Nvidia is now taking a limited number of pre-orders for its Project Shield portable gaming system, now officially named Shield, the graphics chip maker said Tuesday.

The Android-based handheld is priced at $349 and will ship in June, Nvidia said on its official blog. Retailers set to carry the device are Newegg, GameStop, Micro Center, and Canada Computers.

"Shield is the one device that taps into the planet's largest ecosystem of gamesspanning Nvidia TegraZone, Google Play, and Steam. Rediscover your Android games with the mobility, control, and performance of Shield. Connect to your Google Play account to enjoy your favorite movies, music and apps," Nvidia said.

Nvidia said in March that it would ship a "modest" version of Shield in early June. The company looks ready to hit that target date but Monday's announcement ditched the humble language surrounding the device.

The initial pre-order period is only open to people who signed up on Nvidia's Shield website. The general public will be able to pre-order the gaming portable at the site starting on May 20 as well through Newegg, GameStop, Micro Center and Canada Computers, Nvidia said.

Shield consists of a "console-grade game controller" with a flip-up display unit that houses a 5-inch, 720p retinal multi-touch display. The portable has integrated speakers and 802.11n 2X2 MIMO Wi-Fi.

Powering Shield is Nvidia's Tegra 4 mobile processor with a quad-core CPU, 72 GPU cores, and 2GB of RAM. The handheld also carries 16GB of onboard storage and features GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a mini-HDMI output, micro-USB 2.0, a microSD storage slot for memory expansion, and an 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack, Nvidia said.

"At $349, the price will be fine for Nvidia's target audiences, Nvidia GTX PC owners, and hard core Android gamers. If it becomes the device every kid wants for the holiday, then it could expand its footprint," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst for Moor Insights & Strategy. "The two big differentiators for Shield are that it's the only device to play Android games with an integrated gamepad and the only device that extends PC gaming into the living room."

Shield runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean and can play "both Tegra-optimized and regular Android gamesas well as Android apps," Nvidia said.

The first run of the portable will also include a beta feature that allows Shield users to access PCs with Nvidia's GeForce GTX graphics cards inside. Down the road, Nvidia said it's "working on streaming your favorite PC games to Shield, including great titles from Steam."

For more, check out PCMag's Hands On With Nvidia's Project Shield at CES 2013 and the slideshow above.

Further Reading