Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.
The Daily Roundup for 07.31.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: summer 2013 edition
Tablets are virtually tailor-made for our summer vacations, whether we're checking email at the hotel or watching movies during an airport layover. The manufacturers must know this, as there's a surge of new slates set to arrive while the weather's still scorching. Our 2013 summer tablet buyer's guide will help you decide which of these models is worth space in your travel bag, so read on for more.
NVIDIA Shield review
NVIDIA Shield is a truly strange device. It combines an eight-button console-size gamepad with dual analog sticks, and a 5-inch "multi-touch, retinal" screen. It runs stock Android 4.2.1. It touts wireless PC game streaming as its main selling point. It plays Android games, it plays PC games, it does the Twitter and the Gmail, et cetera. The bottom line? NVIDIA's gaming machine is a pleasant surprise and quite an impressive device. It's not the portable console you're looking for, but it's also so much more than that. Read our full review above.
ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7 review
To some extent, ASUS is a victim of its own success: it gave the budget tablet category a boost with the original Nexus 7, and it now faces a legion of competitors in that space. While the new Nexus 7 takes on the higher end of the market, the MeMo Pad works the other. ASUS' MeMo Pad HD 7 isn't the fastest tablet, but its quality display, battery and software raise it above other budget tablets. Click the link above for more.
MacBook Air gets gaming credentials through home-built external GPU
The MacBook Air's integrated graphics all but rule it out as a serious gaming machine. However, Larry Gadea at the Tech Inferno forums has found a way to make the Air a powerhouse through an ad hoc external GPU. His design mates a PCI Express video card to the Mac's Thunderbolt port through a combination of two adapters, a Boot Camp installation of Windows 7 and third-party software.
