Published in AI

Shield Tablet to start at $299

by on21 July 2014



Tegra K1 32-bit quad inside

A day before the official introduction of Nvidia's Shield Tablet Videocardz posted the whole presentation of upcoming tablet.

The only thing that was wrong from the previous leak was the resolution and we can now tell you that this 8 inch tablet comes with a 1920x1200 resolution screen, nothing bigger than that. The Xiaomi Mi Pad comes with a 2048x1546 display but it also comes in more iPad mini shape unlike Shield Tegra.


16:10 vs. 4:3


Shield Tegra is an aluminium 16:10 tablet rather than a 4:3 device and it has the new Nvidia Tegra K1 inside. This is a Kepler-based A15 quad-core version of the chip and it works at 2.2GHz. It comes with 2GB RAM, the cheaper model is WiFi only and comes with 16GB of storage.

The 8-inch 1920x1200 display is based on IPS LCD technology and it comes with a stylus, powered by DirectStylus 2 with 3D paint technology.

The decision to use a 16:10 panel at a time when most vendors are opting for 4:3 displays on 8-inch tablets could have something to do with Nvidia's emphasis on PC streaming. Nvidia's previous Android products were 16:10 and this aspect ratio makes a lot more sense for PC streaming than 4:3.

NVIDIA-SHIELD-Tablet-5

Slide leaked by Videocardz


Connectivity should not be an issue


When it comes to gaming features the tablet is compatible with Shield wireless controller, Nvidia Gamestream, Nvidia ShadowPlay, GRID Could Gaming Beta. It also features Console mode, Gamepad Mapper and TegraZone support.

Since this is a Shield device it supports 802.11 a/b/g/n 2x2 MIMO (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and Nvidia insists on using Gamestream on 5GHz for better performance. The tablet has Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS and Putin-powered GLONASS, as well as a 9-axis G-sensor, compass and gyro.

The LTE version works on T-Mobile or AT&T while it supports most of European 4G LTE bands. It has mini HDMI 1.4a, micro USB 2.0 with host and device support, 3.5 stereo headphone jack with microphone support. Nvidia promises 10 hours of HD video playback with a 19.75Wh Lithium ion battery.

It has two front facing stereo speakers with dual bass reflex ports. The Shield tablet is 4K/Ultra HD ready, it has a Micro SD slot and supports up to 128GB additional storage. It comes with a 5-megapixel front facing camera and with a 5-megapixel rear camera with auto focus and HDR. The cameras aren't the same, as the front facing unit appears to be a fixed focus affair.

Pricing and availability


The tablet comes with over-the-air software updates directly from Nvidia and it measures 221mm x 126mm x 9.2mm (8.8in x 5.0in x 0.36in). It weighs 390 grams or 13.7 ounces. The 16GB WiFi only version retails for $299 while a SIM free 32GB version with LTE and 3G support sells for $399.

The device comes with support for Nvidia's new Shield controller, a $59 accessory that promises lower latency than other devices on the market and the Shield Cover that will sell for $39. US and Canada will be able to get it from July 29th, Europe is getting it on August 14th, while more regions will follow in Fall 2014.

Nvidia promises it is faster in 3Dmark, GLB 2.7 Trex, Basemark ES 3.0 Rush, BasemarkX 1.1 Hangar demo and GFX Bench 3.0 than the iPad Air and Samsung Tab Pro 8.4. We expect to be able to spend some time with this device shortly and we will be able to tell you more about it.

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