NVIDIA is no stranger to Android powered devices. Their Tegra SoC (system-on-a-chip) integrated circuits are in the heart of many smartphones, tablets, and even cars! With the SHIELD, NVIDIA brings to the market a unique piece of hardware that’s also the company’s first portable gaming system. Built around the Tegra 4 SoC, the SHIELD is a 5-inch Android tablet equipped with a console-grade controller and offering tremendous connectivity options.

NVIDIA claims the SHIELD will take Android gaming to the next level, and I will be looking at the veracity of such high expectations throughout the next pages. Yet this Android-on-steroids device can do more than that it seems. GameStream and Console Mode were officially implemented through the latest OTA update and bring some interesting features to the SHIELD; for instance, playing PC games anywhere in the house without any compromise to eye-candy, and being able to use an HDTV as an output display sounds very exciting.

My last portable gaming console was a Star Wars Limited Edition PSP that’s still in perfect shape but sadly collecting dust in the bottom shelf of my night table. I will take it with me now and then during my daily commute if I feel like playing a PS One classic game, but my Samsung Galaxy Note II phone is meeting all my needs in terms of portable entertainment. The Note II has a large screen and very good battery life, so I use it to read books and watch videos on the go. In terms of gaming however, the lack of physical controls and the prospect/hassle of having to use a wireless controller limited my choice to a few select games that just need swipe motions. Needless to say, my portable gaming situation has seen better days!