The Nvidia Shield tablet has been officially revealed, just days after the device was fully leaked online. As predicted, Nvidia's second portable eschews the awkward controller in favour of a more traditional tablet design, with a Tegra K1 processor which makes it one of the fastest handhelds ever in terms of graphics performance.
Last week's leaked images, which were taken from an official Nvidia presentation and posted by Videocardz , proved bang on the money, showing the tablet itself and the optional wireless controller that will let owners play games on the Android-based tablet, or stream their Windows games from a desktop PC on the same wireless network. The controller looks a lot like the original Shield , except Nvidia has detached the screen and simplified the face buttons. It still has twin analogue sticks, a D-pad, left and right triggers and bumpers, four face buttons and dedicated Android shortcut keys, along with a multi-touch trackpad for navigating through Android's UI.
The Shield Tablet is powered by Nvidia's latest Tegra K1 processor, which will give it a major advantage over other Android tablets and Apple's iPad Air when it comes to graphics performance. The quad-core CPU will run at 2.2GHz and come paired with 2GB of RAM. It will have an 8in, full HD resolution IPS display, either 16GB or 32GB of storage depending on whether you opt for Wi-Fi only or 4G LTE, front and rear 5-megapixel cameras and a microSD card slot compatible with up to 128GB cards.
It also has an updated version of the DirectStylus input first seen on the Advent Vega Tegra Note , for more precise drawing or note-taking without needing a capacitive touch layer - which adds significantly to the cost of a touchscreen device.
"If you’re a gamer and you use a tablet, the NVIDIA SHIELD tablet was created specifically for you," Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA’s co-founder and CEO, said of the announcement. "It delivers exceptional tablet performance and unique gaming capabilities to keep even the most avid gamers deeply immersed, anywhere they play."
The Shield tablet will launch in the US on the 29th of July, followed by Europe on the 14th of August and other regions in the autumn. It will cost £239.99 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model, with the optional Shield controller set to cost £49.99. An official Shield tablet cover will cost £25. The device will be available to pre-order later today from eBuyer .
