Nvidia
is back in the gaming Arena with the Nvidia Shield Tablet as reported in “Nvidia Shield Tablet
aims to be the ultimate 8-inch Android Gaming Tablet: $299, available July 29
(Hands on)”, published July 22, 2014 6:00 AM PDT, CNET News.
Like
its predecessor the Nvidia Shield Handheld, which made its debut at CES
(Computer Electronics Show) 2013 as I’d reported in my blog article entitled
“Google
Android powers Boxer8's Ouya, PlayJam's GameStick and Nvidia's Project Shield -
Stand Up Guys are making Open Source and Open Architecture a $ellebrity”,
this is yet another product from the company that’s usually associated with
making Processors.
The
8” Nvidia Shield Tablet, which appears to be based on the Tegra Note 7, their
Tablet that they'd released back in November 2013, was launched on Tuesday July
29th 2014 in Canada and USA for US$299. Europeans will be next on
Thursday August 14th 2014 to get their hands on this Tablet that's
clearly made for gaming for £240. Pre-Orders got off to a rousing start back on
Tuesday July 22nd 2014.
Nvidia Shield Tablet – A
Tablet for All Seasons with Cover, Game Controller and Stylus
The
Google Android Tablet is 0.36-inch thick and weighing in at 13.7 ounces, this 8”
Tablet is packing a Tegra K1 Processor. This is a far more powerful Processor
than the Tegra 4 and packs a 2.2 GHz quad-core A15 Processor with a 192-core
Kepler GPU plus and 2GB of RAM. It's comes in various sizes of Onboard Storage:
1.
16GB for US$299
2.
32GB for US$399
The
standard Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS, and a 9-axis accelerometer with compass, gyro
and g-sensor are included. Rounding out the solid Gaming look is its matte
finish and stereo speakers at the front that says “Gamer” without looking too
geeky or gimmicky.
The
Nvidia Shield Tablet comes SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) unlocked and
is compatible with 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3G, 3G, GSM (Global System
Mobile), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) from Telecom Provider
AT&T and T-Mobile in the US. This is good for us Internationals, especially
Jamaicans, as that means that it'll work on Telecom Provider LIME and Telecom
Provider Digicel GSM 3G Networks.
Finally
the accessories are equally cool. The 8" Nvidia Shield Tablet has a
$39/£25 Shield Tablet Cover and the $60/£50 Shield Game Controller that are not
a part of the package but sold separately. At least there is a free Stylus,
which slots quite handily into the Tablets housing.
This
is interesting; the Stylus is slowly making a comeback, as truth be told,
albeit it's easy to lose, it's a necessary part of using any Tablet, most of
which tend to be grease and fingerprint magnets as pointed out in my Geezam blog article entitled “How
to make a Stylus for your Apple iPad or Capacitive-Touch Device”.
Nvidia Shield Tablet -
Nvidia Console Mode, Gamestream, Grid Cloud-Gaming Service and ShadowPlay
The
Nvidia Shield Tablet has a lot in common with the Kickstarter funded Boxer8's
Ouya and the PlayJam's GameStick as described in my blog article entitled
“Google
Android powers Boxer8's Ouya, PlayJam's GameStick and Nvidia's Project Shield -
Stand Up Guys are making Open Source and Open Architecture a $ellebrity” in
that it's designed to play Google Play Apps or Android Games as well as Games
designed specifically for the device.
Nvidia
is also bringing back Streaming services that were on the original on the
Nvidia Shield called Nvidia Gamestream. This is a service that supports
streaming of up to 180 1080p Games. Nvidia's also offering Grid Cloud-Gaming
Service that streams some 16 Games for free along with the possibility of
Streaming Netflix, most likely using the Nvidia Console Mode, as Netflix videos
look great on a Big Screen.
Nvidia
ShadowPlay is also another new software tool for capturing in-game footage.
This complements the Tablets ability to act as a Twitch Streaming Portal, for
which it already has the app built in and the Headphone, Microphone and Cameras
ready to stream your Video Gaming Exploits to a receptive audience.
Nvidia Shield Tablet vs
Amazon Fire TV – Tablet for Video Games needs Content
So
is this a winner against the 2-in-1US$99 Streaming Box and the US$40 Game Controller, the Amazon
Fire TV which is now sold out as declared in my blog article
entitled “Amazon
Fire TV is a bonafide hit and is out-of-stock according to Amazon - The Bamboo
powered smartphone running Amazon apps cometh”?
On
price only, possibly not! At US$99 for the Amazon
Fire TV compared to US$299 for the Nvidia Shield Tablet, if you’re a loyal
Amazon Prime user, this is a no-brainer.
Also
there’s the question of long-term support, being as this is really a second
experiment with a different form-factor for a Gaming Device as noted in “Nvidia's
Shield Tablet: Gaming must-have or also-ran”, published July 22, 2014 6:00
AM PDT by Shara Tibken and Ben Fox Rubin, CNET
News.
This
suggests that Nvidia is giving up on the Nvidia Shield and trying to ride the
trend of sub-10” Tablets such as the Apple iPad Mini acting as Gaming Consoles
as I’d predicted in my Geezam blog article
entitled “Apple
iPad Air’s the World Thinnest Tablet and Apple iPad Mini 2’s a 3DS and Vita
killer”.
Long
term, it really comes down to Great Games and compelling Content. Its market
appears to be handheld Gamers who what to have the power of a Console in their
hands. The Hardware delivers; now Nvidia has to boost the Content in terms of
Games and Video Streaming to attract non-Gamers to invest in yet another
Console.
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