NVIDIA to Launch its SHIELD Gaming Portable on July 31

Getting impatient waiting on NVIDIA’s SHIELD to launch? Imagine how NVIDIA feels. Last month, the company announced that the gaming portable would launch the following week, and then out of nowhere, a discovered mechanical issue forced it to delay the launch. That part sucked, but at least we knew the device would cost $50 less ($299) than originally announced – a major perk. Plus, if you’re one of the first purchasers, you’ll get a free t-shirt.

Now, NVIDIA can state with confidence that SHIELD will begin shipping on July 31st. If you’re not sure where you can pick one up, you’ll benefit from this landing page. In addition to Newegg, NVIDIA itself will be selling the devices, and if you prefer to stretch your legs, you can head on down to GameStop, Micro Center or Canada Computers.

Reviews of the device are set to launch on the same day. What I’m most looking forward to: seeing just how well the PC play works. I want to play Borderlands 2 from bed, dammit!

NVIDIA SHIELD Specifications (as told by NVIDIA)

• Tegra 4 – The world’s fastest mobile processor delivers rich graphics and unbeatable performance thanks to 72 GPU cores, four CPU cores and 2GB of RAM
• Console-grade controller – Precise control thanks to dual analog joysticks, a full-sized D-Pad, left and right analog triggers, full-sized bumpers and A/B/X/Y buttons
• Multi-touch display – 5-inch, 720p retinal multi-touch display for high-fidelity visuals
• Integrated speakers – Custom, bass reflex, tuned port audio system – we think this is SHIELD’s sleeper feature
• Wi-Fi – 802.11n 2X2 MIMO game-speed Wi-Fi for game streaming
• Pure Android – Latest Android Jelly Bean operating system from Google, for access to Android games and apps
• There’s more – We put into SHIELD everything we would want in a premium mobile gaming device: 16 GB memory, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, a mini-HDMI output, micro-USB 2.0, a microSD storage slot, a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack. See the full spec sheet, here.