The folks at Nyko have decided E3 to be the perfect place to let it be known that they’re on-board with NVIDIA and their soon-to-be-released SHIELD gaming device for accessories from the get-go. With a SHIELD Dock aside a Travel and Shell Case as well as a Power Kit, Nyko will be ready for the
While the NVIDIA SHIELD device isn’t quite on the market yet, NVIDIA hasn’t made any secret about making sure it’s Tegra 4 processor (coming inside the device) is good and ready to be a big part of the presentation. Today the folks at MadFingerGames – in association with NVIDIA – have shown a video previewing
If you’re all about the burning up of your zombie enemies and have a hankering to do so on your Android device, your time has arrived. The game Dead on Arrival 2 has announced that their next beta testing round will be beginning tomorrow – all users need to do is agree that they’ll never tell what they saw: this game wont be out for a while. It has, on the other hand, been demonstrated more than once on NVIDIA SHIELD.
This game has been created by the folks at N3V Games with additional assistance from NVIDIA, who’ve helped this game become extra optimized for devices with NVIDIA Tegra processors inside. While the minimum specifications for running this game tell us we wont necessarily have to use Tegra processors to run it, it’s certainly recommended: “minimum spec equal to or better than Tegra 2, recommended Tegra 3 or higher.”
Of course that means that the NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor inside SHIELD will be all the better. Devices aiming at running this game need Android 3.0 or better with Android 4.0 recommended. The developers behind this game have also suggested the following, straight from the Android Beta Signup instructions:
• Have a stomach for wave after wave of bloodshed and mayhem!
• Aren’t scared of the dark.
• Don’t need aspirin for headaches.
• Have no problem shooting your zombie friend in the head if you had too.
Features like motion-captured animation and dynamic physics will certainly be adding to the realism of this game, and from what we’ve seen on SHIELD already, it’s going to be a no-jokes sort of situation, no matter what device you’re working with. This beta test is for both single player and multiplayer action, so get ready to go blasting into the night.
NOTE: The beta may not begin at dawn, exactly – you never can tell with the undead. Tomorrow in general would be a bit better a bet.
PSA: Dead On Arrival 2 Android zombie horror beta begins at dawn is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The gaming device known as SHIELD is headed through the FCC this week with NVIDIA’s original code-name attached: Project Thor. As the machine was originally called Project SHIELD when it was introduced earlier this year at CES 2013, the name Thor follows well: Marvel Comics fans the folks at NVIDIA must be. This device is headed for the hands of pre-order users sooner than later, too.
The device known as SHIELD had its product drawings created by NVIDIA Senior Product Designer Jason Su as well as designer Richard Lai. Other than a confirmation of what we already knew to be true about this device, nothing much has turned up odd.
This machine is a clambshell Android gaming device, working with a 5-inch display up top and a set of physical controls below. The display works with 720p resolution and is fully multi-touch-sensitive. The display, the controls, and the two dedicated integrated speakers were all developed specifically for this device, and the whole device is manufactured for NVIDIA.
This is odd because of the lack of NVIDIA-made NIVIDA-designed devices up until this year. This is the first fully NVIDIA-made Android device, and though they’ve been working with manufacturers from all corners of the Android-toting universe to bring their Tegra mobile processors to the public, this is also the first time they’ve put one in one of their own.
Inside SHIELD is the NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core processor with 72 GPU cores – here coming to the public in a device for the first time. This processor was also introduced earlier this year at CES 2013.
Stay tuned as SlashGear has a look a SHIELD and its gaming abilities in the very near future. We’ll be looking at it from an Android perspective, from a GeForce PC gaming streaming perspective, and from the perspective of an everyday user, too.
NVIDIA SHIELD hits FCC with Avengers hat tip in code: Project THOR is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Eager to get your mitts on NVIDIA’s first Tegra 4 device? Cast your jealous eyes upon the federal government — they’ve already got one. NVIDIA’s Shield gaming handheld dropped by the FCC to get its label approved, betraying its original code name, Project Thor, in the processes. Hardly a surprise to see the device passing federal muster, of course, as it’s slated for release at the end of next month. Unfortunately, the filings don’t reveal any hidden goodies (that is, no cellular radio), just a standard WiFi antenna. Still, if label location drawings and test reports are your thing, check out the FCC link below.
