CNET CES roundup: Nvidia Shield, Tegra 4, HP portable monitor
Nvidia launches its Tegra 4 chip and unveils its own portable gaming device on the first day of CES.
Nvidia kicked off CES 2013 in style, unveiling a prototype of its first own-brand gaming device, which it has dubbed 'Project Shield'.
The portable gadget runs Android and can connect to the cloud to play games for Android, TegraZone (the company's own app store) and -- very cool, this -- streaming from PCs with compatible GeForce graphics cards. It looks very like a gaming controller and has manual joysticks and buttons, as well as a pop-up screen. Supposedly it offers between 5 and 10 hours of gaming time.
Best known as a maker of components, Nvidia has also lifted the lid on the quad-core Tegra 4 chip, which boasts seriously snappy processing speeds and spiffy new camera tricks. Nvidia's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang claims the chip is the "world's fastest mobile processor".
Monitors are the major news from HP on the first day of CES. The nifty HP U160 is a 15.6-inch monitor designed to be packed away in your suitcase when you jet off on business trips. It can connect to your laptop by USB and includes a foldable carrying case that acts as a stand.
A more dramatic offering is the Envy 27-inch IPS monitor with Beats Audio, which is certainly a mouthful of a monitor moniker. It's a smart slice of kit, with edge-to-edge glass and a 13.95mm profile at its thinnest point. There's also a headphone jack, a subwoofer and a digital audio output.
Lenovo, keen to stamp its mark on the trade show, has already revealed the Horizon 27, a huge coffee-table PC, meant not just as a massive tablet but as a multi-user gaming device. It also showed off a number of other devices, including the lightest Windows 8 tablet on the market, an updated version of last year's IdeaPad Yoga and a new 'rip and flip' convertible, dubbed the Helix.
Other early unveilings include Toshiba's 4K tellies, laptops and a Media Box -- which sure is a fancy way of saying Blu-ray player -- and the HapiFork, a techy utensil that lets you know when you're guzzling too fast by vibrating.
CES has really barely begun, with a whole week of exciting tech announcements ahead. Thankfully Las Vegas is packed full of CNET's best and brightest, who will be bringing you round-the-clock coverage. Keep your eyes fixed on the dedicated CES page for in-depth product coverage and make sure you're following CNET on Twitter, to keep on top of the news as it's happening.
Today is press conference day, so check out CES 2013 live events calendar to find out when big hitters such as Samsung and Sony will be showing off their swish new kit.
Be sure to not miss CNET UK's very own Jason Jenkins hosting The British Are Coming panel, which will be livestreamed on Tuesday at 10pm UK time, and of course the Best of CES Awards, due to take place late on Thursday.
Below you'll find the latest CNET UK podcast video, which is packed full of CES predictions and bags more.
What are you looking forward to seeing emerge from this year's tech bonanza? Let me know in the comments below, or over on our CES-ready Facebook page.