Earlier today it was reported that thanks to a leaked press rendering, an alleged photo of the NVIDIA Shield tablet was revealed. In some ways it reminded us of the Tegra Note, but at the same time we got the feeling that it looked like the HTC One M8 as well. That being said, according to the folks at Videocardz, they claim to have gotten more information and photos regarding the device. For starters, it seems that we can look forward to NVIDIA making an official announcement on the 22nd of July. The announcement will take place next week and is expected to be launched later in the summer or early fall. The photos also seem to suggest that the NVIDIA Shield tablet will be paired with a wireless controller.
Earlier today Nvidia launched a brilliant text adventure game to promote a mysterious forthcoming product, but a leak may have ruined the surprise. A series of slides resembling a typical Nvidia press deck has leaked (intercepted via VideoCardz.com), revealing two new members of the Shield family: A tablet and a wireless controller. Many were expecting a successor to the original Shield, Nvidia’s multipurpose handheld console which boasted a built-in controller and a penchant for latency-free PC game streaming. I reviewed it and continue to evangelize it, even if it does target a somewhat niche audience due to its form factor. Tablets, of course, are a little less niche. Though the Shield had a touchscreen, its clamshell design made it excellent for gaming but a little unwieldy for typical tablet usage like web browsing or snapping photos. Nvidia should be commended for trying to innovate, but I suspect sales didn’t back up their strategy. Putting the same features (and some new ones) into a tablet with a significantly more powerful GPU? Wise move. For those not familiar with the Shield, its killer app was the ability to stream PC games from an Nvidia GeForce-powered home PC over your network or via the internet. With the recommended network environment, gaming on the couch (or in bed, or at work, or at the library) was effectively lag-free. It also boasted insanely powerful, rich sound, and a vanilla Android environment.