Source: FCC
Today the team behind NVIDIA’s SHIELD device have spoken on the activities and preparations made for showing the device on “P-Relase” day. P-Release signifies the device is ready for production, and what the team has shared today is what went on behind the scenes right up until NVIDIA’s most recent quarterly internal company meeting where CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off the very first SHIELD production unit. This device was first introduced back at CES 2013 earlier this year, and it’ll be shipped to the first wave of pre-order users in June.
The first run of SHIELD devices spoken about in this telling of the process was a small set of 220 devices – though its not clear whether this was the first full run of devices or not, the intense construction process behind the device is.
Two weeks before pre-orders for this device were set to go up and a “quick turn” manufacturing team is lead by a man named Brant. Brant spoke briefly to the team about how they’ll go about hands-on testing of this first set of 220 devices, then flew to the contract manufacturer taking the bulk of the assembling for SHIELD.
This quick-turn team has a set of deliverables that includes, amongst other things, a 100 page packet of assembly instructions. Details as small as how long each unit is charged before being shipped are covered in full. The fact that this machine works with elements like directional pads, physical buttons, and a clamshell display mean it’s also significantly more complex to put together than the average smartphone or tablet.
At around 24 hours before SHIELD would be announced fully “P-Release” ready, NVIDIA’s marketing team sat in a room speaking about what they’d be demoing the next day. They added a set of 30 games to the device itself (most of which won’t be on the final device, but will be available through the NVIDIA TegraZone). They plugged an SD card full of media into the device with movies like Thor and Iron Man.
The team made an effort to “wittle down” the app lineup that’d be launched on the device in this session as well. Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp were suggested, and the final set was selected. Though there is a unique set of apps on this device, SHIELD remains “pure android”, as they say, working with an un-skinned version of Android Jelly Bean.
P-Release was revealed to be just three days before publications like SlashGear arrived to test SHIELD out – just days before Google I/O 2013, as well.
The device is now being produced in its first full run, while the initial pre-order set is coming in less than a month. SHIELD is made to work with Android apps on the device itself with its NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor as well as (in Beta mode, for now) streaming from GeForce GTX-powered gaming PCs.
SOURCE: NVIDIA
NVIDIA SHIELD final hours recounted before Production Release is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience isn’t a baby anymore – several months in and 2.5 million downloads since this system’s introduction and eventual public beta release, this game optimizing control center will replace the company’s “NVIDIA Update” system as the standard. In each driver package included with a GeForce graphics card, the GeForce Experience will be packaged, starting this week with the R320 GeForce GTX 780 launch driver.
The NVIDIA GeForce Experience will be released in version 1.5 this week as well, bumping the number of games supported to 70 and ushering in support for the newest graphics hardware on the market with the GTX 780. This release will be the first in which the GeForce Experience is packaged with a driver, but will be retro-fit to all systems supported being released in the future – where applicable.
The GeForce Experience is now well out of beta, acting as both a user interface through which a gamer’s check and update to the newest GeForce drivers is made simple and providing a place where games can be optimized instantly.
The big deal with the GeForce Experience is the gamer’s ability to one-step optimize their game settings to the best they can be given their computer’s abilities. This system is made for two kinds of people playing games:
1. Users who know what some of the setting available to them are, but not the whole lot, and want to optimize their gaming experience.
2. Users who want to optimize their gaming experience and have no idea what the vast majority of the settings are – or mean – in each game.
For each of the 70 games optimized uniquely by NVIDIA graphics and performance specialists, maximizing image quality “while maintaining great performance” is literally as easy as clicking the button “optimize.”
NVIDIA has also let it be known that they’ll be releasing new features for the GeForce Experience later this summer, one of them being Optimal Playable Settings (OPS) Customization – this means you’ll be able to bump up a setting here, knock another down here, and the system will compensate and act accordingly. More than just “this is best” will be available to you once this customization feature is released.
This summer users will also see support for NVIDIA SHIELD. This little mobile device will have its own connection on your PC, rather than having its own Android application, this allowing you to optimize the full-powered network-streamed games it’s capable of playing straight from the source – but optimized for SHIELD. Further details surrounding unique SHIELD options will be coming soon.
