NVIDIA Drops Price On SHIELD Tablet K1 To A Tempting $199
Months removed from a recall over a fire hazard stemming from a batch of defective batteries, NVIDIA's gaming-centric SHIELD Tablet is back and ready for action, and with a brand new price to boot. NVIDIA peeled $100 off the previous price tag, which now puts the SHIELD Tablet at a penny shy of $200 as the holiday shopping season comes into view.
It's also now being called the SHIELD Tablet K1 instead of just SHIELD Tablet. Other than fixing the battery issue, it's the same device, only NVIDIA is emphasizing that it's powered by a Tegra K1 processor boasting a 192-core Kepler-based GPU. When we reviewed it a year ago, we called it the "fastest tablet available," and the Tegra K1 still holds up as potent chip today.
The 8-inch slate with a Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) IPS panel also features 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 5-megapixel cameras on the front and back, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, mini HDMI 1.4a output, micro USB 2.0 port, 3.5mm jack, front-facing speakers, and Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. NVIDIA says an update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow should arrive in the coming months.
In the meantime, the SHIELD Tablet sports some neat tricks, like being able to stream games from your desktop and the GeForce NOW cloud gaming service. NVIDIA's also been busy beefing up its stable of games that can be played on the SHIELD Tablet, the newest additions being Need for Speed No Limits and Real Boxing 2.
The $199.99 price tag is for the 16GB version -- it doesn't appear NVIDIA is bringing back the 32GB model. You can also add an assortment of accessories, such as a controller ($59.99) and stylus ($19.99).
It's also now being called the SHIELD Tablet K1 instead of just SHIELD Tablet. Other than fixing the battery issue, it's the same device, only NVIDIA is emphasizing that it's powered by a Tegra K1 processor boasting a 192-core Kepler-based GPU. When we reviewed it a year ago, we called it the "fastest tablet available," and the Tegra K1 still holds up as potent chip today.
The 8-inch slate with a Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) IPS panel also features 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 5-megapixel cameras on the front and back, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, mini HDMI 1.4a output, micro USB 2.0 port, 3.5mm jack, front-facing speakers, and Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. NVIDIA says an update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow should arrive in the coming months.
In the meantime, the SHIELD Tablet sports some neat tricks, like being able to stream games from your desktop and the GeForce NOW cloud gaming service. NVIDIA's also been busy beefing up its stable of games that can be played on the SHIELD Tablet, the newest additions being Need for Speed No Limits and Real Boxing 2.
The $199.99 price tag is for the 16GB version -- it doesn't appear NVIDIA is bringing back the 32GB model. You can also add an assortment of accessories, such as a controller ($59.99) and stylus ($19.99).
