NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1: The 'best gaming tablet' is re-released at $199

While the original NVIDIA Shield Tablet was launched a year ago, it was a bit strange that NVIDIA didn’t release a newer version (Shield Tablet 2), but simply went on with a reasonable Android TV Box called the NVIDIA Shield instead. Today, NVIDIA’s answer to the Shield Tablet was announced in the form of the NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 and the best bit is that it retails for just $199, or approximately Rs 13,000. With such a drastic price drop, it makes one wonder as to what has gone missing. With the NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1, there are plenty, but the company managed to hold on to the most important ones to deliver the essential gaming experience that many will buy it for. So what did NVIDIA skip on with the Shield Tablet K1? You still get that Full HD display and 2 GB of RAM and the beastly Tegra K1 processor, but NVIDIA has cut down on the stylus (in fact, even its slot is missing) although the software still supports the older one. Bringing down the price is not easy, so that 32 GB internal storage option gets the boot. Buyers will only get a 16 GB option with Wi-Fi as the standard model. Apart from the missing stylus slot, the design has not changed much, with just the speaker grill that gets a different perforation treatment. On the software side of things you get Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and NVIDIA is promising Marshmallow by the end of this year as well. You don’t get a charger in the package, but NVIDIA  will sell you one for $30, as the company thinks that many will be charging this device off their existing chargers (which seems a bit lame). Also missing is the Shield controller, which is also sold separately. With the relaunch, NVIDIA has managed to retain the Shield Tablet experience in the K1 while cutting down on its price, meaning that it does deserve an applause.