Nvidia recently revealed a new shipping date for their Shield handheld gaming device: July 31. The portable console was expected to launch last month but a final round of quality assurance testing turned up a mechanical issue that needed to be addressed before shipping out the first wave of systems.
In an e-mail sent out to those that pre-ordered Shield before the initial June 27 launch date, Nvidia said the issue was related to a third party mechanical component although they stopped short of specifying exactly what was wrong. Instead, they delayed the launch until this month and said they were working around the clock with the supplier to get the product up to their standards.
A more recent e-mail to customers announced the revised ship date and also outlined the company's commitment to quality. Nvidia said their goal has always been to ship the perfect product and as such, they made sure the Shield was submitted to the most rigorous mechanical testing and quality assurance standards in the industry.
Shield is a dual-purpose portable gaming machine that can play either Android games or stream titles from your Nvidia-powered PC. It's powered by Nvidia's Tegra 4 processor and features a 5-inch touchscreen with a built-in gamepad that looks like what you'd find on current generation consoles.
The handheld is still available for pre-order for $299. The company initially priced Shield at $349 but changed their tune about a week before it was initially scheduled to ship in hopes of generating additional interest.