NVIDIA Shield Tablet: a subjective view
NVIDIA Shield Tablet is definitely a tablet not for a wide audience, but for geeks, gamers and just fans of unusual, non-trivial devices. Below, under Habrakat, we will try to figure out why and why we should pay attention to it, as well as show how the tablet feels in the field, and not in the store tests.
The review below does not claim to be super-objective and comprehensive. Maybe something will be missed in it, something the author of the review does not have the opportunity to test, but I will try to tell you how I chose this model in the selection and search for tablets, and why I chose it, and describe and analyze which Advantages and disadvantages of this device in relation to real life.
So, the search for a tablet for games, entertainment, watching videos and surfing the Internet began when there was a need to spend a long time traveling from home to work / school and back. Quite quickly, the criteria for the tablet were determined:
')
After long days and weeks of searching, analyzing the market, comparing, reading reviews and other torments of creativity, the choice was made on three tablet models with an 8-inch display: NVIDIA Shield Tablet LTE , Lenovo Yoga 2 8 ”LTE , Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact . Who else, perhaps, will add to this comparison list the rising star of Chinese electronics Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 and the Taiwanese HTC Nexus 9 (in my opinion, this is another cutting board that is no different from a 10 ”tablet), but they already belong somewhat to a different price category.
Well, let's compare what we have for these models:
The screen of all the tablets presented is glass, even if it is tempered, but still glass, therefore, in addition to everything, the screen will have to be covered with a film, or the cover glass must be changed after six months - here you like something. The only advantage of Lenovo is that the case itself is made of aluminum, not plastic, and in fact does not require additional protection in the form of a cover.
It is also worth noting that NVIDIA Shield Tablet has only two versions: 16 Gb WiFi only and 32 Gb LTE ( official site ).
Ultimately, reluctantly, the choice was made in favor of the NVIDIA Shield Tablet for several reasons.
Firstly, it fully satisfies the above conditions, then, for example, the tablet from Lenovo has only 16 GB of internal memory on board and is not a super powerful processor, Sony also released a tablet with a sickly battery for such a powerful processor. Yes, the pursuit of thickness and weight does not always pass without a trace for ordinary users. Generally speaking, this is a very strange tendency to produce devices according to the principle “the thinner the better”, which prevented Sony from adding 2 mm and doubling the capacity of the battery by 2 times - it is known to some engineers.
Secondly, the price, which, with comparable characteristics, does not favor Sony tablets. I understand that you have to pay for the brand, but not 20-25% of the cost is the same ... Besides, the author personally has serious questions about the moisture and dust protection of Sony. This option is a purely marketing move, designed to push for the purchase of the device, which in fact has nothing to do with reality. Yes, the presentation of a tablet or phone can be run in an aquarium, call it, but with prolonged exposure, corrosion of individual elements inside the case from penetrated moisture is possible. In my case - vibrocall contacts, which, ultimately, worked when it pleases him (even when the phone is off!).
Thirdly, a stylus and, accordingly, special software for it, allowing to draw whole pictures directly on the tablet, became a pleasant option to NVIDIA Shield. Availability of miniHDMI port for connecting to TV. Plus, you can buy a gamepad for 60 bucks and enjoy the games already on your home TV screen or monitor in full.
After buying the tablet, the author had a chance to touch the Yoga 2 10 ”in the real world, which is also an excellent device, but because of the aluminum case it is too heavy and felt.
The NVIDIA Shield Tablet is supplied in an ordinary small box in which the tablet itself is located, a quick guide, a charger with two male connectors to choose from (European or British standard) and rather unusual characteristics - 5.2V and 2.1 A output current, as well as proprietary length 1.5 meters - not menffe (!) - UBS-cable with a proprietary label. A very thoughtful move, however. Everything suggests that the user is a great gaming device. The impression is spoiled only by the lack of a well-thought-out, again gaming headset and some kind of mini-HDMI-HDMI adapter out of the box (NVIDIA clamped 5-10 bucks on such an adapter). After all, it turns out that even the most insignificant option needs to be bought in addition, and preferably a brand for a lot of money - the kingdom of Apple of some kind. However, in fairness, there is no HDMI adapter, as a class, in the delivery kits of almost ALL tablets.
Honestly, I really like the soft Shield plastic - it's just nice to hold in my hands - unlike, for example, the Lenovo Yoga aluminum cold case, but, damn it, why can't this plastic be made unmarkable ?! Naturally, the tablet from the very first days of its life in a civilized society needs a protective film, as the screen is closed with ordinary tempered glass, as noted above, and a case that will close the back brand panel and at the same time prevent bends of the tablet body during transportation.
