I have been waiting for the Nvidia Shield 32gb LTE version to go live in the UK and finally this has happened. The photo above includes the tablet, Wireless Controller, tablet cover and a 5m HDMI cable. And all of this cost less than the 16gb iPad Air 2 !! In fact its about £25 less. In fact that is not quite true as this is the LTE version so is actually £125 cheaper than the LTE iPad Air 2 in 16gb. But specs aren’t everything or are they?

What you get is tablet with a purpose. That purpose is gaming. It runs a near stock version of Google Kitkat with an update due soon for Lollipop. It has stereo front speakers, 32gb storage and LTE. That means if I am correct, once I insert my sim card, I will be able to make and receive telephone calls and SMS. It has a Nvidia K1 Processor running at 1080p and 60fps. It also comes with a stylus and special note and drawing applications. The optional Wireless Controller is connected via WiFi and not bluetooth for a faster and more responsive connection. In fact, you can connect up to 4 controllers. You can not only play android games, but bespoke Nvidia games made for the tablet like Portal and Half Life 2. You can stream games from your PC and play on the tablet or stream your gaming directly to Twitch. If that is not enough, there is a dedicated HDMI socket. Connect a HDMI cable between your TV and the tablet and with the WiFi controller you can play the games on your TV at 1080p and 60fps. The tablet also has a memory card slot. The micro usb connector is available as well as a separate HDMI slot.

And the attention to detail with the green shading on the packaging and accessories is lovely. Opening the tablet box and removing the device with its accessories feels special. The same applies to all the accessories. I still cannot believe how much tablet and accessories I got for the money.

So like all devices, I needed to charge both the controller and tablet. I also checked for a software update. There was a 700mb update. Once this had downloaded it installed it in under 90 seconds. That was really speedy. Now for the slow part. Installing all my games of which there are so seriously large files to download.

It is very early days with this tablet but so far I am loving it and not missing my iPad Air. Nvidia Shield recommend a number of stockists. I used Scan Computers as the 5m HDMI cable was provided free of charge. Also Scan use DPD and provide a detailed update every step of the buying process. A superb buying experience.

I have connected the wireless controller. Simple process using the Nvidia app. And it really is brilliant. So is the gameplay and graphics. But more to come on the game play.

More to follow once I have got to grips with everything. If you have any questions, please let me know as usual.

Update – sadly you can’t make normal phone calls on this model. Nvidia will be releasing a different sku which will allow for this feature. That means you can only use calling via for example Google Hangouts.