The NVIDIA Shield Tablet is an 8 inch Android tablet with an NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor and an emphasis on gaming. NVIDIA launched a WiFi-only model with 16GB of storage in July for $299.

Now a model with 32GB of storage and 4G LTE support is on the way. It’ll cost $399 when it goes on sale, and if a recent FCC listing is anything to go by (it might not be), it could go on sale soon.

nvidia shield tablet_001

The Shield Tablet has an 8 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel display, 2GB of RAM, and NVIDiA’s 2.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A15 quad-core processor with 192-core Kepler graphics.

It features 802.11n 2×2 Mimo dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI output, and support for 4K HD video playback. It has stereo front-facing speakers, 5MP front and rear cameras and the tablet comes with NVIDA’s DirectStylus 2 pen for writing or drawing.

There’s a microSD card slot for additional storage and the 4G LTE model has a micro SIM card slot for connecting to mobile broadband networks. THe US version should support AT&T’s 4G LTE and HSPA+ network.

While the tablet has some pretty impressive hardware, it’s arguably the accessories and software features that really make the Shield Tablet stand out. NVIDA offers an optional $60 wireless controller that looks like what you’d get if you put Android buttons on an Xbox remote. There’s also an optional case which you can use as a stand.

As for software, not only are some Android games optimized to take advantage of NVIDIA’s Kepler graphics, but you can also use NVIDIA GameStream technology to stream PC games to your device. Just turn on your PC and you can play your games anywhere in the house — using the Shield Tablet as a sort of handheld PC gaming controller (and display). Or you can plug it into a TV and hook up a game controller so you can play PC games in the living room while your PC is in your home office.

NVIDIA also lets you stream PC games over the internet when you’re not at home… but that feature is currently in beta and requires a speedy internet connection. It’ll also probably be a bit of a bandwidth hog, so even if you get the Shield with 4G LTE you might not want to use GameStream over a cellular network.

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14 replies on “NVIDIA Shield gaming tablet with 4G LTE hits the FCC, coming soon for $399”

  1. The cracking issue was not simply a material problem. It was a design flaw. As can be seen here https://www.dayonepatch.com/index.php?/topic/110773-shield-tablet-concerns-and-issues/

    You’ll notice in that picture the cracking is not from one part of a single material but rather the entire side of the tablet moving through other parts made from other material. The heat spreader used was corner to corner. It is expanding when hot and cracking the case (all parts of the case). This is also why it takes some use before it happens. You will also notice via the official forums the cracking is simply not a small number of tablets as it is a issue in EVERY REGION the tablet was released in over the globe.

    As for the WiFi issue issues, the patch only addressed ONE of the WiFi problems. The two major issues with WiFi was throughput, and antenna blocking. The patch only addresses the throughput of course. The range and antenna blocking are terrible on this tablet. As opposed to using multiple antenna for WiFi, it is a single one. It is located at the bottom of the tablet (when held in portrait). By holding the tablet in portrait you can COMPLETELY block the antenna. This design flaw of course can’t be patched out.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSn1FPpk5dM

    Also

    https://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tablet/general/wifi-problems-potential-easy-solution-t2869870

    You can simply hit the forums up to see all the issues people are having.

    There is a terrible wakelock bug currently. Here is just one of the many threads about it.
    https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/770451/shield-tablet/shield-tablet-battery-drain-overnight-/

    The OTG cable can’t be used to charge AND use a ethernet adapter which is REQUIRED to gamestream at 1080p on the tablet. They even state they forgot to add the OTG charging in even though they advertise it clearly on the tablets web page.
    https://shield.nvidia.com/tablet-faq/

    The audio requires a root hack to patch volume levels.
    https://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tablet/help/change-volume-t2855165

    The prism feature causes screen flickering (ala the shield portable patch 82) they can’t seem to fix so far with their patches that state it does.
    https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/764688/shield-tablet/shield-tablet-screen-brightness-fluctuating/

    App crashing as seen on MANY threads on the official forums. https://forums.geforce.com/default/board/150/

    This tablet had little to no testing before flying out the door to beat the Nexus 9 to market. It is going to seriously bite them in the back side. The Nexus having the 64-bit version of the TK1 will be a better purchase anyways. Especially if Nvidia can’t scramble to fix all these issues (not going to happen) before this beast rolls out. https://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/tablets/3526394/google-nexus-9-release-date-price-specs-uk-htc/

    The 5-7 vocal “not having any issues people” hit every single thread relating to problems stating it is a new device and of course it will have issues. Of course this many issues and that reasoning is idiotic at best. In the end, you can decide if you wish to endure all of this, or simply wait for a better tablet hopefully such as the nexus 9, or at minimum wait a few months to see if Nvidia can make a dent in all these issues.

