<!--sizeo:7--><span style="font-size:36pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Greg's review of the AceKard 2</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Today, I'm proud to give to you a trustworthy, unbiased and rigorous review of the Acekard 2. The AceKard 2 (AK2) was tested with a Kingston microSD card of a capacity of 1 gigabyte referenced as SD-C01G in a Nintendo DS lite. System version was 4.07ak15. This review was written on July, 9th 2008 and is up-to-date as of that date. The card itself was purchased early in June and is still working like a charm.
Warning:<ul><li>Pictures are pretty big, page may take some time to load. Sorry</li><li>Pictures are made by myself, please don't steal them.</li><li>I totally feel ok with the fact that I'm a 28-year old guy with an Animal Crossing: Wild World skin. Resetti rules !</li><li>I tried to focus this review on text more than pictures, with my personal thoughts at the end. You are free to disagree with them.</li></ul><b>Introduction</b>
The Acekard 2 is a slot-1 flashcart, the slot 1 being the slot used by DS games and not GBA games. It is the successor of the AceKard (version 1, or AK1) that was brought by the end of 2006, and tries to correct many of its flaws.
The official features (quoted from the official site of the AK2) are:<ul><li>Perfect compatibility. No need to convert, No need to flash!</li><li>Save file is written directly to TF card. No need to manually select save size, no data loss.</li><li>Automatic DLDI patching. Run homebrew programs without converting.</li><li>Support soft-reset, Download Play and WiFi gaming!</li><li>Support SDHC TF card. Virtually unlimited storage size !</li><li>Support any brand of TF, with no slowdown!</li><li>Support Action Replay cheats . Build-in editor!</li><li>Low power consumption for longer operational time!</li><li>Built-in multiple languages and DIY skinning!</li></ul> <b>A word about the team and the AK1
</b>Behind the family of AceKard is a company called AceKard (<a href="http://www.acekard.com" target="_blank">website</a>), better known in the scene as the AceKard Team. The team made itself a name in 2006 by releasing a flash card of the name of AceKard (guess they were running out of imagination for the name...) that would come without any internal memory, but would feature use a microSD (sometimes referred as µSD) reader, thus making it possible to switch between different SD cards and not limit the card to a set memory size. The goal was to save the customer some money by not putting any memory chip inside the card. A controversial point about the first generation of the Acekard was the use of a dedicated filesystem called AKFS (AceKard FileSystem), absolutely proprietary of the AceKard. The microSD card needed to be formatted first with a Windows tool called the AceKard Manager, and any of your data had to be transfered through the use of the same tool. The goal was to create a filesystem suitable for the AceKard reader that would give significant improvements in reading / writing speed. Although the idea was good, several points made it an awkward choice:<ul><li>MS Windows-only; goodbye USB mass storage standard, goodbye other operating systems (MacOS, linux...).</li><li>You couldn't freely organize the contents of your SD card.</li><li>Forget about using the SD card in any other device (camera, PDA...), it wouldn't be recognized.</li></ul> In other words, even if you didn't have to patch your roms anymore (clean roms would work right out of the box), the benefits were lost as you had to go through the same buggy tool again and again for any operation. Talk about nonsense...
<b>The AceKard 2 big brother</b>
It would be foolish to attempt a review of the AK2 without talking about its big brother, the AceKard R.P.G (for Real Playing Gear). Basically, the RPG and the 2 share the same core (and almost the same system, but we'll talk about that later), but the RPG adds a couple of features:<ul><li>Internal memory of 1GB WITH the microSD reader, making it possible to transfer roms between the two medias</li><li>A standard mini USB connector on the top edge</li><li>An Open Source operating system</li></ul> To many, the RPG represents the flagship of the AceKard family, the AK2 representing the trimmed version of the RPG.
<b>Pricing</b>
The target market for the AK2 is the budget customer; you shouldn't have any difficulty finding it for a retail price between $25 and $35 without any microSD card.
The RPG, on the other side, retails for about 3 to 4 times that price (ouch!), confirming its "deluxe" status compared to the budget AK2.
