Nvidia Shield | Should You Buy One?
The Nvidia Shield already sounds like a familiar name, that's because it is. Nvidia has used the Shield moniker a couple times before, with its Shield Portable and Shield Tablet.
But the Shield console is different from its predecessors, both in its form factor - obviously - but more importantly in its intentions.
This is the world's first-ever 4K Android TV set-top box, and the first widely offered streaming device that's capable of handling Ultra HD. That means, unlike the Roku 3, Chromecast or even Amazon Fire TV, you can actually connect this to a 4K TV in your home, throw on Netflix, HBO Now or YouTube, and be treated to stunning 3,840 x 2,160 resolution content.
Where the Shield Portable failed to capture the Nintendo 3DS's spot in our pockets and the Shield Tablet a spot in our bags, the Nvidia Shield is attempting in earnest to claim a space beneath our TVs.
The craziest part? The Shield pulls it off. Well, sort of.
So lets now see the PROS and CONS of the console. Thanks to techradar for some good infos
PROS
The Nvidia Shield's design, both inside and out, is completely different than anything available today. It's faster than the traditional set-top boxes we've grown to love and holds the title of the first Android TV device capable of 4K streaming.
This box also has the best selection of games, bar none, thanks to its ability to stream from the cloud, a local PC or download full games from the Google Play store. A high-end processor and plenty of memory means your games will never suffer from severe slow down. And while the 16GB version can run out of room quickly, the expandable microSD card slot means installing extra storage is a breeze.
CONS
While the specs are spot-on, Android TV, however, is still a mixed bag. First-party content from Google ends up at the top of most results, and the recommended content section usually fails to provide anything substantial.
And at $199 (around £130, AU$255) for a 16GB version, it's double the price of its closest competitors, the Amazon Fire TV and Roku 3. The silver lining is that you're getting more power and game selection for the price, but whether that content is worth the extra money up front is another question entirely.
So what do you think? Should you buy it?