  2. .. maybe this is one reason why they did a reversed payment for my online order after one week… tried to get it from nvidia store and waited for 9 nine days.. nothing delievered and then this “cracks”… 🙁

  3. The shield tablet has a horrible weak WiFi antenna that can be blocked by simply holding it in portrait. The 2 firmware updates that attempted to fix the issue did not fix it at all. The most recent update came today, but the problem still persists.

    Furthermore the trim spontaneously cracks on almost all the tablets, reports of this are simply rampant and widespread, in every part of the world. It’s documented on YouTube and on Nvidias forum. The corners are the most susceptible and hairline fractures usually show up within the first 2 weeks, which eventually spread into full cracks.

    Nvidia has recognized the problem but not said there has been a fix. Also the device cannot charge properly while playing tegra enhanced games, it loses power even while being plugged in.

    1. There’s a big difference between “almost all” and “widespread”. You have proof that it is “almost all?”

      1. No he does not. There is a large thread talking about this issue but as with all new releases people who do not experience any issues are not likely to visit the forums. Seattle Truth has a troll/flamer rep on the boards, he is the only person who has successfully been the only poster to get his thread locked on the Shield tablet sub-forum. So take anything he says with a grain of salt.

        1. Still, I should mention that he does add to some of the threads he posts on, so don’t totally disregard him.

    1. Why not use Wifi-Hotspot in stead? Maybe you don’t want any extra devices for having the tablet go online. And when it supports LTE, I would go for the LTE verison

  4. “This device appears to have shoddy build quality because there are tons of reports of the corners of the tablet cracking from thermal stress as well as wifi issues.” Do you have link ?

    1. They just pushed an update that is fixing the Wifi issue for people

      https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/771314/shield-tablet/shield-tablet-ota-1-1-official-feedback-thread/post/4297566/#4297566

      Also they identified the issue with cracking, any device with it is viable for RMA. Likely when this comes out the issue will not be present anyways.

      “We are investigating the reported hairline cracks being found in the corners of the SHIELD Tablet casing. It is not yet clear how many units this impacts — some have seen it, many have not.

      But regardless, it’s not acceptable. We will offer replacement for any device with this imperfection, no questions asked.”

      https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/766370/shield-tablet/cracked-edges/post/4281157/#4281157

      “Thanks for your continued patience and assistance regarding the hairline cracks at the corners of the SHIELD tablet. We believe they are caused by a material control issue during the production of a small number of tablets. This caused the material to become more brittle than expected. We are still in investigation mode and will continue to provide updates as we learn more. As previously stated, this imperfection appears to be cosmetic, so feel free to continue using your tablet.”

      https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/766370/shield-tablet/cracked-edges/post/4286258/#4286258

      1. Look at the forums, the wifi issues weren’t fixed. And if you return a tablet with cracked trim, you get another one back that also cracks. Horrible design flaws. This tablet is a lemon.

  5. This device appears to have shoddy build quality because there are tons of reports of the corners of the tablet cracking from thermal stress as well as wifi issues. It’s a shame as this is good device otherwise and we all should be happy that NVIDIA is trying to stay in the game especially as LTE tablets are not widely available…we are basically stuck between Qualcomm and Apple on that one wchich why prices are so high. Brad if you test this device that would be great.

    1. They just pushed an update that is fixing the Wifi issue for people.

      https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/771314/shield-tablet/shield-tablet-ota-1-1-official-feedback-thread/post/4297566/#4297566

      Also they identified the issue with cracking, any device with it is viable for RMA. Likely when this comes out the issue will not be present anyways.

      “We are investigating the reported hairline cracks being found in the corners of the SHIELD Tablet casing. It is not yet clear how many units this impacts — some have seen it, many have not.

      But regardless, it’s not acceptable. We will offer replacement for any device with this imperfection, no questions asked.”

      https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/766370/shield-tablet/cracked-edges/post/4281157/#4281157

      “Thanks for your continued patience and assistance regarding the hairline cracks at the corners of the SHIELD tablet. We believe they are caused by a material control issue during the production of a small number of tablets. This caused the material to become more brittle than expected. We are still in investigation mode and will continue to provide updates as we learn more. As previously stated, this imperfection appears to be cosmetic, so feel free to continue using your tablet.”

      https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/766370/shield-tablet/cracked-edges/post/4286258/#4286258

      1. Guest, Thanks for taking the time to look up some useful info, it’s appreciated.

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