<b>Presentation
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/01.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The card comes shipped in a straight, no frills plastic blister. Inside, you'll find<ul><li>A manual (if you can actually call that a manual...)</li><li>A USB microSD reader for your computer</li><li>The AK2 itself (surprise!)</li></ul> The manual is nothing else but a few lines of text, in decent english, inside the presentation cardboard of the blister. Let's make it clear: instructions are straight-forward and very short. If you are not very knowledgeable about your computer and how to use it, expect trouble. However, anyone who knows how to use downloading, file transfer or other basic operations should be fine. Quick note: the AK2 doesn't include any software AT ALL. It must be run with a SD card on which MUST be copied the operating system. As well, you'll NEED to have an Internet access of any kind to download the system from the manufacturer.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/08.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
A quick word on the website: it features two languages, English and Chinese. As you probably know, most multi-lingual sites offer you the choice to choose your language. Well, Acekard decided it would be too difficult to create different pages for different languages, and decided to put English AND Chinese on the same page. At best, you have blocks of Chinese and English side-by-side. At worst, you'll have a mix of English and Chinese words together. That hurdles readability a lot, ad you may spend some time looking for the information you want.
The USB microSD reader looks, well, cheap. Really cheap. Plastic-made (even the USB connector), no spring for easy microSD card insertion, sometimes not detected correctly by your computer... Although it has yet to fail me and that transfers are fast (USB2 compliant), I won't hold it high in my esteem. It does the job, and nothing else.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/07.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Finally, the AK2. A bright, reflective sticker glued to a plastic shell. The two parts of the shell are clipped together (no screws) and the card itself is light, lighter than a regular DS game or a Passcard. The card, although not fragile, doesn't seem unbreakable and needs to be handled gently.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/02.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/03.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/04.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/05.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/06.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/09.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/10.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Good news, the microSD reader is spring-loaded. You'll need to push your microSD a bit further than you expect, but insertion and ejections are fairly easy. It doesn't seem the SD could fall at anytime at it stays firmly in place. Even better, it is possible to eject the SD while the AK2 is inserted in your DS, so you shouldn't have to eject your AK2, ever. Sweet. The AK2 itself may be a little thicker than other DS carts, but nothing to worry about.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/11.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
As displayed in one of the picture, a chip is referenced as "SST 39vf1681", which is the storage component of the AK2 and is document at this <a href="http://www.sst.com/downloads/software_driver/SST39VF168x.txt" target="_blank">address</a>. The CPU itself (not pictured) is a Actel ProASIC, a chip well-known in the world of embedded electronics (see this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application-specific_integrated_circuit" target="_blank">explanation</a>).
Finally, a quick word on the autonomy: I didn't notice any real impact on the battery between a real DS game and the AK2, unlike my former Passcard which would quickly drain the battery.
<b>Use
</b>OK, we're getting at the serious stuff.
Setting up the system on the SD card was a breeze (download and unzip to the root of your SD). Boot your DS with the AK2 and a SD card inside (no SD card and the AK2 will welcome you with a nice "FAT error" message). The AK2 doesn't have the autoboot feature present in some DS game demos, so you'll have to select it manually past the DS health screen at the start, unless you have set up your DS to boot any DS cart automatically (see DS preferences).
Installing roms is as simple as a file copy can be, and since the AK2 now uses the standard FAT/FAT32 filesystem, any computer with USB mass storage will do (I'm myself using it Linux, an it's perfect).
<b>GUI
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/12.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The AK2 GUI will startup right away. I won't detail the navigation, as it is absolutely straigt-forward to enter a folder, launch a rom, tap on the screen on the menu... everything is done in a very natural, convenient way. Also, the GUI is very fast and reactive, almost no loading time. The top screen will feature an alarm clock and a calendar.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/14.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/15.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/13.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
A strong point for the AK2 is the skinnable aspect of the GUI. Let's put it simply, the skins provided are very nice fo most of them, or even absolutely gorgeous for a couple (the black theme for example).
It is clear that the Ace team has done a very good job with the GUI and it is safe to say that the AK2 features one of the best, if not the best looking appearance GUI in the market right now.
<b>Functionalities</b>
The AK2 system is packed with functionalities for the user.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/17.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<b>Multi-lingual system
</b>Eight languages are included in the system (English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Spanish). I had the chance to review the English one, which is perfect, and the French one, which is mostly ok (some names not translated, some others inappropriate).
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/19.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<b>Trim Rom</b>
The GUI allows you to copy, cut and paste files to other locations (in another folder, for example). Activating the Trim Rom option will reduce the size of your destination copy by compressing it efficiently. Two drawbacks though: trimming a rom requires a transfer operation, and trimming will reduce game compatibility. Use it with care.
<b>Patches
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/20.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The AK2 offers different options, such as Soft reset (reset a game and go back to the AK2 menu), Download play (supposed to increase compatibility with Download play games, and Cheats. Cheats are entered into two databases, are in the Action Replay form and activated with a pressure on the X button on the game name. The Cheat browser is efficient and clear and will get the job done very quickly.
