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The original NVIDIA Shield Portable (just called 'NVIDIA Shield' at first) was released back in 2013, and is still a very unique device. It had the form factor of a flip handheld console, like a Nintendo DS, but was much beefier and used NVIDIA's own Tegra 4 chipset. The result was a beast of a gaming system that ran stock Android, and could stream games from your PC (as long as you had an NVIDIA GPU).
NVIDIA seems committed to a set-top box format and Android TV platform for its SHIELD brand, revealing a slightly tweaked model of the device at CES as the first major hardware revision in a year and a half. But fans of the original SHIELD, the somewhat goofy and crazy-powerful Android portable console, have been clamoring for a new device for even longer than that. The last we heard about follow-up from NVIDIA was almost two years ago, but it looks like someone at the company has been busy between now and then.
NVIDIA has released an update for its Shield Portable console device today, namely update version 110. The OTA doesn't add anything new, but it resolves some long-standing bugs and gives the device some much-needed security patches. You can see what's changed (rather, been fixed) in the official changelog from NVIDIA's forums, below.
The Galaxy S III, first released back in 2012, only has official software support up to Android 4.3. No matter: the folks at the CyanogenMod development team are keeping the device alive long after Samsung threw in the towel. Today the AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint variants of the GSIII all get their very first nightly ROM builds for CyanogenMod 13, which is based on Android 6.0. You can find them at the d2att, d2tmo, and d2spr listings on the CM download page, respectively.
The CyanogenMod team continues to expand its selection of builds for its aftermarket ROM, and today no less than four new devices are being added. Those would be HTC's 2015 flagship One M9, Lenovo's budget-oriented ZUK Z1, NVIDIA's SHIELD Portable (the original one with the attached controller), and the SHIELD Tablet.
If there's one thing to say about NVIDIA's support of SHIELD devices, it's that they're doing a pretty dang good job of constantly pushing enhancements to all three devices - SHIELD Portable, SHIELD Tablet, and SHIELD Android TV.
NVIDIA's GRID gaming service, which streams high-end PC games to the company's Android-powered hardware at extremely low latency, has been promoted as one of its best exclusive features. Unfortunately, NVIDIA seems to be having a lot of trouble getting over the last few hurdles to actually launch the thing. GRID has been in beta since late 2013, and was scheduled to launch its paid service in July as of the SHIELD Android TV announcement. Now it looks like the full launch has been pushed back again.
The original Shield Portable is finally getting the bump to Android 5.1 from 4.4, but don't rush right out and download the OTA just yet. There are a few caveats with this one. Yes, you get the latest version of Android, but it will remove several games and features that are bundled with the old KitKat software.
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got several PC and console pilgrims including Hotline Miami, War Thunder, and Always Sometimes Monsters, a new Portal-inspired Zen Pinball table, a mashup of tactic, RPG, and city-building, and standard platformers and puzzlers. Without further ado:
Hey, how hilarious would it be if NVIDIA managed to update its SHIELD Tablet to Android 5.1 before Google updates the Tegra-powered Nexus 9? Wait, no, hilarious isn't the right word. ____ is the right word (which the Android Police style guide won't let me publish), according to N9 owners.
The original NVIDIA SHIELD (before the Tablet or the set-top box, so just called "SHIELD" at the time) was a surprise revelation at CES 2013. This high-powered Android device with an Xbox-style controller and a flip-up screen was unlike anything we had seen before, and though it never became a runaway hit, many (including yours truly) have been hoping that NVIDIA would update the design in addition to its more conventional SHIELD entries. Get your thumbs ready: it looks like a SHIELD 2 is being certified by both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth trade groups.
Exclusive titles like Half-Life 2 and Portal have served to make Nvidia's Shield devices more attractive to gamers, but that's usually about graphical optimization. The newly released OlliOlli is a bit different. This is a retro-themed skateboard stunt game that previously resided on Steam. Now it's on Android and exclusive to the Shield Portable. Yes, the Portable. Oh, and it's $12.99, just like the Steam version.
In his review of the original SHIELD a year and a half ago, Jeremiah Rice noted that NVIDIA's gaming gadget was amazingly well-suited to game emulators. Combined with a robust emulation scene on Android, especially for older game consoles, it's possible to play a ton of great games on the SHIELD without ever stopping by the Play Store. This morning NVIDIA issued a software update specifically to improve performance for game emulator apps.
Even though the Shield Tablet is NVIDIA's new baby, the venerable Shield Portable has not been forgotten. This device is getting update v99 today with a few tweaks and improvements. Hit your update menu to grab it.
One of the nicest things about NVIDIA's various bits of Android gaming hardware is that they get updated early and often. The SHIELD Portable is already running on the latest version of Android, but a new update (dated Tuesday, but apparently going out a little late) has fixed a few small issues with GameStream and other services. If you have a SHIELD, check your Settings menu - the 480.9MB update should be available as soon as you check it manually.