You can, of course, purchase a branded flip case from NVIDIA, but I was sorry to give an extra 40 bucks for a simple flip case that does not cover the back panel when Chinese friends are already selling in full with similar products that protect the tablet completely. Yes, the thickness increases by an extra 2 mm, but the survival rate of the tablet (!) Is important for me, and not the marketing moves from the series, which isthicker, thinner, and wider, etc. Plus, the magnetic latch works as a display on / off button, as in the case of the original product.
A free Beeline free card with 200 MB of traffic per month was a pleasant surprise.
Let's go through the ports. Here, everything is standard, on the one hand, from the top, there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, mini-HDMI and micro-USB ports, as well as a speaker, from left to right, and, on the other, just a speaker.
On the left, there are only slots for attaching the original flip cover (I repeat, an absolutely useless thing in the national economy), while on the right there is an on / off button, a volume rocker, a slot for a SIM card, a micro SD slot, and even a stylus.
The only minus of the controls is the excessive softness of pressing the buttons, so it is not always clear whether it was pressed or not.
On the back panel in the corner, the camera is standard for tablets, and on the front panel is the front camera, and also a buggy light sensor. On the sides of the screen is another pair of speakers.
The design is not pretentious, strict, no frills, but generally pleasant, and the controls are conveniently located.
Of course, compared to the Lenovo display, NVIDIA turned out only on a solid 4k. Dear reader, you can compare reviews from MobileReview ( NVIDIA vs Lenovo ) and OverClockers ( NVIDIA vs Lenovo ) on both models, so as not to accuse the author of bias - the dry statistics figures speak for themselves. If we take into account the purely subjective impressions of use (and it is worthwhile to take into account that the display will be covered with film), the display is qualitative, but the feeling that somewhere on trifles still saved, does not leave. For example, the light sensor, which should, like, help adapt the brightness of the display to the light of the room or the surrounding space, can calmly darken the screen in a room in bright light. For example, when a subway train enters the tunnel, the brightness drops so much that it is not possible to disassemble anything on the screen. Omit that moment, which is usually in landscape mode, the sensor is covered with the finger of your left hand, which is holding the tablet ...
If, however, set the brightness manually, then it is enough to make out what information is displayed on the display, whether it is a map, posts in social networks or photographing, in the bright sun in the mountains.
That's what, and the sound on this tablet is amazing. Let him, perhaps, slightly lack the volume, as the sound from the external speaker (for example, the author of this post uses Sony SRS BTV 5 ), but the sound is really loud, rich. All 4 columns - we still hope that there are so many columns: two at the ends of the device, two on the front panel - work great.
For example, the sound level reproduced by the speakers in dB was measured using the SmartTools application on the Sony Xperia Z smartphone, the distance to the tablet was 15 cm. Thus, watching The Big Bang Theory series at full volume gives 30 dB of exhaust for quiet scenes, 70-75 dB for scenes where the audience laughs and applauds, while the average volume is 60-65 dB, which in principle is normal indicators.
Noise scale (sound levels, decibels). A source
The weakest aspect of this tablet. NVIDIA's programmers haven't created any special shell; this is actually pure Android (after all updates 5.0.1) with a certain amount of “gaming” wallpapers and a pair of specialized gaming applications, such as the NVIDIA Hub, as well as a quick access panel when removing the stylus, and a notification panel. with access to game functionality (communication with the controller, streaming, and so on). To my deep regret and amazement, the notification panel that pops up from above cannot be customized for you in any way - you have to download a third-party application ...
A camera that wouldn’t have been better
Let's say frankly, honestly and frankly, it’s not worth looking at the tablet for a great camera to replace a smart phone or even a simple soap box. The camera is the weakest point and the most unnecessary part of the tablet. Yes, maybe someone will say that the front camera is necessary for broadcasting to Twitch, but you can get a really adequate picture from it only in the “tablet + controller” mode, but not when streaming from the tablet itself, because, rather all, it will simply be closed with your fingers.
As for the quality of photos, the following are presented in original proportions of photos taken on NVIDIA Shield (left) and two years ago the smartphone from Sony - Xperia Z (right). I believe that commenting on something is meaningless, especially photos with a lack of lighting - a complete darkness ...
Yes, plus to the above, at the beginning of using the tablet, the application for the camera for some reason intensively communicated with the network. Apparently, this is the automatic synchronization of photos with Google-photos, which is enabled by default. But then they managed to stop this orgy.
