Hasta La Gadget!

NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 powered handheld looks a lot like a typical game console, but it isn’t. You could say that its operating system sets it apart, or its knack for streaming PC games, but that’s not it — it’s that Shield won’t be sold at a loss. Although many consumer game devices eventually turn a profit, they often hit the market as a loss leader, herding gamers into a closed ecosystem and securing a revenue stream for the manufacturer — every Nintendo, Xbox or PlayStation game made funnels a small licensing fee to the owner of the platform. NVIDIA, on the other hand, isn’t a game company, it’s a hardware manufacturer. “We’ll make our money by selling the device to gamers,” NVIDIA stated on the company blog, explaining how Sony and Nintendo do business. “This time-honored approach isn’t one we’re taking with Project Shield… …our goal with it is to design and sell a truly great piece of hardware, one that fits comfortably in your hand, delights your eyes and blows out your ears.” NVIDIA’s still dancing around the subject of price, of course, but the message is clear: Shield is probably going to hit your pocketbook more like a tablet than a portable games console.

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Source: NVIDIA

A video shown on-stage during NVIDIA’s press conference just unveiled “Project Shield,” a gaming controller / portable console running the just announced Tegra 4. The controller looks an awful lot like a PlayStation 3 DualShock 3, albeit with an HD screen attached. NVIDIA’s promising 38 hours of gaming out of the rechargeable lithium ion batteries built-in, a swanky audio system “on par with” jamboxes, and a full-on Android gaming experience. A micro SD sits next to an HDMI output, one USB port, and a standard eighth inch audio jack, directly below the customizable 5-inch “retinal display” touchscreen. Update: It’s a 1,280 x 720 screen at 294 dpi, for the record.

NVIDIA’s hoping Shield will replace your average controller as well — perhaps with that newly detailed Grid system? — and company CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off its use in-tandem with a swanky LG 4K television on-stage, navigating through media without pause. He also gave us a taste of a few games running on it (Blood Sword: Sword of Ruin and a boxing title) via NVIDIA’s Tegrazone gaming store. But beyond just Android games we’ve already seen, still-in-development Unreal Engine 3 title Hawken was also given a multiplayer run, and looked notably more attractive than the previous two titles.

As good as the handheld’s newfangled Tegra 4 chip seems to be, it still can’t hold a candle to Nvidia’s own GTX 680 — Huang explained that the Shield can play more than just Tegrazone games — it can take over your gaming PC, too. He explained that Nvidia’s GeForce Experience software can pipe PC gaming to the handheld over your local network, giving Shield owners access to their Steam library (navigatable by Big Picture Mode, of course) directly from the device. It looks like users will be able to purchase PC games through Tegrazone, too.

Huang showed the crowd Need for Speed: Most Wanted running in real-time on the device. It’s … well, it’s really impressive. There’s little (if any) perceptible lag, and this is a racing game we’re seeing (as in that lag really matters). The next game up is Assassin’s Creed 3, which looks similarly impressive on the Shield’s 5-inch screen. Finally, we’re seeing Steam launched directly from Tegrazone, and it launches directly into Big Picture Mode. Beyond just playing games via streaming, it looks like we’ll be able to buy them directly on Steam, through Shield. We’ll be getting a closer look at Project Shield later this week, and we’ll be sure to put it through its paces. Oh, and we’ll ask for a price and release window, as we’ve yet to hear official word on either. Can’t wait? Tide yourself over with NVIDIA’s official press release after the break.

Update 2: NVIDIA tells us Project Shield’s roughly in the beta stage of development, and currently doesn’t include an LTE radio (WiFi only). It’s running Jelly Bean at the moment, but may change by the time it’s expected to ship, in “Q2 2013.” Still no word on pricing, sadly.

Joseph Volpe and Sean Buckley contributed to this report

Continue reading NVIDIA unveils Project Shield, a Tegra 4-powered Android gaming handheld

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, HD, Mobile, NVIDIA

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I’ll admit that I wasn’t sold on the idea of portable Bluetooth speakers until someone actually gave me one and I tried it out for a couple of days. Since then, I use it almost everyday. Soundmatters is adding another portable speaker to their range, the DASH7, as part of their CES 2013 lineup.

The Soundmatters foxL DASH7 is pocket-friendly, so when you don’t use it, you can just stash it in your coat.  It only weighs 200g, stands about 18mm high, and comes with a compact stand for adjusting its angle. It’s also short enough when laid flat to fit in front of a tablet in a stand without blocking the screen.

It’s supposed to provide omni-directional sound when aimed upwards, but directional sound when placed on its stand. It can also connect to the Soundmatters foxLo subwoofer, if you want a little extra low-end thump. It’ll even work as a speakerphone when paired with a compatible smartphone, and has a built in microphone.

The DASH7 will be available in red, white, black and silver between late January and late February 2013. It will retail for $249(USD) but you can pre-order it for $219, and also save $13 on shipping.

These days, there are plenty of Bluetooth speakers available, and you no longer have to pay hundreds of dollars to get something decent that sounds good. If you’re looking for a small, but feature-packed speaker, you might want to check out the Boombot REX.

The hexagonal Boombot REX isn’t just a single channel – it’s a 2.1 speaker – with a pair of full-range drivers on front and a dedicated woofer on back. It also has a noise-canceling microphone, and a built-in clip, making it quite portable in a variety of different situations. It connects via Bluetooth to many different devices, from iPods to smartphones and tablets.

There are dedicated buttons to change tracks, adjust volume, answer and hang up calls. In addition, the REX is Siri-enabled, so that you can push a single button on the phone and speak your requests to it and hear them back through the speaker. Beyond all of its technical capabilities, the REX is water-resistant and built to take a beating.

The project is currently raising funds over on Kickstarter, having already amassed more than $85,000 against an initial goal of just $27,000, with 15 days of funding left. Needless to say that this project will be fully funded. You’ll have to pledge $80(USD) to get yours, and you can choose from a blue, green or black version for that price. There’s also a $100 option which lets you choose a custom set of grills in either purple or orange.

[via designboom]

While I’m personally holding out for the Archos GamePad, if you absolutely must have an Android 4 gaming device before the holidays, you might want to check 0ut this oddity. The Chinese made JXD 5110 bears more than a passing resemblance to the Sony PSP, but it’s all Android, all the time.

This handheld gaming system runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), and supports 95% of all Android apps out of the box. It’s also got a (single) analog thumbstick, D-Pad, ABXY, Start/Select and shoulder buttons. Games are played on its 800×480 resolution, 5-inch touchscreen, and it’s also got a low-res (0.3 MP) rear camera built in. It’s powered by a an ARM Cortex A9 CPU, and has an ARM Mali400 GPU. It’s got 4GB of on-board storage, and can be expanded via a MicroSD card up with as much as 32GB of storage. Its built-in Wi-Fi supports 802.11g/b/n standards.  It’s also got an HDMI output so you can connect it to your TV.

Of course, the main reason to buy a handheld like this is to play emulators of older gaming systems, and the S5110 can play classic games using any of the numerous Android-based emulators out there. It even comes pre-loaded with several emulators to get you started. While it’s definitely an odd-looking system, it’s available now, and costs under $100(USD) too. You can grab one over on Amazon in either Black or White.