Samsung Gamepad is the latest entry in the mobile gaming arena. The gamepad lets you setup your phone as the main gaming device and provides you with a physical controller. The device will let you hook up your Android 4.3 device - viz. Note III, S4, Note II and SIII and offer connectivity via Bluetooth & NFC. We believe the choice of compatible phones would be larger in coming days because Samsung says that it lets you fit 4" - 6.3" phones. Of course, other Galaxy device owners will be able to use HDMI cable or AllShare technology for screen mirroring and watching all the action on the TV sets.

Here's a quick look at the Samsung Gamepad Specs:-


Compatibility: Android OS 4.1 more (Optimised for Samsung devices with Android 4.3 more)
Connectivity: Bluetooth® v3.0, NFC(Samsung devices with Android 4.3 more) 3.0 class 2, HID
Control Keys:

- D-Pad (8 way)
- 2 Analog Sticks
- 4 Action buttons and 2 Trigger buttons
- Select button and Start button
- PLAY button (Samsung devices with Android 4.3 more)

Dimension: 137.78 x 86.47 x 31.80mm, 195g
Battery: Rechargeable 160mA
Color: Black

Note that the Gamepad will still rely on the CPU and GPU of the phone or tablet you're playing your game on.

The NVIDIA shiled on the other hand has everything under its own control. Here's a quick look at the specs:

Processor NVIDIA Tegra 4 Quad Core Mobile Processor with 2GB RAM
Display 5 inch 1280x720 (294 ppi) Multi-Touch Retinal Quality Display
Audio Integrated Stereo Speakers with Built-in Microphone
Storage 16GB Flash Memory
Color: Custom Armor Color Silver
Wireless 802.11n 2x2 Mimo 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS
Connectivity Mini-HDMI output
Micro-USB 2.0
Battery 28.8 Watt Hours
Weight & Size 579 grams
158mm (w) x 135mm (D) x 57mm (H)
Operating System Android Jelly Bean OS


Looking at the specs, it looks like NVIDIA obviously scores more over most of the compatible Galaxy devices. The Tegra 4 processor definitely will offer an upper hand over several devices.

Which one makes more sense: NVIDIA shield is powerful; but not as flexible as what Gamepad. If you're a gaming fanatic - NVIDIA Shield is the most obvious choice. However, if you want physical controls to your existing galaxy device - Samsung Gamepad is designed to do that. The choice is yours.