The battery is also not as smooth as it seems at first glance.
First of all, where did the 200 mAh go? Many sites feature a figure of 5400 mAh, while the tablet defines only 5200. Of course, I understand that in the US there are several different standards (feet versus meters), but it’s necessary to try to indicate the battery capacity in watt hours ... It is 19.75 watts -hours ( official website , section specs), which corresponds to x mAh, as the manufacturer was too lazy or deliberately did not bring the nominal supply voltage. Or for a nominal take 5.2 V, indicated on the charger? Then we get the capacity generally below 4,000 mAh ...
Secondly, the battery is “just a song of some kind”. At the end of each charge / discharge cycle, it runs up to 80% (this is not a joke, it was like that if the tablet is not used) in the miscancellous column, something like a mismatch between calculated and actual consumption, which, in my opinion, is not gate does not climb. NVIDIA, tell me where the charge is leaking ?!
But it is worth noting pluses. For example, many complain of a memory leak (more on this below) and self-discharge, but for one day of downtime with the network interfaces turned off, the tablet absorbs only 8% of the charge. Not so much, considering that inside is 192 nuclear heart, which constantly wants to eat.
Having tested this tablet at ski resorts several times, the author abandoned a separate navigation device. If the Xperia Z dies out for 6-7 hours of navigation in the mountains, then this tablet with GPS and 3G Internet enabled is ready to work up to 10-12 hours, that is, it can really be successfully used in one-day trips for cartographic cases.
In addition, the tablet has a built-in utility (SHIELD Power Control) that allows you to manually adjust power consumption yourself: if you want to have a sports car in the world of games - please, if you want to hang around for a long time in Zhiguli - please. You can also configure the power mode for each application separately in the Apps tab.
Relatively recently , messages that up to 70-80% of the RAM on a given tablet periodically get forgotten skipped. It is quite possible that this is a bug of the old firmware, the standard gigabyte is packed on the tested device, everything else is in the user's hands - almost 900 MB. Plus, do not forget to periodically throw out heavy games from background applications to free up the memory of the device from the caches.
As we can see, special applications from NVIDIA Shield Hub and DirectStylus are eating along with the background applications of Google or even the AOSP keyboard.
Practically available 1 GB of RAM allows, if not instantly, a wide variety of games to start very, very quickly, such as HMM III (F), the recently released HD-port of everyone’s favorite game, Carmageddon and so on, but this is already in the next section. .
Stylus. You can compare NVIDIA Shield for a long time with Samsung's family of stylus tablets. Yes, perhaps the pen from the Koreans is better, but in comparing the individual characteristics, it is important not to miss the main thing: the compatibility of the pen and the pre-installed programs. In the NVIDIA Shield Tablet, this is implemented at a height: the stylus is responsive, has its own, NVIDIA Dabbler, sharpened for iron, which allows you to create realistic images with a 3D effect. Read more about the possibilities of the stylus in the official video from NVIDIA:
HDMI HDMI is the coolest thing on a tablet computer. It can be used not so much for games on a large 50-inch “monitor”, as for presentations, various kinds of photo, video, master-class demonstrations ... and anything! Not only at work, but also at home and away.
But what is characteristic, “not only all” (c) tablets are equipped with a similar interface. For a long time I tried to remember any other tablet with an HDMI interface not on Win8 (which, to be honest, should not be called a tablet, but an ultrabook), but on Android, as a result I could only remember Asus Transformer, and yes it was only 10 -inch case. Of course, Apple has implemented it, but you yourself know what ... adapter + cable.
If a dear reader will be able to offer any particular model with HDMI port, release until 2015, then you are welcome in the comments to this article. Yes, the Chinese cars ... sorry, do not remember the electric demand in vain, please.
So, we have a mini-HDMI, through which you can connect the tablet to a TV or monitor, and then the question arises, how to manage? The answer is simple - BlueTooth mouse and keyboard!
When connected, you can choose between mirroring modes and console mode:
As a result, we get a tablet of almost any size - it depends on personal greed:
Connect the mouse:
And forward to play in the good old heroes!
Suppose that they invited you to visit: a beer to drink or tea with a cake is not so important. At some point it gets boring. Many wish they had taken a munchkin, or Catan (Colonizers), or any other board game with them. However, this is not at all a problem if you have such a “master of all trades”, connecting which you can play on TV, tell about your last travels, or even discuss some engineering project - the range of tasks to be solved is simply unlimited!
