Spring Break
The Nintendo DS and i
The DSi is here. It's got a camera. Should you care?
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Focus
The charging time for the built-in battery remains comparable for both the DSi and the DS Lite, clocking in at about three hours. But once charged, the DSi won't last as long, averaging a couple of hours less in battery life depending on the brightness settings.
Built-In Software
The DSi comes with some cool software right out of the box, and Nintendo even gives you 1,000 points for use on the digital Nintendo DSi Shop - which you will need a WiFi Internet connection in order to access (for more details, check out the sidebar on page 7). So even if you haven't invested in a game, there's still plenty to do on the DSi.
The DSi's menu has been made more stylish and resembles a mini-Wii aesthetically. Besides a settings menu and a slot where a game icon would appear, there are options for the DSi camera, DSi Sound, the standard PictoChat and the aforementioned Shop. Also, whenever you download a game, it'll appear on the menu.
DSi Sound is at its heart a music player, but it also functions as a voice recorder and a pretty complex sound editor. Users can adjust pitch, playback and add filters, but unless you read the guide it may seem a little overwhelming.
DSi Shop is perhaps the best addition to Nintendo's handheld moneymaker. Already pretty successful on the Wii, Nintendo offers third- and first-party software for Nintendo Points, which can be purchased in local retailers like GameStop or through your console with a credit card. So far, all software has cost 200-800 points, the equivalent of $2-$8. The interface is easy to use (again mimicking the Wii) and should provide plenty of terrible ways for companies to score quick cash off of gamers, along with the occasional quality title. Happily, a few worthwhile titles are already available.
Camera
The DSi features two VGA cameras (one on the outside and inside) at a whopping .3 megapixels each. In case you didn't catch it, that was sarcasm - most cell phones are two megapixels and up. Even if you don't have a digital camera or a camera phone of some sort, the DSi's camera is really not worth it using for straight photography - but it's what you can do with the snaps you do take that makes the .3 megapixels almost worthwhile.
Built-In Software
The DSi comes with some cool software right out of the box, and Nintendo even gives you 1,000 points for use on the digital Nintendo DSi Shop - which you will need a WiFi Internet connection in order to access (for more details, check out the sidebar on page 7). So even if you haven't invested in a game, there's still plenty to do on the DSi.
The DSi's menu has been made more stylish and resembles a mini-Wii aesthetically. Besides a settings menu and a slot where a game icon would appear, there are options for the DSi camera, DSi Sound, the standard PictoChat and the aforementioned Shop. Also, whenever you download a game, it'll appear on the menu.
DSi Sound is at its heart a music player, but it also functions as a voice recorder and a pretty complex sound editor. Users can adjust pitch, playback and add filters, but unless you read the guide it may seem a little overwhelming.
DSi Shop is perhaps the best addition to Nintendo's handheld moneymaker. Already pretty successful on the Wii, Nintendo offers third- and first-party software for Nintendo Points, which can be purchased in local retailers like GameStop or through your console with a credit card. So far, all software has cost 200-800 points, the equivalent of $2-$8. The interface is easy to use (again mimicking the Wii) and should provide plenty of terrible ways for companies to score quick cash off of gamers, along with the occasional quality title. Happily, a few worthwhile titles are already available.
Camera
The DSi features two VGA cameras (one on the outside and inside) at a whopping .3 megapixels each. In case you didn't catch it, that was sarcasm - most cell phones are two megapixels and up. Even if you don't have a digital camera or a camera phone of some sort, the DSi's camera is really not worth it using for straight photography - but it's what you can do with the snaps you do take that makes the .3 megapixels almost worthwhile.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
J C
posted 4/29/09 @ 7:14 PM EST
Apparently, this person knows nothing about Nintenod portable hand held systems. The Game Boy dual screen doesn't exist. There's the Game Boy series which feature Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light (only in Japan), Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance Sp, and Game Boy Micro. (Continued…)
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