Finally there’s ShadowPlay, another “later this summer” update. This release is essentially “TIVO for games”, as one NVIDIA representative puts it, allowing you to record video of your system constantly and select segments you’d like to save. ShadowPlay will use Kepler graphics driver technology to record 20 minute segments at a time, allowing you to keep what you want and toss the rest – all through the GeForce Experience.
GeForce Experience replaces “NVIDIA Update” as graphics driver standard is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Due to an apparent collaborative request from NVIDIA’s retail partners aiming to carry their new SHIELD device, it would appear that the device’s pre-order date has been bumped. But where situations such as these generally have delays in mind, this change in the minds of the market rulers is in favor of an earlier time for consumers to join in on the purchase of this device. In other words: where the pre-order date for SHEILD for the public was the 20th of this month, it’s now today, May 17th.
The device formerly known as Project SHIELD will be coming from the same set of retail partners as it was when its first availability was announced before Google I/O. This change of heart affects each of the set: NVIDIA’s home page, Newegg, and Gamestop in the USA and Canada Computer in the Great White North. It’s just Micro Center that’s not got a pre-order page prepared at the moment – they’ll be going live inside the next few days.
SHIELD retains its specifications outlined in detail earlier this week, it being an NVIDIA Tegra 4 quad-core processor-powered gaming Android clamshell-style gaming handheld device made for both local and streaming game content. Utilizing the Tegra 4′s 72 GPU cores for graphics prowess, this machine is being marketed as both the highest-powered Android gaming device on the market while it brings streaming PC gaming at the same time.
It’s important to note, mind you, that the PC gaming streaming abilities SHIELD employs will not be launched in their full, finalized form when the device ships. Instead, NVIDIA suggests that this part of the equation will remain in Beta for an unspecified amount of time – but not so long that we imagine users will be freaking out.
Have a peek at the PC streaming abilities of this device as well as some Android gaming above in a couple of SlashGear’s several hands-on demos with this device as it inches closer to a final release. Expect shipping to take place sooner than later.
NVIDIA SHIELD pre-orders up today: partners rally for early bump is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
With Google Glass finally in the hands of developers, and HTC’s flagship One smartphone readily available around the globe it’s time to test the video camera capabilities a bit, while also showing off some cool new technology. Get ready for a video capture comparison from Google Glass, the HTC One, and the Olympus OM-D camera. What makes this even better is you’re getting an overload of technology, because this video shootout is done while also taking a peek at NVIDIA’s SHIELD controlling the Parrot AR Drone.
So not only are we testing the camera capabilities of these three devices, but you’ll also get an exclusive look at NVIDIA‘s Android game-console doubling as a remote as it controls and flies the Parrot AR Drone. Talk about gadget overload. There’s a lot of different needs that come to mind when someone decides on a smartphone or camera, and here we’ll be showing three different options, as well as their pros and cons.
Obviously with the HTC One you’ll get full 1080p video capture using their Ultrapixel camera one the smartphone. Which is an experience that these days everyone is pretty familiar with. Flip on the camera and aim your smartphone at the subject. This is convenient, but then this is also where Google Glass just takes things up a notch. You’ll enjoy nearly the same video experience, only completely hands-free. Everyone has mixed feelings about Google Glass, but being able to record demo videos for you guys, hands-on video, unboxings and more without a tripod and just using Glass is quite nice.
Google Glass in a way has opened up an entire new experience and way we easily and quickly record video. Yes you can attach a GoPro to your chest, but this is different. Below you’ll see three videos. The first being a quick demo of the NVIDIA SHIELD recorded by Google Glass. The second will be with the HTC One. Then the third will be a back-and-forth video in a different setting comparing Glass to something like the Olympus OM-D camera.
Google Glass 720p video capture
As mentioned above, the simple and hands-free experience using Glass is nice, but you’ll instantly notice the video is a little jerky at times. Here’s where there are both pros and cons. Glass video is hands-free, easy to do, and convenient but you’ll have to learn to hold that head of yours still. It takes some getting use to, and you might want to use hand gestures instead of turning your head, or moving it at all.
