Under appreciated
Although it’s only received some minor advertising, the Nintendo DS-i is truly a great gadget. Although it may on the pricey side for some people at $170, it’s well worth it. Among the included features are 2 cameras with editing software, a more advanced microphone (with its respective editing software), an online store, and of course game and SD card slots.
Is it really worth it?
The struggle in these tough economic times is to weigh your decisions carefully; whether you are going to buy that new gadget or not. To help make your decision easier, I’ll provide an in-depth look at some of the features.
Online Store- Although the Wii had an interesting concept of an online store, the DS-i perfected it. Easily search able and relatively fast for a hand held device, you can see featured items and as a promo, receive 10,000 DS-i
points to make your first purchases (depending on when you purchased it). The first thing that got me excited about the store was the Opera-powered internet. Free to download, you can get internet on your DS (finally) which works just as well if not better than other similar hand-held devices. Nintendo has a good, broad selection of games so it isn’t too difficult to find the perfect game.
Camera- Although at first I heard many complaints about how ridiculous two cameras is, I can say without a doubt Nintendo justifies it. It seems strange at first, but the second camera makes a lot of sense. Instead of having to hold your DS backwards to take a picture of yourself, there is a camera located inside the DS as well. Although I’m not a fan of it, there is some simple photo editing software that comes free as well as many different picture taking styles available right out of the box.
Other features- Nintendo has also added a few other features to the new DS-i. along with a more convenient on/off button (instead of switch), there is a brighter back light and better processor. Additionally, it has a SD slot for pictures and whatever else you can dream up. Unfortunately, the DS-i is more energy consuming than it’s predecessors. In reality, the back light doesn’t consume as much energy as the beefed up other parts do. Better speakers, processing, and photo manipulation takes a toll on relatively good battery. Also, it wouldn’t be smart business-wise if they didn’t add yet another type of charger to their line-up. Sorry to those who bought extra DS and DS lite chargers, but once again Nintendo has opted to switch the type of charger for the DS-i.
Overall, I would encourage those of you who don’t have a DS or an old one (like I did) to go out and get it. It really is an interesting new piece of technology and Nintendo is making all of it’s products technology-handicapped friendly. It has a good range of games (no more GBA slot, however) and some awesome new features that are definitely worth checking out.
points to make your first purchases (depending on when you purchased it). The first thing that got me excited about the store was the Opera-powered internet. Free to download, you can get internet on your DS (finally) which works just as well if not better than other similar hand-held devices. Nintendo has a good, broad selection of games so it isn’t too difficult to find the perfect game.
Overall, I would encourage those of you who don’t have a DS or an old one (like I did) to go out and get it. It really is an interesting new piece of technology and Nintendo is making all of it’s products technology-handicapped friendly. It has a good range of games (no more GBA slot, however) and some awesome new features that are definitely worth checking out.
