The Nvidia Shield is a handheld gaming console that combines a a full-controller and a 5-inch display to play Android games and titles streamed from a PC.
The Shield's lid flips down so it can travel. The silver panel is magnetic, and can be removed, suggesting customizable covers could be in the works.
A large vent in the front helps regulate the temperature of the Tegra 4 GPU and the Shield's other insides.
A view of the side; the controller's triggers and bumpers are visible.
The Shield's controller layout most closely resembles the Xbox 360 controller, which is also a favorite for PC gaming. The main difference is the center buttons, where players can pause, go back, adjust volume and return home. The large Nvidia button launches the game center.
You can see the microSD slot for expandable memory, the micro USB port for charging, the HDMI-out to connect a Shield to a TV and a headphone jack on the Shield's rear.
The Shield can connect to nearby PCs and stream games from them, if the PC has a compatible Nvidia video card.
Nvidia's Shield is a handheld gaming device that tries to do a lot of things at once. It plays Android games and media like a phone or tablet, but also streams high-quality games from a PC that work with its attached controller.
While the Shield does many things well, it certainly isn't a product with mass-market appeal due to several factors. Between its $299 price, (which puts it out of range of an impulse buy), Android's weakness as a gaming platform, and the work you have to put in to stream PC games, it's a tough sell for all but the most hard-core gamers.
If handheld PC gaming is your bag, the Shield is worth investigating. The handheld does a lot very well, though it's not the game-changer Nvidia wants it to be.
The first thing you'll notice about the Nvidia Shield is its heft. It isn't on the small side, making the term "handheld" almost a stretch. It clocks in at about 1.25 pounds, almost twice the 3DS XL (12 ounces) and a little less than a full sized iPad (1.33 pounds).
The Shield's 5-inch screen folds closed to make the console portable. Opening the lid reveals the full controller, with two analog sticks, directional pad, and A, B, X and Y buttons. There are also additional buttons for Shield functions on the controller's face, including the volume control, back and home buttons, and the a glowing Nvidia logo that launches the Shield's gaming hub. There are also triggers and bumpers on the Shield's rear.
While all these are the trappings of a modern gaming controller, there are some differences. The most notable are the twin analog sticks, which are recessed to allow the Shield screen to fold down. The compact design makes these sticks strange to use; you'll have to stretch your thumbs a bit for great control.
The Shield's horizontal touch screen acts much like an Android device. You can control apps entirely from the screen, though one of the Shield's analog sticks can also act as a virtual cursor. The 5-inch screen's 1,280 x 720 resolution looks sharp, and games, movies and other media look great on it.
The Shield's newest update, which arrived Monday morning, revs it up to Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean," and the physical design aside the handheld functions much like other stock Android devices. You'll be able to access Google Play for any media you choose to install, and apps like Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and Google Chrome work as they should.
Android has come a long way for games, but it's hard to review the Shield without pointing out the Android ecosystem is still not as diverse as Apple's, and that is painfully obvious in the gaming hemisphere. Great mobile games still arrive on iOS first, with Google Play teeming with knock-off titles.
See also: 10 Free Android Apps You'll Use Every Day
Nvidia has done its best to play curator by creating a Shield Store, which features all the 100+ games that support the Shield's control scheme. There are some bigger titles in here, like zombie shooter Dead Trigger, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and racing title Asphalt 8. Many of these games are highly polished and make full use of the Shield's Tegra 4 processor.
The curated Shield store does offer brief descriptions of each game as well as prices, but you can't see information like ratings until you jump into Google Play to buy the game. The store would also benefit from the ability to sort games by rating, genre or price.
Nvidia responded to users' complaints about a such a small pool of Android games having controller support by introducing a GamePad Mapper feature on Monday. The feature allows gamers to add controller support to any of their own Android games to adapt them to Shield, in theory.
When players start any unsupported game, they'll hit the Shield's start button and enter GamePad Mapper mode. Here they can assign virtual joysticks and buttons to real buttons on the Shield, and tie gestures or in-game actions to joysticks or buttons.
Mapping my first game (Plants vs Zombies 2) took a little bit of trial and error as I learned how each of the gizmos worked. It's not the smoothest process, but eventually I was able to get up and playing with the Shield's controller. For those not interested in a learning curve, previously created profiles from either the Nvidia team or other players are available to download once you load up GamePad Mapper.
This feature isn't perfect — it's putting a bandaid on the touch-to-controller problem until a game's original developers step in — but it works well enough for some games. I was able to lead the Houston Rockets to victory in NBA Jam on Android, a game that is usually frustrating because of its virtual controls. I can also imagine users coming up with some creative mapping to share with others if this is widely adapted.

