same feeling here, I don't understand the switch, the interesting thing about the Shield was the form factor. Now it only provide a moderate aventage over existing tablet + Xbox controller
It's not a switch. The point of the Shield line is to create a market for Tegra chips. Adding a second form factor is an attempt to broaden their potential customer base, and more directly compete with traditional tablets. The original Shield is still for sale. (I love mine, and I am certainly open to buying another revision of the original shield with a K1 at some point, but this isn't in place of that.)