NVIDIA has launched its Shield micro-console

NVIDIA Shield has joined the small but rapidly growing number of Android consoles on the market today. Equipped with NVIDIA’s powerful Tegra X1 mobile chip and 3GB of RAM, the device is more than powerful enough to handle 4K streaming and some lightweight games, but the serious gaming will come through the company’s GRID service, which allows you to stream even the most high-end games out there at max settings. 

As promised back in March, the Nvidia Shield Android TV console is coming this month — today, in fact. The company has announced it’s now available to order from Amazon, Best Buy, and its own website. The new Shield — a thin, angular console with a sharp green streak of light — is powered by Nvidia’s Tegra X1 mobile “superchip” with 3GB RAM. The main platform here is Android TV, and Shield is capable of streaming 4K video from compatible services (which include Netflix, YouTube, a handful of others). It’s also a gaming device; Nvidia is touting over a dozen exclusive titles in addition to those already compatible with Android TV. It’s also capable of streaming games via its GRID service. The $199 standard model comes with 16GB storage, while the $299 “Pro” version comes with 500GB and a copy of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel — both include a game controller and can expand their storage via MicroSD and USB 3.0. You can buy a slimmer remote for $49.99, a stand to prop the Shield vertically for $29.99, and additional game controllers for $59.99.