And in addition to the entire video, showing how even in “optimized” mode, games such as HMM III ( Google Play ) and Carmageddon ( Google Play ) are launched. If you can play the heroes with one mouse, the Carmageddon still needs a controller or you have to use the touch screen of the tablet itself.
Console. Yes, the guys from NVIDIA have thought up this question too. The price of the device is 60 bucks.
Game streaming from PC to Shield. I do not think that this option will be widely popular with the public, unless this public itself is not professional gamers who cannot even go to the toilet, either leading the raid or shooting terrorists. The idea is that owners of NVIDIA cards, whose computer meets certain requirements , can set up to transfer the image of their favorite game from the PC to the NVIDIA Shield Tablet via WiFi, preferably operating in the 5 GHz band. In my opinion, the applicability of this is questionable, just as much as the sewing of butterfly wings on a rhino ...
And finally, a little synthetics ... in the sense of tests ...
The NVIDIA tablet itself is just a real digital beast that grinds everything and everyone in its path at maximum settings. Just look at these numbers in the screenshots below. Even in the power saving mode, the tablet tears up, like a tuzik hot-water bottle, many modern Android devices - compare it with Lenovo and Sony performance tests for sporting interest.
Performance test in AnTuTu v5.6.1: on the left, power consumption in max performance mode, on the right - battery save
3DMark v1.4.2925 performance test: on the left, power consumption in max performance mode, on the right - battery save
Today the situation on the market is such that no manufacturer produces tablets and smartphones satisfying 100% customer satisfaction. There are always some drawbacks to which you can get to the bottom, like a weak battery or the absence of an SD card slot. NVIDIA Shield Tablet, of course, is no exception in this series. Although the device is sharpened for gamers, it has the most powerful processor for processing bits into textures, amazing image rendering and many other useful functions and features, unfortunately, it is not without drawbacks: the lack of its own gaming exclusive shell, “problematic” or, better said, misunderstood battery, the actual absence of the camera at the formal cost of installing it in the tablet and other minor flaws.
Despite all the above, the device, in general, turned out, if not five plus, then certainly on a solid top five. A number of features: HDMI, a stylus with thoughtful software, the ability to connect a controller and turn a tablet into a gaming console — all this makes this tablet stand out from the rest of its fellows and classmates.Taking initially gaming tablet, you can find him a lot of applications “in everyday life”, away from the games. Add a mouse and keyboard, even without a monitor, and in front of you is a full-fledged office workhorse. Upload a photo, video and you can safely go to visit relatives, showing the latest rest or Sunday fishing via HDMI on the big screen. This tablet will not become obsolete in six months or a year, it will serve its owner faithfully and for 3-4 years, at least, that for such a top device at a price of 20,000 rubles, you will agree, is very bad. And if in the first week of use the author personally became disillusioned with the tablet, then having appreciated all the potential that this device possesses after a while, one can only say one thing: divine and amazing!
PS: This review is NOT an advertisement. AuthorI independently purchased NVIDIA Shield Tablet in the Ulmart supermarket, tested it, and then issued this review on a voluntary basis.
PPS: Comments and suggestions are better to write in the LAN, questions about the test (including if you want me to test something on it) are best left in the comments. KTTS section will appear about the sensor. The touch screen on the device is rather unusual and it is worth mentioning it separately, showing a couple of microphotographs.
The review below does not claim to be super-objective and comprehensive. Maybe something will be missed in it, something the author of the review does not have the opportunity to test, but I will try to tell you how I chose this model in the selection and search for tablets, and why I chose it, and describe and analyze which Advantages and disadvantages of this device in relation to real life.
Prehistory
So, the search for a tablet for games, entertainment, watching videos and surfing the Internet began when there was a need to spend a long time traveling from home to work / school and back. Quite quickly, the criteria for the tablet were determined:
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- It should not be a 10-11 inch monster that is comparable in size to the one currently used by Lenovo Yoga (you can read about the choice of this ultrabook here ). I wanted something light, thin, compact and, as they say, lying in my hand, preferably in a 7-8 ”case.
- The filling should be powerful: that is, a processor with 4 cores, 2 GB of RAM, it is desirable to have a GSM module for the mobile Internet, and being aware of the desire of some manufacturers to protect the SD memory card from being written to it by installed data programs (like Sony did with some smartphones from the Xperia series), I would like to have 32 GB of internal memory. Plus survivable battery for 5000-6000 mAh.
- Because of my dislike for today's super-bright and bluish Samsung OLED, the choice was reduced to IPS or TN matrices.