However, activating patches will usually decrease rom compatibility. Use it with care.
<b>Save files
</b>Save types (512kb each) are determined automatically andcreated with the rom name with a ".sav" extension. Saving is not done in real time, though. You need to return to the AK2 menu to have your microSD updated. Save files are exchangeable with other flash cards, such as R4 or EDGE, without any conversion.
As a reminder for all of you, this <a href="http://www.shunyweb.info/convert.php" target="_blank">site</a> will allow you to easily convert all your savegames between different flashcarts.
<b>Game compatibility</b>
Because the AK2 runs from the slot 1, no need to patch the roms. Compatibility is great, every game that I throwed at it launched just fine, sometimes by adjusting options (disabling patches), so I'll save you the long list of working games. Even difficult titles, such as Final Fantasy: Ring of Fates and its infamous "Moogle of Death" work well.
Wifi games connected without any glitch.
Finally, the AK2 recognizes a potential slot-2 flashcard or expansion card and will work with it when needed.
A big warning however: the AK2 doesn't seem to accommodate well slow SD cards. Running the now "infamous" Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow intro video will usually result in slowdowns and choppiness. More seriously, games relying on heavy, large data transfers may hang up at some point, a very frustrating experience. Class 6 SDHC cards are recommended for smooth gameplay. A beta of the next version of the system (4.08) has been released a few days ago and seems to fix that issue, though, proving software improvements are coming soon.
A handy tool, if you had any issues with your microSD, would be the Panasonic SD formatter (found <a href="http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/sd/download/sd_formatter.html" target="_blank">here</a>) which is free and formats your SD card and optimizes it.
<b>Homebrew compatibility
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/21.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The AK2 features auto-DLDI patching, so you should never have to patch anything.
As well as roms, all homebrews launched well: DSorganize, PocketPhysics, Still Alive, Game Melody Oratorio... Soft reset is disabled for homebrews.
<b>The Future
</b>OK, here's maybe the most interesting part of my review, as it features up-to-date news with my personal thoughts about it. I'm going to talk about two events that may make you reconsider your decision to buy or not the card.
<b>Bad batches
</b>Starting in May 2008, several AK2 owners had their cards die very quickly, usually a few days to a month after first use. The AK2 would first behave strangely (slowdowns, hang up, white screens...) and later display an unrecoverable error message (FAT error, error 010101010...). The card died.
Far from being an isolated event, forums were soon (and still are) flooded with help requests, messages from angry owners, etc. To address the issue, the Ace team published in their forums a statement that some "connectors" were loose due to poor manufacturing, and that they would work with their manufacturer to improve QC (quality control). It now seems that bad batches amounted for way more than 1% defective (the usual industry standard), and the situation as it is now is unclear regarding the reliability of the AK2, some people calling it a "time ticking bomb". However, the AK2 is guaranteed one year by Acekard, so should you run into trouble, you'll have the option to have another one sent.
<b>The Open Source system: rise and death</b>
Recently, another event led people to think about the future of the card. The AK2 is still officially supported by Acekard, and system improvements are expected soon. However, one of the AK2's greatest strength is the possibility to run a slightly-modified version of the system because the system is common between the RPG and the AK2. These modified versions would originate from developers volunteering for the job. Two versions were very popular among AK2 owners: Bliss menu and the AKIO. Bliss menu was basically a revamp of the original system, with more options, greater compatibility and extra content. AKIO was supposed to be the next generation of the system, bringing new features such as real time saving, game slowdown on demand, etc. However, conflicts between people running these two systems led to harsh words being exchanged, accusations of code theft, etc. and eventually led to the cancellation of the AKIO (which would never be released) and Bliss (whose development would be stopped right away).
<b>My thoughts on these problems
</b>Well, regarding the bad batches issue, it is understandable to assume that many owners became upset with the high proportion of defective units, as well as with the lack of communication from Acekard, accusing them of "taking the money and not doing anything else". Let me bring some light on it. It is clear that most owners are angry and will not recommend the AK2. On the other hand, it would be wrong to assume that Acekard is fine with the issue, as it means loss of business, reputation going down, batches to repair, and so on. They also have reasons to be worried of this issue.
