The difference between this vs the cheap android boxes is the hardware being the best there is and the guaranteed software upgrades / updates.
There's nothing better for hardware (because faster hardware is more expensive which doesn't fit the Xiaomi demographic) and software upgrades (I cannot remember when Android boxes had major OS upgrades, what you see if what you get for life). The old Shield had upgrades from v5 to v7 for the past 2 years and with more to come. Only the Google Nexus TV had a similar software support. It has official support for everything. (Netflix 4K), Chromecast etc.
I still remember trawling the forums awaiting the release of new software updates to flash via ODIN and I didn't enjoy that. (Minix 8H Plus box)
If there's any software you've loaded onto your previous Android boxes, the shield will be able to use them as well. It's an Android box at the end of the day.
Amazon US ships it for free to Singapore. It's the most convenient way to get it.
http://imgur.com/a/xCVgh
They've offered free shipping to Singapore since the launch date so you can pick one up anytime.
I got mine from the UK site (no longer possible because they no longer offered it) because I wanted a 3 pin plug and WiFi channels and UK apps.
The next 2 upgrades I'm looking forward to in mid to end 2017 is the Google Home assistant update and the Live TV update (plugging in a USB tuner and watching TV on it).
The most up to date information on the Nvidia shield can be found here
(current problems / solutions).
https://forums.geforce.com/default/board/159/shield-tv/
There you'll find information about sideloading applications that were hidden due to Geo restrictions.
Geo restrictions is an inconvenience that's here to stay. US / UK / CN content have all be increasingly harder to access. As long as you're constantly reading up / using VPN it's not an issue. The reality is Singapore is a small market and we don't get access to large libraries of content. (Look at Netflix SG / Amazon Video SG).
TLDR:
- Purchase from Amazon US, cheapest and most convenient and free shipping
- Enjoy guaranteed software upgrades for another year and all features have 1st party support (Chromecast, Netflix etc)
- Google assistant is coming, Live TV is coming (hopefully it works in SG)
- It's an Android box, you can load the same things that you do with other boxes
- Read up on geo restrictions, the SG video market will remain poor for the forseeable future (Starhub / Singtel dominance). The hurdles are not insurmountable.
- Don't just take my word for it, read the SHIELD forums, they have details on all the various problems and solutions