Then with Glass you only get 720p video capture on that 5 megapixel lens, but the quality is pretty excellent. You’ll also notice just how wide the video is compared to the HTC One video below. Pay attention to colors, brightness, and even audio levels.
HTC One 720p video capture
To be fair we recorded this on 720p as well, just like Glass, and right away you’ll notice the stability. Some image stabilization could help Glass, but it will only do so much. In general we’re all familiar with recording video through our phones, and as a result, the end product is clear, crisp, and not all over the place. The HTC One video capture handled the changing light outdoors better, and overall the colors and contrast we’re pretty even. You will however notice the audio capture on Glass wasn’t very good, and it was much clearer from the HTC One.
Last but not least the third video we wanted to toss in for good measure has the Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera capturing some moments with NVIDIA SHIELD, then it switches to Google Glass. This might be harder to follow, but we had our head and Glass on NVIDIA as they explained SHIELD, then our Olympus OM-D on the product. So each time you see SHIELD it’s through a dedicated camera, and the rest is shot with Google Glass.
While this last video isn’t quite something you can “compare” it does however show you another set of options and opportunity with Glass. Being able to record the same situation and demo simultaneously, without having 3 arms. There’s obviously advantages and disadvantages from each, but we wanted to give you the video and let you decide.
Does the loss of 1080p capture and slightly lower audio quality throw you off, or does the convenience and endless opportunity to record with Glass make it worth the trade off? You won’t all be recording with two devices, but what about the Father holding a child in one hand, yet still capturing his daughters soccer game at the same time? That is just one example, but a good one.
Okay, okay, just get a tripod and shoot video with that Olympus instead. Like we said, pros and cons. Since Glass isn’t evenly remotely close to being consumer ready, we won’t talk about price, but that will obviously be another factor later on. So what do you guys think about it. Does the opportunity and ease of recording with Glass give it a leg up on cameras and smartphones? Not to mention you can do it all by voice, or will you still opt for a dedicated camera? These are just a few small examples of the many, but we wanted to share it with you all. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Google Glass vs HTC One vs Olympus OM-D video shootout is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Remember NVIDIA’s kooky Project SHIELD tablet? The one it unveiled to an unsuspecting public at back CES? Well, it’s officially not just a “project” anymore — it’s a full-fledged product, and NVIDIA is aiming to get the SHIELD out the door this June complete with a $349 price tag.
To help manage demand for the curious gaming portable, NVIDIA is also preparing to take pre-orders. If you’ve been eagerly devouring what Shield details you could and have subscribed to the Shield newsletter, you’ll be able to lock down your unit starting today — the rest will have to wait until next Monday to get their pre-orders in.
To help manage demand for the curious gaming portable, NVIDIA is also preparing to take pre-orders. If you’ve been eagerly devouring what Shield details you could and have subscribed to the Shield newsletter, you’ll be able to lock down your unit starting today — the rest will have to wait until next Monday to get their pre-orders in.
In case you haven’t been keeping tabs on what the Shield has to offer, here’s a quick rundown on what to expect. The thing runs Android Jelly Bean MR1, and manages to cram NVIDIA’s speedy new Tegra 4 chipset, 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch multi-touch display running at 720p, 16GB of internal storage, and a microSD storage slot into a controller body that’s awfully reminiscent of the venerable Xbox 360 controller. Throw in the ability to stream certain PC games from a computer and you’ve got yourself a neat little gizmo.
The Shield is an ambitious little gadget, and the ability for players to stream PC games to the thing is sure to win it some fans, but is this thing really going to sell? Let’s just consider the price tag for a moment: selling the Shield at $349 means it’s more expensive than buying an XBox 360 or a PlayStation 3. Granted, those consoles will soon be superseded by a new batch of hardware from Microsoft and Sony, but I suspect people would still rather get one of those more traditional consoles than an ambitious niche device like the Shield.
That’s to say nothing of the fact that the Shield is a device meant for on-the-go gaming. These past few months have seen both Nintendo and Sony slash the prices of their respective handheld gaming consoles in an effort to life sales, maneuvers that seem to have succeeded for now. The market may not be ready for a $349 handheld, but that hasn’t stopped NVIDIA from trying — now we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
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