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Stylus And Inking

Nvidia Shield Tablet And Shield Controller Review
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The Shield Tablet, foregoing the extra cost of an active digitizer, uses Nvidia’s DirectStylus 2, an upgraded version of the inking technology found in the Tegra Note 7, to improve upon the normal passive capacitive stylus experience. DirectStylus 2 employs the Kepler GPU to analyze up to 300 scans per second from the touch sensor, enabling features like pressure sensitivity and palm rejection.

Unlike other passive styli, the included chisel-tip utensil doesn’t obscure the point of contact with the screen, which makes it feel more like using a pen rather than a large, blunt crayon. The sharp tip also creates much finer lines, and there’s generally no discernible lag between it and the trail of ink.

Along with DirectStylus 2, the Shield Tablet has built-in multi-language handwriting recognition. Instead of sending your scribbles off to a remote server for OCR processing, however, the Shield Tablet taps into the power of its Kepler GPU for on-board processing. This solution not only maintains privacy, but also improves performance by removing network latency and continues to function, even offline.

Handwriting input fieldHandwriting input field

In order to use handwriting recognition, it needs to be manually enabled from within the settings menu. Choosing between keyboard or handwriting mode falls under Settings—>Language & Input. Next, select “Default” under the “Keyboard & Input Methods” section and choose “Handwriting Recognition” or one of the installed on-screen keyboards. Frequently switching between the different modes gets annoying after a while. It would be nice if there was an always-present button on the keyboard to quickly toggle between modes without messing around in the settings.

With handwriting recognition enabled, an input field that accepts written text replaces the on-screen keyboard. Writing is processed in real-time, but the engine waits until you pause before replacing handwritten letters with their digital equivalents. There’s a bar along the top with shortcuts for automatically completing recognized words and it supports several pen gestures for manipulating the text, like scribbling out a character to delete it, drawing a vertical line between characters to split them and drawing a “u” below characters to remove the space between them.

Character recognition is nearly instantaneous and accuracy is very good, even with cursive writing. The one complaint I have is that the Android navigation buttons are always present when the handwriting input field is active, even in Fullscreen Mode. Being right-handed, resting my hand on the screen engages either Lasso Mode or opens the task switcher, thus forcing my hand to hover uncomfortably above the screen while writing.

The DirectStylus Launcher, a menu that opens automatically by removing the stylus, provides quick access to stylus-ready apps. If you prefer, you can modify this behavior to open a specific app or do nothing at all instead. The menu is also accessible by manually selecting the DirectStylus Launcher app in the app drawer or by adding it to the home screen.

Adding and removing apps from the menu is accomplished by tapping the “Add” button; there’s even a shortcut to the DirectStylus options in the Settings menu. It’s a simple app that helps integrate the stylus with the tablet.

Example of using the stylus for screen annotation and the effect of varying stylus pressure on line thicknessExample of using the stylus for screen annotation and the effect of varying stylus pressure on line thickness

Removing the stylus from its holster also adds two buttons to the Android navigation bar (just one of several reasons to ditch fixed hardware buttons). The button on the left locks out all touch inputs except for the stylus. This includes the Android navigation bar itself. While the palm rejection algorithm is always active (excluding the Android navigation bar) and works well, it’s not 100% effective. The stylus-only mode takes palm rejection to a higher level and eliminates all spurious inputs from biological sources. Engaging it also eliminates the palm interference issue discussed above when using the handwriting input field, although this adds an extra step.

The other additional button is for lasso capture mode, which provides a simple pen tool for annotating the screen, along with several screen capture options, including whole screen, rectangular region and free-hand (lasso) region. Once a screenshot is taken, there are options for saving it to the photo library as a .png file or sharing it with several external services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote and email.

While the stylus enhances note-taking and sketching, Nvidia gives digital artists something as well. Dabbler is the company's new painting app built specifically to take advantage of the features and performance of DirectStylus 2 and Nvidia's GPU. There are three distinct painting modes, each with its own unique GPU-accelerated effects: standard pen with shape recognition, watercolor and oil. Since this app relies heavily upon the DirectStylus technology, input is limited to the stylus only.

Nvidia Dabbler painting appNvidia Dabbler painting app

The standard pen mode includes an option for smart shape recognition. Draw something that looks like a triangle and Dabbler will “fix” it, straightening and connecting the edges. In watercolor mode, the paint absorbs into the paper as it dries and, with gravity activated, the wet paint flows based on the gyroscope's orientation. Oil painting effectively uses 3D lighting and texture effects, allowing paint to be built-up in layers and then trimmed away with the chisel tool. Changing the orientation of the light source drastically alters the appearance of the painting as the highlights and shadows change in real-time.

While my artistic skill stops at stick figures, I found the app easy and fun to use. The 3D graphics and physics are more than just visual eye candy; GPU assistance adds a greater sense of realism.

Overall, the OS interface is clean and Nvidia’s software adds to the tablet experience without being intrusive, leaving little to complain about. The stylus integration and Dabbler painting app are also nicely done, but the Shield Tablet’s gaming features are the big draw.

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  • 0 Hide
    blubbey , October 3, 2014 12:40 PM
    Those GPGPU benchmarks are ridiculous in comparison. It looks like a great bit of kit from what I've seen so far. A die shrunk Maxwell should be fantastic. Maybe even a lower clocked version just for power consumption? It'll still perform as well, if not better than the K1 at 750MHz (assuming 2 SMMs) I'd assume.
  • 1 Hide
    Memnarchon , October 3, 2014 12:41 PM
    "Based on these results, Tegra K1 must be “a neural net processor; a learning computer” sent back through time to destroy all of the other SoCs that could lead a rebellion in the post-apocalyptic future."