- The OS is Android, since it was for this operating system that the games in the Play Store were bought in due time. Although many may prefer to choose iPad-mini for the above characteristics.
After long days and weeks of searching, analyzing the market, comparing, reading reviews and other torments of creativity, the choice was made on three tablet models with an 8-inch display: NVIDIA Shield Tablet LTE , Lenovo Yoga 2 8 ”LTE , Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact . Who else, perhaps, will add to this comparison list the rising star of Chinese electronics Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 and the Taiwanese HTC Nexus 9 (in my opinion, this is another cutting board that is no different from a 10 ”tablet), but they already belong somewhat to a different price category.
Well, let's compare what we have for these models:
| Tablet name | NVIDIA Shield Tablet LTE | Lenovo Yoga 2 8 "LTE | Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact |
| Matrix and screen resolution | IPS, 1920 x 1200 | IPS, 1920 x 1200 | IPS, 1920 x 1200 |
| CPU | NVIDIA Tegra K1
4 + 1 core or 192 shader pipelines, 2.2 GHz maximum frequency | Intel Atom Z3745,
4 cores maximum frequency 1.33 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801,
4 cores 2.5 GHz maximum frequency |
| RAM, GB | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Built-in memory, GB | 32 | sixteen | sixteen |
| Rear camera / front, MP | 5/5 without flash | 8 / 1.6 without flash | 8.1 / 2.2 without flash |
| Mobile Internet | 3G / LTE | 3G / LTE | 3G / LTE |
| Other communication | 802.11 a / b / g / n
BT 4.0 Ability to connect a gamepad miniHDMI | 802.11 b / g / n
BT 4.0 | 802.11 a / b / g / n
BT 4.0 |
| Dimensions, mm | 126 x 221 x 9.2 | 210.4 x 148.9 x 7 | 123.6 x 213.3 x 6.4 |
| Weight, g | 390 | 429 | 270 |
| Battery (battery), mAh | Claimed 5400, whereas
tablet identifies only 5200 (see below) | 6400 | 4500 |
| Issue price, rub | 20,990 | 19,990 | 24,990 |
| Reviews and Reviews | 3Dnews.ru
W3bsit3-dns.com Overclockers.ru IXBT.com MobileReview.com Zoom.CNews.ru Hi-tech Mail.ru | W3bsit3-dns.com
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The screen of all the tablets presented is glass, even if it is tempered, but still glass, therefore, in addition to everything, the screen will have to be covered with a film, or the cover glass must be changed after six months - here you like something. The only advantage of Lenovo is that the case itself is made of aluminum, not plastic, and in fact does not require additional protection in the form of a cover.
It is also worth noting that NVIDIA Shield Tablet has only two versions: 16 Gb WiFi only and 32 Gb LTE ( official site ).
Ultimately, reluctantly, the choice was made in favor of the NVIDIA Shield Tablet for several reasons.
Firstly, it fully satisfies the above conditions, then, for example, the tablet from Lenovo has only 16 GB of internal memory on board and is not a super powerful processor, Sony also released a tablet with a sickly battery for such a powerful processor. Yes, the pursuit of thickness and weight does not always pass without a trace for ordinary users. Generally speaking, this is a very strange tendency to produce devices according to the principle “the thinner the better”, which prevented Sony from adding 2 mm and doubling the capacity of the battery by 2 times - it is known to some engineers.
Secondly, the price, which, with comparable characteristics, does not favor Sony tablets. I understand that you have to pay for the brand, but not 20-25% of the cost is the same ... Besides, the author personally has serious questions about the moisture and dust protection of Sony. This option is a purely marketing move, designed to push for the purchase of the device, which in fact has nothing to do with reality. Yes, the presentation of a tablet or phone can be run in an aquarium, call it, but with prolonged exposure, corrosion of individual elements inside the case from penetrated moisture is possible. In my case - vibrocall contacts, which, ultimately, worked when it pleases him (even when the phone is off!).
Thirdly, a stylus and, accordingly, special software for it, allowing to draw whole pictures directly on the tablet, became a pleasant option to NVIDIA Shield. Availability of miniHDMI port for connecting to TV. Plus, you can buy a gamepad for 60 bucks and enjoy the games already on your home TV screen or monitor in full.
After buying the tablet, the author had a chance to touch the Yoga 2 10 ”in the real world, which is also an excellent device, but because of the aluminum case it is too heavy and felt.
