When comparing NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet vs Amazon Fire TV, the Slant community recommends NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet for most people. In the question“What are the best Android gaming devices that have proprietary game controllers?” NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet is ranked 2nd while Amazon Fire TV is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet is:
The Shield has great hardware, including a Tegra K1 GPU, stereo speakers, and a resolution of 1920 x 1200, for $300, cheaper than the similarly spec'd Nexus 9. This makes for a great gaming experience, as well as a snappy interface in everyday use.
Specs
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Pros
Pro High-spec hardware at a good price
The Shield has great hardware, including a Tegra K1 GPU, stereo speakers, and a resolution of 1920 x 1200, for $300, cheaper than the similarly spec'd Nexus 9. This makes for a great gaming experience, as well as a snappy interface in everyday use.
Pro Stream games from GTX powered PCs
Users of the SHIELD have the ability to stream games from high end GTX powered PCs, allowing high performance gaming anywhere in the house.
Pro Near stock Android
NVIDIA opted to not mess around too much with the OS and stuck with a mostly stock experience, keeping modifications to a minimum other than what was needed to provide its core gaming features.
Pro Immersive audio
The SHIELD Tablet features front-mounted stereo speakers, which make for an excellent experience while gaming or watching movies. This is in contrast to most other tablets, which generally have a single small speaker, often not pointed in the same direction as the screen, primarily meant only as a fallback for when headphones aren't used.
Pro Built in Twitch support
The device is able to instantly stream to Twitch by utilizing a option that is built into the notification pull down.
Pro Stylus support
There is a storage space for a stylus (that comes in the box) in the device.
Pro Voice search
There is a dedicated voice search button on the remote so you can quickly bring up the voice search prompt from any app that works fast and accurately.
Pro Has support for tons of media service integrations
The Fire TV has support of the following of services: Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, ESPN, Pandora, Showtime, MLB, iHeart Radio, Vevo, Vimeo, Crackle, Bloomberg, Twitch, NBA, Amazon Music, Plex, YouTube, Tune In, Flixster, Quello, AOL on, WWE, HuffPost Live, Frequency, Red Bull TV, and Smithsonian Channel.
Pro Has a simplified kids mode
There is a mode called "freetime" that lets you whitelist specific apps and set watch time limits for kids, or for a simplified interface with only certain apps.
Pro Most powerful set top box
Even though it's only $99, it's far more powerful than its competitors, with a quad core processor and 2GB of ram, and that power really shows in the fluidity of the UI.
Pro Bluetooth Remote
The Fire TV remote doesn't require line of sight, and has a microphone for voice search, thanks to bluetooth support.
Cons
Con Wireless controller does not come with device
The proprietary SHIELD controller does not come with the device, it is $60 extra to purchase one.
Con Drains battery in idle
The tablet is poorly optimized for idle standby mode, and drains the battery when you aren't using it, losing up to 25% when left alone for 4 hours.
Con Inconsistent quality control
Reviews seem split, and there are many complaints on the forums, indicating that the device has poor quality control, with many users getting duds.
Con Cannot be repaired
Con Construction quality is cheap
The chassis is made of plastic and both the case and the screen flex when pressed.
Con Lots of Amazon advertisement
The Fire TV prefers Amazon services, and is tailored to purchasing shows and movies through Amazon. The voice search does not clearly expose if it's already available on a non amazon service.
Con Inconsistent UI between apps
Each app has a unique UI making it harder to jump between each app, and requires you to learn a slightly different UI for every app.