    Lol this is epic! xD
    Anyway, great and unique review. Especially for the so many GPGPU benchmarks.

    Nvidia tablet at $299 seems to be a great buy.
  • 1 Hide
    aberkae , October 3, 2014 12:52 PM
    If maxwell brings double the performance per watt on the same node the next tegra chip on 20 nm node should be a home run for the company
  • 1 Hide
    HardyHarHar , October 3, 2014 1:23 PM
    I am blown away by this tablet.
  • 1 Hide
    deftonian , October 3, 2014 2:43 PM
    Impressive, but I feel it's still missing that "umph" to get me to buy this and carry it around as an added device, next to my phone (Note 3). Maybe I just don't game enough on the android market or steam. Either way, I think it is impressive for a mobile gaming device and all the things it offers. I think they've started a great line and hope it grows into a successful tablet/gaming brand.
  • 1 Hide
    TheMentalist , October 3, 2014 2:48 PM
    Holy....that tablet is a beast!
  • 0 Hide
    aberkae , October 3, 2014 5:23 PM
    If maxwell brings double the performance per watt on the same node the next tegra chip on 20 nm node should be a home run for the company
  • 0 Hide
    gio2vanni86 , October 4, 2014 12:41 AM
    The streaming a game while i'm at my friends house using my PC at home is what has me very interested. Plug into his TV and play amazing games he can only dream of. I'm in.
  • 1 Hide
    iknowhowtofixit , October 4, 2014 9:09 AM
    Wow, nVidia will literally sell HUNDREDS of these tablets until the battery life can catch up to the performance. Why bother with a tablet when you are forced to be constantly tethered to a power source.

    I know people are excited about the raw performance of this tablet. But, other than raw GPU power, EVERYTHING else is compromised.
  • 0 Hide
    eklipz330 , October 4, 2014 11:11 AM
    this is great, there aren't many good 8" android tablets.
  • 0 Hide
    CRITICALThinker , October 4, 2014 5:50 PM
    When was a HDMI to mini HDMI cable included? mine never came with one.
  • 0 Hide
    vithrell , October 6, 2014 4:24 AM
    Just wait for Intel's Core M. It wont match the price (CPU alone will cost $300), but in fanless tablet form factor it wont have worthy competitor. Early GPU benchmarks give Core M 55k graphics score in Ice Storm, so more than 1.5x more power than Tegra K1. AND you can run full Windows on it. I wish Nvidia took x86 path with its cpu cores.
  • 0 Hide
    Niva , October 6, 2014 8:02 AM
    Only thing I'm worried about with this tab is Android L and what their software/OS refresh capabilities will be. Has nVidia made any statements about that? Getting this and being stuck with kitkat would bite.
  • 0 Hide
    matt64 , October 6, 2014 10:27 AM
    I asked Nvidia about updating the Shield devices to Android L. Nvidia will update to the new Android version soon after it's officially released by Google, though Nvidia couldn't provide an exact date at this time.

    -matt64
  • 1 Hide
    matt64 , October 6, 2014 10:30 AM
    "When was a HDMI to mini HDMI cable included? mine never came with one."

    After clarifying this with Nvidia, only the press kits included the cable. The retail boxes do NOT include the HDMI cable. I'm sorry for the confusion and we'll update the article to correct this.

    -matt64
  • -1 Hide
    Roger Rogers , October 7, 2014 6:15 PM
    I have a Great product concept for the K1 gaming tablet. Vastly increase sales. But who to take it to...
  • 0 Hide
    Iriman , October 9, 2014 5:28 AM
    Typing from my shield now. I love this decide. As a gaming tablet, its unmatched. As a media device, its extremely hard to beat. Its responsive and I find myself using it more then my moto x and my computer combined. It has plenty of oomph to handle anything I throw at it. WiFi isnt the best out of all the devices I've played with, but in no way is it nearly as bad as the transformer prime was back when it was released. Fantastic device. Gaming is unmatched!
  • 0 Hide
    Roger Rogers , October 14, 2014 6:10 PM
    It has a serious design flaw as far as gaming is concerned from my PoV (which would only be easier for you to understand if you knew the specifics of my PoV [design issue that affects every user and potential user]).

    P.S.
    How is the heat on the thing after a few hours in warm weather?
  • 0 Hide
    CRITICALThinker , October 14, 2014 7:15 PM
    it does have some heat to it, though throttling should be minimal, I am only having a few issues with the lock screen freezing and requiring a manual reboot.
  • 0 Hide
    lookanlearn , October 15, 2014 8:54 AM
    Quote:
    it does have some heat to it, though throttling should be minimal, I am only having a few issues with the lock screen freezing and requiring a manual reboot.


    Heat can cause lock ups (as you will know); but maybe its a software thing that will be ironed out.

    I was hoping it would be smoothe and excellent; but I knew it would get hot. Too slim you see. Look at the PS Vita as comparrison. Chunky and cool.
    The heat was not an issue I was thinking about when I mentioned a design flaw for gaming (I have a neat solution for).
    Although the heat issue did give me the idea for a slot on the back of the unit (maybe magnetic) to put 6mm thick (30mm diameter) frozen metal wafers in located on the back near the CPU/GPU housing, so that it can drop the heat off a bit during an hours play. You get a kit of two or three or somthing; keep one in the freezer and swop them.
    Nobody plays them all day do they?
    For general browsing, should not be required; but when you start pushing the graphics, they be pretty handy on a hot day.

    My Terga 4 smartphone has automatically shut itself down due to overheating itself a hundred times in summers in the Far East..

    10,000 ideas.
    nice.



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