Opening ... packaging
The NVIDIA Shield Tablet is supplied in an ordinary small box in which the tablet itself is located, a quick guide, a charger with two male connectors to choose from (European or British standard) and rather unusual characteristics - 5.2V and 2.1 A output current, as well as proprietary length 1.5 meters - not menffe (!) - UBS-cable with a proprietary label. A very thoughtful move, however. Everything suggests that the user is a great gaming device. The impression is spoiled only by the lack of a well-thought-out, again gaming headset and some kind of mini-HDMI-HDMI adapter out of the box (NVIDIA clamped 5-10 bucks on such an adapter). After all, it turns out that even the most insignificant option needs to be bought in addition, and preferably a brand for a lot of money - the kingdom of Apple of some kind. However, in fairness, there is no HDMI adapter, as a class, in the delivery kits of almost ALL tablets.
Honestly, I really like the soft Shield plastic - it's just nice to hold in my hands - unlike, for example, the Lenovo Yoga aluminum cold case, but, damn it, why can't this plastic be made unmarkable ?! Naturally, the tablet from the very first days of its life in a civilized society needs a protective film, as the screen is closed with ordinary tempered glass, as noted above, and a case that will close the back brand panel and at the same time prevent bends of the tablet body during transportation.
You can, of course, purchase a branded flip case from NVIDIA, but I was sorry to give an extra 40 bucks for a simple flip case that does not cover the back panel when Chinese friends are already selling in full with similar products that protect the tablet completely. Yes, the thickness increases by an extra 2 mm, but the survival rate of the tablet (!) Is important for me, and not the marketing moves from the series, which is
A free Beeline free card with 200 MB of traffic per month was a pleasant surprise.
Let's go through the ports. Here, everything is standard, on the one hand, from the top, there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, mini-HDMI and micro-USB ports, as well as a speaker, from left to right, and, on the other, just a speaker.
On the left, there are only slots for attaching the original flip cover (I repeat, an absolutely useless thing in the national economy), while on the right there is an on / off button, a volume rocker, a slot for a SIM card, a micro SD slot, and even a stylus.
The only minus of the controls is the excessive softness of pressing the buttons, so it is not always clear whether it was pressed or not.
On the back panel in the corner, the camera is standard for tablets, and on the front panel is the front camera, and also a buggy light sensor. On the sides of the screen is another pair of speakers.
The design is not pretentious, strict, no frills, but generally pleasant, and the controls are conveniently located.
Display: equal among equals
Of course, compared to the Lenovo display, NVIDIA turned out only on a solid 4k. Dear reader, you can compare reviews from MobileReview ( NVIDIA vs Lenovo ) and OverClockers ( NVIDIA vs Lenovo ) on both models, so as not to accuse the author of bias - the dry statistics figures speak for themselves. If we take into account the purely subjective impressions of use (and it is worthwhile to take into account that the display will be covered with film), the display is qualitative, but the feeling that somewhere on trifles still saved, does not leave. For example, the light sensor, which should, like, help adapt the brightness of the display to the light of the room or the surrounding space, can calmly darken the screen in a room in bright light. For example, when a subway train enters the tunnel, the brightness drops so much that it is not possible to disassemble anything on the screen. Omit that moment, which is usually in landscape mode, the sensor is covered with the finger of your left hand, which is holding the tablet ...
If, however, set the brightness manually, then it is enough to make out what information is displayed on the display, whether it is a map, posts in social networks or photographing, in the bright sun in the mountains.
Sound as a distinctive feature
That's what, and the sound on this tablet is amazing. Let him, perhaps, slightly lack the volume, as the sound from the external speaker (for example, the author of this post uses Sony SRS BTV 5 ), but the sound is really loud, rich. All 4 columns - we still hope that there are so many columns: two at the ends of the device, two on the front panel - work great.
For example, the sound level reproduced by the speakers in dB was measured using the SmartTools application on the Sony Xperia Z smartphone, the distance to the tablet was 15 cm. Thus, watching The Big Bang Theory series at full volume gives 30 dB of exhaust for quiet scenes, 70-75 dB for scenes where the audience laughs and applauds, while the average volume is 60-65 dB, which in principle is normal indicators.
Noise scale (sound levels, decibels). A source
Interface: in ascetics, it is even richer
The weakest aspect of this tablet. NVIDIA's programmers haven't created any special shell; this is actually pure Android (after all updates 5.0.1) with a certain amount of “gaming” wallpapers and a pair of specialized gaming applications, such as the NVIDIA Hub, as well as a quick access panel when removing the stylus, and a notification panel. with access to game functionality (communication with the controller, streaming, and so on). To my deep regret and amazement, the notification panel that pops up from above cannot be customized for you in any way - you have to download a third-party application ...