People criticized the lack of communication. Two arguments against that fact<ul><li>Acekard has already communicated (very shortly, though) on the matter. They are likely embarrassed by the problem, as any company would be. No need to demand a public apology.</li><li>Would you rather have them spend time on extra communication instead of actually looking at how to solve the problem ? Nonsense. Their main priority is to have it fixed, period.</li></ul> Now, regarding the second issue. Obviously, by releasing the system under an Open Source project, the Ace team desired to create a community built around the Acekard family. Many hopes were created when projects of new, hacked and improved systems started. With time, two systems came out as dominant forces in the Acekard world: Bliss and AKIO. With the (apparent) demise of both systems and the departure of most key developers, the current future for the Acekard system does not look bright. Sure, there'll always be official support, but for how long ? New generations of flash cards appear every year or so, people with slot-2 cards (I also own a G6 lite) can testify how useless a card becomes when it is not supported anymore.
The attempt to create a community of hackers around the Acekards (AK2 and RPG) unfortunately failed. The idea was great, but a lack of organization (AceKard should have built a structure to support efficiently and officially code improvements), unclear distribution (there is not even a mention of the license of the source code in the download page!) and developers feeling unrecognized for their work led to this sorry situation. Hopefully, a new team will emerge, build itself as a REAL team and launch a new system.
Rumours start spreading around that Acekard has finally understood the real value brought by community developers to its products, and is currently in the process of contacting developers to have them back on the project, possibly with official support.
<b>Conclusion
</b>The AK2 is definitely a worthy card. Great compatibility, many features, fantastic GUI make it a card of choice, despite the "budget" aspect being present everywhere (price, build quality, accessories).
Still, it is difficult to recommend it at this very time. Not because it's defective by design (it's not), but recent issues regarding defective proportion (estimated at 10%, if not more) and uncertainty regarding official and unofficial system support (in comparison with the CycloDS, for example) make it a card whose future is not guaranteed. I feel sorry to say that, but it's my true, personal feeling about it.
This is exactly why I won't rate it. Maybe in a few months will the situation be clear. As it is now, it's a good card (a 7/10 at the very least), but who wants to buy something that may be relinquished in a few months, or that may break without a warning ?
I can only wish the Ace team will react and get back on the right way, they deserve it.
Today, I'm proud to give to you a trustworthy, unbiased and rigorous review of the Acekard 2. The AceKard 2 (AK2) was tested with a Kingston microSD card of a capacity of 1 gigabyte referenced as SD-C01G in a Nintendo DS lite. System version was 4.07ak15. This review was written on July, 9th 2008 and is up-to-date as of that date. The card itself was purchased early in June and is still working like a charm.
Warning:<ul><li>Pictures are pretty big, page may take some time to load. Sorry</li><li>Pictures are made by myself, please don't steal them.</li><li>I totally feel ok with the fact that I'm a 28-year old guy with an Animal Crossing: Wild World skin. Resetti rules !</li><li>I tried to focus this review on text more than pictures, with my personal thoughts at the end. You are free to disagree with them.</li></ul><b>Introduction</b>
The Acekard 2 is a slot-1 flashcart, the slot 1 being the slot used by DS games and not GBA games. It is the successor of the AceKard (version 1, or AK1) that was brought by the end of 2006, and tries to correct many of its flaws.
The official features (quoted from the official site of the AK2) are:<ul><li>Perfect compatibility. No need to convert, No need to flash!</li><li>Save file is written directly to TF card. No need to manually select save size, no data loss.</li><li>Automatic DLDI patching. Run homebrew programs without converting.</li><li>Support soft-reset, Download Play and WiFi gaming!</li><li>Support SDHC TF card. Virtually unlimited storage size !</li><li>Support any brand of TF, with no slowdown!</li><li>Support Action Replay cheats . Build-in editor!</li><li>Low power consumption for longer operational time!</li><li>Built-in multiple languages and DIY skinning!</li></ul> <b>A word about the team and the AK1
</b>Behind the family of AceKard is a company called AceKard (<a href="http://www.acekard.com" target="_blank">website</a>), better known in the scene as the AceKard Team. The team made itself a name in 2006 by releasing a flash card of the name of AceKard (guess they were running out of imagination for the name...) that would come without any internal memory, but would feature use a microSD (sometimes referred as µSD) reader, thus making it possible to switch between different SD cards and not limit the card to a set memory size. The goal was to save the customer some money by not putting any memory chip inside the card. A controversial point about the first generation of the Acekard was the use of a dedicated filesystem called AKFS (AceKard FileSystem), absolutely proprietary of the AceKard. The microSD card needed to be formatted first with a Windows tool called the AceKard Manager, and any of your data had to be transfered through the use of the same tool. The goal was to create a filesystem suitable for the AceKard reader that would give significant improvements in reading / writing speed. Although the idea was good, several points made it an awkward choice:<ul><li>MS Windows-only; goodbye USB mass storage standard, goodbye other operating systems (MacOS, linux...).</li><li>You couldn't freely organize the contents of your SD card.</li><li>Forget about using the SD card in any other device (camera, PDA...), it wouldn't be recognized.</li></ul> In other words, even if you didn't have to patch your roms anymore (clean roms would work right out of the box), the benefits were lost as you had to go through the same buggy tool again and again for any operation. Talk about nonsense...
