Gadgetory

what's going on guys I'm Martin singer from TechnoBuffalo and we're here to share our full review on the Nvidia shield tablet and we've been using it for about two weeks now so let's see what this device is all about Nvidia stepped it up last year would introduce Nvidia shield now called shield portable it was basically a 5 inch Android device with a controller permanently attached to it even though it was plenty powerful it was a niche device that was only really good for gamers Nvidia soon followed that up with the reference tablet known as the Tegra note 7 which also introduced consumers it's direct stylus technology invidious new shield tablet on the other hand is the best of both worlds appealing both gaming enthusiasts and casual tablet users alike its invidious first must-have tablet and the first tablet to be driven by the crazy powerful Tegra k1 processor the shield tablet also features an 8 inch 1920 by 1200 IPS display it comes with 2 gigabytes of RAM on board and 16 gigabytes or 32 gigabytes of internal storage the latter which isn't available just yet at the time of this review though both are expandable to 128 gigabytes via microSD slot it also sports a pure Android 4.4 KitKat which is a great addition to the tablet and most importantly and impressively it's a console impersonator complete with an optional Wi-Fi direct controller and HDMI port for connecting to your TV and you can pretty much say that it's the most powerful Android tablet you can buy the shield tablet is a little on the chunky side though but it's still a slick little 8 inch tablet it reminds us a bit of the Nexus 7 morph with an HTC One due to its dual front-facing speakers and we don't mind that one bit at 13.1 ounces the shield tablet is about three ounces heavier than the Nexus 7 but still a lot lighter than the original one pound 4.7 ounces part of the weight increase with the shield tablet over the Nexus 7 is due to the extra inch that you're getting from the screen but also because the shield tablet is passively cooled and has an extra thermal shield built inside to dissipate heat it's a little on the heavier side but not ridiculously heavy though it works just fine one-handed operation and it feels a little husky in comparison to something like the 8.4 inch Galaxy Tab s which weighs a whole lot less than the shield tablet as an Android gaming device the shield tablet is the best thing out there between the k1 processor the standard tablet form factor and a really good controller support it beats any of the other competitors out in the market right now you get three main flavors to choose from when it comes to gaming on the Nvidia shield you can choose from standard Android games that you can download from the Google Play Store k1 optimized game which are available via the shield hub and game stream ready games that run on your gaming PC and stream straight to your shield for now the catalog of android games optimized for the k1 processor is limited but you do get titles like half-life 2 portal along we're trying to we tried out all three games and a graphics and performance of each was impressive on the shield tablet which was a noticeable step up from the nvidia x' original shield device we actually did a video about gaming on the shield tablet showing off game stream grid and portal and actions so you can check that out in the link down below now talking about the tablet itself the 8 inch screen looks gorgeous it's not the best screen out in the market but nonetheless it's a good enough screen for casual gaming watching videos and doing everyday tasks like browsing the web and checking emails and there's also two cameras on a shield tablet and they're not all that bad either both front and the back cameras are 5 megapixels the rear facing camera can record up to 1080p videos while the front-facing camera can record in 720p battery life from the shield tablet is okay too the 5300 milliamp battery is plenty big but not the best one comparing to something like the iPad Mini with Retina or even the Galaxy Tab s during our testing spent a lot of time streaming games from Nvidia beta grid service casually watching Netflix movies and we still got about an average of 8 to 10 hours of usage and about a few days of standby time when we use the tablet over for a 2-week period but considering that this tablet is running in videos new k1 processor that makes a lot of sense Nvidia did however include a power control option within the Settings app so you can change how the processor performs to save on battery life or to maximize your performance on the shield tablet and there's also my power mode which you can customize things like Mac's CPU cores Mac CPU frequency and limit the framerate when gaming so these little software teks are definitely handy to have and I'm glad that they're included in here now besides the k1 processor that's inside the shield tablet the speakers on the tablet are amazing the dual front-facing stereo speakers in the 2 side based reflect support makes watching movies and playing games on a shield much much more enjoyable the sound is clear and crisp and there's just the right amount of bass in them now by no means will these built-in speakers replace your Bluetooth speakers but just having the speakers on the front makes a huge difference when using the tablet now the last thing we'll talk about is a stylus or what Nvidia is calling it direct stylus to think of it as an S Pen but with a much better build quality it's made out of plastic yet it doesn't feel anything like plastic has a nice aluminum fin to it and also has a pretty nifty weight to it as well now I'm not much of an artist but the dabbler app is pretty impressive not only does it use the stylus as paintbrush but it also models the layering of oil paints and dripping of watercolors on a simulated canvas in real time using the Tegra k1 processor it's definitely not something like Photoshop but for those who think visually the direct stylus to and a dabbler app is a great combination and videos latest device is definitely a great buy for those who are in a market for a tablet whether your gamer or not just three hundred dollars for the 16 gigabyte Wi-Fi only model it's the best bang for your buck you get the beefy specs dual front-facing speakers and access and videos gaming service along with the usual Google services that normally come pre-installed on other Android tablets the optional $60 controller is great too and the majority of the games that are available in the shield hub have full controller support and if you want to play something like portal or half-life 2 however the controller is necessary there's also the $40 shield covered that acts as a stand for your shield tablet I think it's a great cover but the price tag is a bit too high for our taste the shield tablet is not just for gaming but also for those who'd like to casually browse the web writing emails or watching Netflix it really just depends on whether you need the extra power that the k1 processor offers so to wrap things up for you guys I'm given Nvidia shield tablet a TechnoBuffalo score of 9 out of 10 it's a great tablet with amazing specs and features and it's a pretty affordable tablet too anyways that's it for this video guys if you guys have any other questions let us know in the comments down below and as always on märklin sanctum from TechnoBuffalo I will see you guys in the next video thank you guys for watching this video and if you guys would like to see more make sure to hit that subscribe button down below