feature of a WiFi Direct controller is its ability to stream audio directly to the controller. This means you can play the Shield with headphones plugged into the controller, not the device.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VohrddwVQqg&w=853&h=480]
On top of all these features, NVIDIA added a few small but noteworthy additions, such as the ability to stream games played on the tablet through Twitch, and a DirectStylus 2, which adds pressure sensitive capabilities to drawing apps.
The Shield looks like a promising device, but its best asset is its well-roundedness. It looks to be a phenomenal gaming tablet, but a good basic Android tablet as well. You can check NVIDIA’s site with the official announcement here.
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