14 DAY TRIAL // LTE, Long Term Evolution broadband, is also known as 4G, even though some argue that it's not true 4G at the end of the day. Fortunately, that debate won't be our focus today. Instead, it's the operating system of the NVIDIA Shield tablet that concerns us.
The Tegra K1 SoC-based NVIDIA Shield tablet is pretty unique on the slate market, being especially adept at playing games and sharing the experience.
However, it can't really be denied that NVIDIA has mostly been playing catch-up in the mobile field, at least in terms of consumer interest.
Now, though, it can honestly claim it managed to achieve a significant feat before everyone else in the market of tablets, or at least tablets with LTE support.
The NVIDIA Shield tablet gets Android 5.0 Lollipop
Until now, the Shield tablet ran a build of Android 4.4 that barely had any modifications compared to the original, stock version.
While the company did install some of its apps, it relied primarily on hardware-based features and cloud services to differentiate the product from the rest.
Now, the NVIDIA Shield becomes the first LTE-capable tablet to upgrade the Android operating system to Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The update will happen live for all users, becoming available as soon as the Wi-Fi or LTE connection is online, on the 32 GB version of the tablet at least.
All you, the user, need to do is go to the Settings section of the OS and hit the update button to start the process.
The benefits of Lollipop
Besides the normal performance improvements and bug fixes, you can expect a new and more versatile version of the Dabble drawing app.
The user interface has been revised as well, and given a “material design.” Notifications have also been improved, accessible even from the Lockscreen, or displayed as banners at the top of applications.
Meanwhile, Android Runtime (ART) refinements provide more efficient battery usage and improved application performance overall (Project Volta determined this, if you're familiar with the term).
What NVIDIA Shield has that other tablets don't
Game streaming to large-size monitors and TVs is one thing. Cloud-based gaming (enabled by GRID systems) is another. NVIDIA wanted something you could use normally but also for console-level entertainment, so it made sure Tegra K1 had enough CPU and GPU prowess to match Xbox 360 consoles. All for $399.99 / €399.99, although a non-LTE version with only Wi-Fi wireless and 16 GB storage ships for $299.99 / €299.99.
