So I have done a bit of research and it seems I am late to the party ...I had a Firestick 1st gen and need to upgrade to something that is easy to tinker with AND with Ethernet connection.
BestBuy has a deal where you can get the Shield TV plus Google Home Mini for $179 plus tax...Should I go with it or wait for a possible Shield upgraded version soon?
I'd say get that deal for $180. Shield TV is an excellent device and although the hardware is 3 years old, it's still by far the most powerful system of its kind and receives consistent updates. Google Home is a nice bonus too.
If you ask me, for the only thing that you have to wait, it's a possible better deal in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday days and with better offer I mean a Shield with 2 Game Controllers. Of course, this only applies if you don't like very much the actual deal if not go ahead.
The shield has been a great investment for me, I'm waiting a 2 controls deal for a Friend.
6 weeks from black friday / cyber monday. i'd wait personally but it's not guaranteed to be better.
It depends if you want Dolby Vision and Atmos. If you do then your only choice is AppleTV 4k sadly. Shield cant do that
The shield has the functionality of the ghome so that seems redundant considering they have upgraded it on a two year cycle? 2015 2017 then we should be due for one in 2019 but the 2017 upgrade really wasn't an upgrade it's really hard to say since nvidia is busy making the nintendo switch who knows
I'll just say what everyone's going to say anyway: You can't go wrong with a Shield. The Mini is icing on the cake. It's a nice deal.
Then get yourself one of these for $40, and you're off into the wonderful (and expensive) world of home automation.