The handheld gaming market is about to get a little more crowded, thanks to Nvidia‘s latest announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company primarily known for PC gaming video cards is getting into the handheld market with Project Shield, which is basically a wireless controller with a built-in screen running on Android and featuring Nvidia‘s new ultra-fast Tegra 4 processor. If the 5-inch screen’s not big enough for you, no worries: it also features an HDMI port so you can connect to your HDTV, as well as micro USB and SD ports.
Project Sheild apparently runs on a full version of Android, according to Nvidia representatives, who say you won’t have to sacrifice any usability and get full access to the Google Play marketplace and a full web browser too.
The most interesting and impressive aspect is the fact that Project Shield also boasts software that lets you remotely access games stored on your gaming PC, including Valve‘s Steam service… essentially giving you a wireless PC gaming controller and handheld PC gaming system all in one.
There’s no word on price yet, but we do know when you can expect to see it in stores: Project Shield will ship between April 1st and July 1st this year.
