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Nvidia announces portable Android-powered console

New console dubbed "Project Shield" to stream games from PC, will be powered by Tegra 4 processor; company touts Nvidia Grid cloud-gaming platform.

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Graphics card maker Nvidia got the ball rolling at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show by revealing a new portable gaming console/controller hybrid called "Project Shield."

The future of gaming, according to Nvidia.
The future of gaming, according to Nvidia.

The Android-based system runs games from Android's Google Play store and also allows users to stream games installed on their home PC for play on the Shield's screen. Games demonstrated during Nvidia's press conference included Hawken and the PC versions of Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Assassin's Creed III.

Project Shield is based on the company's recently announced Tegra 4 processor. It will have lithium batteries that last for 38 hours. In addition to an HDMI port, the system has a micro-SD slot, a micro-USB slot, and a headphone jack.

Attached to the controller itself is a five-inch, 1280x720-pixel HD multitouch screen that is based on a clamshell design. The system will also be able to output HD gameplay and video to a 4K TV screen. There is currently no word on "Project Shield's" price and release date.

Nvidia also pushed Nvidia Grid, a GPU that is specifically made for cloud computing and cloud gaming all across various PCs and smartphones, which was announced back in May of 2012. The card can push out about 240 Nvidia GPUs' worth of power, which is equivalent to about 700 Xbox 360s, according to Nvidia officials at the press conference. Currently, Nvidia's partners in conjunction with the card are Agawi, Cyber Cloud, Cloudunion, G-cluster, Ubitus and Playcast.

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