Shield Tablet K1

[minervx]

It's a good indoor gaming tablet at a good price.  It's not great for portability.  For non-gaming use, its raw power comes at a price.  Battery life is very low (<3 hours) and it uses more power than it charges (so using it plugged into the wall is not a safe bet).  Brightness is not enough for outdoor use but the 1200p resolution is more than high enough.  It's also really thick and the bezels are larger than I'd expect.  It's a good value for $200, although you will probably want an external keyboard/stand to lift the weight, an SD slot to make up for its low 16GB storage.  The 2GB of RAM is passable (fine for mobile gaming) but low if you're trying to use this for browsing several webpages at once or multitask on apps.  It has a lot to offer for gamers and performance tablets in general.  None of its flaws are dealbreaking in themselves, but they all are compromises which together detract from the overall experience.  Camera is good.  Speakers are above average in quality, though the rubber grills above them are not.  Those who want a dedicated gaming tablet will enjoy this one because it does very well in gaming and at least decent in most other categories, but myself, I would've preferred a light portable tablet even at the expense of graphics.

 

7/10

[vanished]

I agree with almost everything, but I would say the camera is rather poor, and the bezels are really quite tiny compared to some tablets

[minervx]

With the bezels, you're right.   However with the thickness and heft, it just adds more to the bulk factor, and it's not comfortable typing on it without an external keyboard.  

 

The two 5MP's are basic.  Not for people who care about having a storng camera, but it's good enough for tablet that won't see much portable outside use.

[minervx]

This tablet is in real need of a sequel (that runs Android).

 

Shield Tablet K2 ($300)

• 8-core processor (with 4 lower cores for energy savings)
• Similar GPU but more power efficient.
• -15% weight/thickness
• +25% brighter screen
• +50% more battery life
• 3 GB RAM
• 32 GB Storage
• USB-C charging (cable included)
• Aluminum alloy chassis
• Aluminum speaker grills

Make this happen for sure!

[Technomancer__]

31 minutes ago, minervx said:

This tablet is in real need of a sequel (that runs Android).

 

Shield Tablet K2 ($300)

• 8-core processor (with 4 lower cores for energy savings)
• Similar GPU but more power efficient.
• -15% weight/thickness
• +25% brighter screen
• +50% more battery life
• 3 GB RAM
• 32 GB Storage
• USB-C charging (cable included)
• Aluminum alloy chassis
• Aluminum speaker grills

Make this happen for sure!

4gb would be better

[SCHISCHKA]

i disagree and agree on some things. battery life is very poor when playing a game but I can play when charging; i have a 2.4A charger, and you need a high current charger for any tablet. 

I think its brilliant i can plug it into a tv to play games.

For tablets in the 7-8" size range this is the best android tablet, IMO.

The screen does feel cheap and I think the resolution must have been a compromise for performance and price. If you notice the old ps3 games will have textures and graphics made for 1080p anyway.

The thickness does not bother me. What bothers me about the case is how easy it is to dismantle it with bare hands or by dropping it. A corner of mine started to separate after dropping it on carpet from about 1m, no plastic broke but i think a bigger fall would have made the whole tablet explode into pieces. I guess you get what you pay for.

Best speaker arrangement I have ever seen on a tablet, perfect positioning. It is very functional to hold the side bezels and cup hands around the speaker.

[SCHISCHKA]

1 hour ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I agree with almost everything, but I would say the camera is rather poor, and the bezels are really quite tiny compared to some tablets

i never thought tablet cameras were ever amazing in any tablet model. I think all I care about is decent quality video calling, but is that even an issue with modern tablets?

[vanished]

10 hours ago, SCHISCHKA said:

i never thought tablet cameras were ever amazing in any tablet model. I think all I care about is decent quality video calling, but is that even an issue with modern tablets?

Well to be fair, the face cam on the Shield tablet was actually arguably better than most in its day - it was 5 MP while many other devices still had 1 - 2 MP.  Not that MP tells the whole story by any means, but it is interesting.

The main cam however was also 5 MP, and not a very good one at that, in a time when most devices were easily 8, 12, or more.

[minervx]

11 hours ago, SCHISCHKA said:

 

I think its brilliant i can plug it into a tv to play games.

 

Yes, if you want a tablet you can plug into your TV, this is a good choice