A camera that wouldn’t have been better
Let's say frankly, honestly and frankly, it’s not worth looking at the tablet for a great camera to replace a smart phone or even a simple soap box. The camera is the weakest point and the most unnecessary part of the tablet. Yes, maybe someone will say that the front camera is necessary for broadcasting to Twitch, but you can get a really adequate picture from it only in the “tablet + controller” mode, but not when streaming from the tablet itself, because, rather all, it will simply be closed with your fingers.
As for the quality of photos, the following are presented in original proportions of photos taken on NVIDIA Shield (left) and two years ago the smartphone from Sony - Xperia Z (right). I believe that commenting on something is meaningless, especially photos with a lack of lighting - a complete darkness ...
Yes, plus to the above, at the beginning of using the tablet, the application for the camera for some reason intensively communicated with the network. Apparently, this is the automatic synchronization of photos with Google-photos, which is enabled by default. But then they managed to stop this orgy.
AKB: surprises and long life
The battery is also not as smooth as it seems at first glance.
First of all, where did the 200 mAh go? Many sites feature a figure of 5400 mAh, while the tablet defines only 5200. Of course, I understand that in the US there are several different standards (feet versus meters), but it’s necessary to try to indicate the battery capacity in watt hours ... It is 19.75 watts -hours ( official website , section specs), which corresponds to x mAh, as the manufacturer was too lazy or deliberately did not bring the nominal supply voltage. Or for a nominal take 5.2 V, indicated on the charger? Then we get the capacity generally below 4,000 mAh ...
Secondly, the battery is “just a song of some kind”. At the end of each charge / discharge cycle, it runs up to 80% (this is not a joke, it was like that if the tablet is not used) in the miscancellous column, something like a mismatch between calculated and actual consumption, which, in my opinion, is not gate does not climb. NVIDIA, tell me where the charge is leaking ?!
But it is worth noting pluses. For example, many complain of a memory leak (more on this below) and self-discharge, but for one day of downtime with the network interfaces turned off, the tablet absorbs only 8% of the charge. Not so much, considering that inside is 192 nuclear heart, which constantly wants to eat.
Having tested this tablet at ski resorts several times, the author abandoned a separate navigation device. If the Xperia Z dies out for 6-7 hours of navigation in the mountains, then this tablet with GPS and 3G Internet enabled is ready to work up to 10-12 hours, that is, it can really be successfully used in one-day trips for cartographic cases.
In addition, the tablet has a built-in utility (SHIELD Power Control) that allows you to manually adjust power consumption yourself: if you want to have a sports car in the world of games - please, if you want to hang around for a long time in Zhiguli - please. You can also configure the power mode for each application separately in the Apps tab.
Excess RAM
Relatively recently , messages that up to 70-80% of the RAM on a given tablet periodically get forgotten skipped. It is quite possible that this is a bug of the old firmware, the standard gigabyte is packed on the tested device, everything else is in the user's hands - almost 900 MB. Plus, do not forget to periodically throw out heavy games from background applications to free up the memory of the device from the caches.
As we can see, special applications from NVIDIA Shield Hub and DirectStylus are eating along with the background applications of Google or even the AOSP keyboard.
Practically available 1 GB of RAM allows, if not instantly, a wide variety of games to start very, very quickly, such as HMM III (F), the recently released HD-port of everyone’s favorite game, Carmageddon and so on, but this is already in the next section. .
Gamer features, without which the tablet would not be himself
Stylus. You can compare NVIDIA Shield for a long time with Samsung's family of stylus tablets. Yes, perhaps the pen from the Koreans is better, but in comparing the individual characteristics, it is important not to miss the main thing: the compatibility of the pen and the pre-installed programs. In the NVIDIA Shield Tablet, this is implemented at a height: the stylus is responsive, has its own, NVIDIA Dabbler, sharpened for iron, which allows you to create realistic images with a 3D effect. Read more about the possibilities of the stylus in the official video from NVIDIA:
HDMI HDMI is the coolest thing on a tablet computer. It can be used not so much for games on a large 50-inch “monitor”, as for presentations, various kinds of photo, video, master-class demonstrations ... and anything! Not only at work, but also at home and away.
But what is characteristic, “not only all” (c) tablets are equipped with a similar interface. For a long time I tried to remember any other tablet with an HDMI interface not on Win8 (which, to be honest, should not be called a tablet, but an ultrabook), but on Android, as a result I could only remember Asus Transformer, and yes it was only 10 -inch case. Of course, Apple has implemented it, but you yourself know what ... adapter + cable.