The Shield's most touted feature is GameStream, the ability to stream games from a PC to the handheld's screen, allowing you to play high-quality titles around the house. It's a nice destination, but the journey is a huge pain.
To access PC streaming functionality, you're going to need a pretty solid gaming desktop with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 or better graphics card. You'll also need a wireless router that can broadcast at both 5GHz and 2.4GHz, aka simultaneous dual-band capability. The Shield can technically stream over just 2.4GHz, but the lag will be so bad Nvidia doesn't recommend it.
The setup of the Shield took some time, and getting every piece to work together felt like I was keeping several plates spinning at once. Nvidia does have most of the guides you'll need available online, but I ran into some specific problems that took a little good, old-fashioned trial and error.
Once you get GameStream up, it does work really well. I spent a couple hours playing Saints Row IV in the comfort of a couch in a different room from the PC. I could also manage my downloads and game library through Steam's Big Picture Mode, which also works on the Shield. The visuals looked really sharp, and the Sheild's onboard speakers actually sound crisp for their size. It's also worth noting that GameStream's signal worked more than 30 feet away from the PC — though any farther and I'd lose the signal.
There are about 50 games that officially support GameStream, though other games that have controller support might also work fine. (Saints Row IV wasn't in the "supported" list when I started testing, for instance.) Each game does present some of its own quirks though; there wasn't a button mapped for Borderlands 2's menus, where you manage your inventory and look at the game's map. Instead you have to double tap the screen to bring up a virtual keyboard, and hit "m" to go to the map. Yup. That's what I want to do every time I want to see where I'm going.
If you can put up with the work, GameStream is definitely Shield's killer feature. Now that it's officially "out of beta" we should see more PC titles supported as well.
Nvidia added the logical extension of GameStream to Shield with Monday morning's update: Console Mode. This turns Shield into a mini media machine, connecting to a TV through the Shield's HDMI output. You can even control the Shield via a third-party Bluetooth controller if you wish.
Console Mode is great for secondary functions like media viewing. Apps like Netflix, Hulu and Twitch scaled up easily, though I had to utilize the virtual cursor for some functions the controller wasn't programmed to do.
Some Android games worked really well, too, making them a big-screen experience that actually looked great. I was able to play Max Payne for Android and Star Wars Pinball while lounging in bed. But plenty of games simply didn't work on big screen, including the aforementioned NBA Jam, which loaded in only a quarter of the screen, and Dead Trigger, which couldn't recognize any of the controller actions.
Console Mode can also be used with GameStream, though it's a very long daisy chain of devices to get it there. If your PC isn't in the same room as your TV, then I can see the appeal of having a device in the living room to send PC games too, though it's almost as funny to sync a Bluetooth controller to a device that already has a controller attached to it.
The streaming worked pretty well, though there was a small amount of lag when streaming about 15 feet away from the PC. It wasn't so bad that we couldn't keep playing, but situations that required more processing power would tax the system a bit.
It's also not going to be the highest resolution. Console Mode can only stream games at 720p to the television, though Nvidia said an update to support 1080p was in the works. This feature's timing is especially interesting considering Valve is about to beta-test its Steam Machines, which are computers meant to bring PC gaming into the living room through streaming.
It should be said of course, that Nvidia provides companies like Mashable products for review, along with generally excellent support to make sure we get the most out of our testing.
Nvidia provided us a version of Monday's patch early. For reasons nobody is sure of, the patch bricked the Shield, freezing it on the startup screen despite multiple reboots. Nvidia quickly swapped our review unit with a brand new Shield, which handled the patch perfectly. This isn't to caution against installing the patch, but to state the surprising fact that if a Shield becomes bricked, there's no real way for its owner to reset the system. With another Android device, you could probably wipe it from a PC and reinstall the operating system, but this isn't the case for the Shield.
The Nvidia Shield is a solid performer with some great components. Its screen is beautiful, and the Tegra 4 handles games like a champ. PC streaming is a great idea, and looks beautiful when executed. But because of it's $299 price point, I wonder exactly who the Shield is for. That price doesn't reflect the fact you'll need a high-end graphics card and a $100+ router to access the Shield's biggest feature.
If you're a diehard PC gamer looking to move around your house more, or want to try streaming PC games to your television, the Shield is for you, though it's hard to say how big that market is. With the proliferation of other Android devices that work well for gaming, not to mention sub-$100 Android gaming consoles like OUYA and GameStick that can be used for media browsing, PC streaming would be the only reason to purchase a Shield, and even that has caveats.
Solid guts with great GPU
PC streaming has virtually no lag
Access to full Google Play
Pricey
Finicky Console Mode
Recessed joysticks feel terrible after extended play
While the Shield is a great gaming device, it suffers from a high price point against an already crowded field of Android devices.
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Image: Mashable