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Nvidia's Tegra Note Platform Is The Shield Without All The Shield Bits

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Nvidia's portable gaming system is neat, but there are several things it does — playing media, running games in portrait mode — that could be handled better by a similarly-powered tablet. The Tegra Note plaform is that tablet.

Technically tablets, plural, the Tegra Note isn't a single tablet, but a complete tablet platform, coming to the market next month from several of Nvidia's mobile partners. Units belonging to the platform contain the Tegra 4 chip, which made its debut in the Shield, feature a slightly different screen resolution, (1280x800 instead of 1280x720), and must include high-quality, front facing speakers with a bass reflex port, much like the one that makes the Shield sound so good.

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Here's the full set of specs for Tegra Note devices:

  • Processor
  • Tegra 4 mobile processor with quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU and 72-core GeForce GPU
  • Display
  • 7-inch HD IPS LCD display (1280 x 800)
  • Camera
  • Rear 5MP and front VGA webcam
  • Storage
  • 16GB storage with microSD expandable up to an additional 32GB
  • Audio
  • Front-facing “HD Audio” stereo speakers with a unique bass-reflex port
  • Stylus
  • Chisel and Brush tips for natural writing and broad strokes
  • Peripherals
  • Micro HDMI connector to drive big screen TV videos and gaming
  • OS
  • 100% Android with latest version of the OS
  • Software Updates
  • Over-the-air software updates directly from NVIDIA
  • Battery Life
  • 10 hours HD video playback
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These tablets will be just as powerful as the Shield and sound just as good, plus they'll have a stylus for some strange reason. The only thing keeping Tegra Note tablets from streaming PC games is a controller, and there are plenty of options where that's concerned. And since devices on the platform start at $199, these tablets will be a bargain, certainly easier to justify than the Shield portable.

EVGA and PNY are bringing the platform to North America later this year, mingling with the non-Tegra Note Tegra 4 devices already released/announced. Read all about Nvidia's diabolical plan to take-over the touchscreen market here.