NVIDIA President and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang gives a demonstration during his keynote address at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose
NVIDIA President and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang gives a demonstration during his keynote address at the GPU Technology Conference in San Jose, California September 21, 2010.REUTERS

American processor chipset-maker Nvidia has unveiled its maiden portable gaming console 'Project SHIELD' at the pre-CES announcement event.

With the launch of the 'Project SHIELD' gaming console, Nvidia has forayed into the multi-billion dollar gaming market. The chipset-maker will now have to compete with the company's longtime component buyers like Xbox developer Microsoft, PlayStation Vita maker Sony, and other major companies.

"Project SHIELD was created by NVIDIA engineers who love to game and imagined a new way to play," said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer at NVIDIA.

He further said, "We were inspired by a vision that the rise of mobile and cloud technologies will free us from our boxes, letting us game anywhere, on any screen. We imagined a device that would do for games what the iPod and Kindle have done for music and books, letting us play in a cool new way. We hope other gamers love SHIELD as much as we do."

Key features Of Nvidia's 'Project SHIELD' gaming console include:

Model

Nvidia 'Project SHIELD'

Display

5.0-inch display with 1280x720 HD retinal Multi-touch Screen

OS

Android v4.1 OS

(Jelly Bean)

Processor

Nvidia Tegra-4 Processor, ARM based

Cortex-A15 CPU

Graphics processor

Nvidia GeForce GTX GPU

Connectivity

Console has Wi-Fi connectivity to connect to the

Internet to access Google Play website to download games

Audio

Console come with integrated speakers

Additional specs will be revealed during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Click here to view the Nvidia's Gaming Console 'Project Shield'.

Nvidia's maiden venture into the gaming device market has surprised many technology market analysts.

"I have to say I was fairly stunned," said Patrick Moorhead, a market watcher at Moor Insights & Strategy, after being briefed on the plan, reported The Wall Street Journal.

"NVIDIA sent a shock wave through the gaming industry tonight with its Project SHIELD nnouncement.  Yes, there are many unanswered questions, but regardless of those answers, this is a major disruption to portable game devices, game consoles and devices like the Apple iPod", reported Forbes.

Nvidia's gaming console is expected to hit stores around second quarter of 2013 , but the device's price is still under wraps.