If a dear reader will be able to offer any particular model with HDMI port, release until 2015, then you are welcome in the comments to this article. Yes, the Chinese cars ... sorry, do not remember the electric demand in vain, please.
So, we have a mini-HDMI, through which you can connect the tablet to a TV or monitor, and then the question arises, how to manage? The answer is simple - BlueTooth mouse and keyboard!
When connected, you can choose between mirroring modes and console mode:
As a result, we get a tablet of almost any size - it depends on personal greed:
Connect the mouse:
And forward to play in the good old heroes!
Suppose that they invited you to visit: a beer to drink or tea with a cake is not so important. At some point it gets boring. Many wish they had taken a munchkin, or Catan (Colonizers), or any other board game with them. However, this is not at all a problem if you have such a “master of all trades”, connecting which you can play on TV, tell about your last travels, or even discuss some engineering project - the range of tasks to be solved is simply unlimited!
And in addition to the entire video, showing how even in “optimized” mode, games such as HMM III ( Google Play ) and Carmageddon ( Google Play ) are launched. If you can play the heroes with one mouse, the Carmageddon still needs a controller or you have to use the touch screen of the tablet itself.
Console. Yes, the guys from NVIDIA have thought up this question too. The price of the device is 60 bucks.
Game streaming from PC to Shield. I do not think that this option will be widely popular with the public, unless this public itself is not professional gamers who cannot even go to the toilet, either leading the raid or shooting terrorists. The idea is that owners of NVIDIA cards, whose computer meets certain requirements , can set up to transfer the image of their favorite game from the PC to the NVIDIA Shield Tablet via WiFi, preferably operating in the 5 GHz band. In my opinion, the applicability of this is questionable, just as much as the sewing of butterfly wings on a rhino ...
And finally, a little synthetics ... in the sense of tests ...
Benchmarks: and the whole scale is not enough
The NVIDIA tablet itself is just a real digital beast that grinds everything and everyone in its path at maximum settings. Just look at these numbers in the screenshots below. Even in the power saving mode, the tablet tears up, like a tuzik hot-water bottle, many modern Android devices - compare it with Lenovo and Sony performance tests for sporting interest.
Performance test in AnTuTu v5.6.1: on the left, power consumption in max performance mode, on the right - battery save
3DMark v1.4.2925 performance test: on the left, power consumption in max performance mode, on the right - battery save
Conclusions and Conclusion
Today the situation on the market is such that no manufacturer produces tablets and smartphones satisfying 100% customer satisfaction. There are always some drawbacks to which you can get to the bottom, like a weak battery or the absence of an SD card slot. NVIDIA Shield Tablet, of course, is no exception in this series. Although the device is sharpened for gamers, it has the most powerful processor for processing bits into textures, amazing image rendering and many other useful functions and features, unfortunately, it is not without drawbacks: the lack of its own gaming exclusive shell, “problematic” or, better said, misunderstood battery, the actual absence of the camera at the formal cost of installing it in the tablet and other minor flaws.
Despite all the above, the device, in general, turned out, if not five plus, then certainly on a solid top five. A number of features: HDMI, a stylus with thoughtful software, the ability to connect a controller and turn a tablet into a gaming console — all this makes this tablet stand out from the rest of its fellows and classmates.Taking initially gaming tablet, you can find him a lot of applications “in everyday life”, away from the games. Add a mouse and keyboard, even without a monitor, and in front of you is a full-fledged office workhorse. Upload a photo, video and you can safely go to visit relatives, showing the latest rest or Sunday fishing via HDMI on the big screen. This tablet will not become obsolete in six months or a year, it will serve its owner faithfully and for 3-4 years, at least, that for such a top device at a price of 20,000 rubles, you will agree, is very bad. And if in the first week of use the author personally became disillusioned with the tablet, then having appreciated all the potential that this device possesses after a while, one can only say one thing: divine and amazing!
PS: This review is NOT an advertisement. AuthorI independently purchased NVIDIA Shield Tablet in the Ulmart supermarket, tested it, and then issued this review on a voluntary basis.
PPS: Comments and suggestions are better to write in the LAN, questions about the test (including if you want me to test something on it) are best left in the comments. KTTS section will appear about the sensor. The touch screen on the device is rather unusual and it is worth mentioning it separately, showing a couple of microphotographs.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/374767/
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