<b>The AceKard 2 big brother</b>
It would be foolish to attempt a review of the AK2 without talking about its big brother, the AceKard R.P.G (for Real Playing Gear). Basically, the RPG and the 2 share the same core (and almost the same system, but we'll talk about that later), but the RPG adds a couple of features:<ul><li>Internal memory of 1GB WITH the microSD reader, making it possible to transfer roms between the two medias</li><li>A standard mini USB connector on the top edge</li><li>An Open Source operating system</li></ul> To many, the RPG represents the flagship of the AceKard family, the AK2 representing the trimmed version of the RPG.
<b>Pricing</b>
The target market for the AK2 is the budget customer; you shouldn't have any difficulty finding it for a retail price between $25 and $35 without any microSD card.
The RPG, on the other side, retails for about 3 to 4 times that price (ouch!), confirming its "deluxe" status compared to the budget AK2.
<b>Presentation
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/01.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The card comes shipped in a straight, no frills plastic blister. Inside, you'll find<ul><li>A manual (if you can actually call that a manual...)</li><li>A USB microSD reader for your computer</li><li>The AK2 itself (surprise!)</li></ul> The manual is nothing else but a few lines of text, in decent english, inside the presentation cardboard of the blister. Let's make it clear: instructions are straight-forward and very short. If you are not very knowledgeable about your computer and how to use it, expect trouble. However, anyone who knows how to use downloading, file transfer or other basic operations should be fine. Quick note: the AK2 doesn't include any software AT ALL. It must be run with a SD card on which MUST be copied the operating system. As well, you'll NEED to have an Internet access of any kind to download the system from the manufacturer.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/08.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
A quick word on the website: it features two languages, English and Chinese. As you probably know, most multi-lingual sites offer you the choice to choose your language. Well, Acekard decided it would be too difficult to create different pages for different languages, and decided to put English AND Chinese on the same page. At best, you have blocks of Chinese and English side-by-side. At worst, you'll have a mix of English and Chinese words together. That hurdles readability a lot, ad you may spend some time looking for the information you want.
The USB microSD reader looks, well, cheap. Really cheap. Plastic-made (even the USB connector), no spring for easy microSD card insertion, sometimes not detected correctly by your computer... Although it has yet to fail me and that transfers are fast (USB2 compliant), I won't hold it high in my esteem. It does the job, and nothing else.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/07.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Finally, the AK2. A bright, reflective sticker glued to a plastic shell. The two parts of the shell are clipped together (no screws) and the card itself is light, lighter than a regular DS game or a Passcard. The card, although not fragile, doesn't seem unbreakable and needs to be handled gently.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/02.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/03.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/04.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/05.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/06.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/09.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/10.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Good news, the microSD reader is spring-loaded. You'll need to push your microSD a bit further than you expect, but insertion and ejections are fairly easy. It doesn't seem the SD could fall at anytime at it stays firmly in place. Even better, it is possible to eject the SD while the AK2 is inserted in your DS, so you shouldn't have to eject your AK2, ever. Sweet. The AK2 itself may be a little thicker than other DS carts, but nothing to worry about.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/11.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
As displayed in one of the picture, a chip is referenced as "SST 39vf1681", which is the storage component of the AK2 and is document at this <a href="http://www.sst.com/downloads/software_driver/SST39VF168x.txt" target="_blank">address</a>. The CPU itself (not pictured) is a Actel ProASIC, a chip well-known in the world of embedded electronics (see this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application-specific_integrated_circuit" target="_blank">explanation</a>).
Finally, a quick word on the autonomy: I didn't notice any real impact on the battery between a real DS game and the AK2, unlike my former Passcard which would quickly drain the battery.
<b>Use
</b>OK, we're getting at the serious stuff.
Setting up the system on the SD card was a breeze (download and unzip to the root of your SD). Boot your DS with the AK2 and a SD card inside (no SD card and the AK2 will welcome you with a nice "FAT error" message). The AK2 doesn't have the autoboot feature present in some DS game demos, so you'll have to select it manually past the DS health screen at the start, unless you have set up your DS to boot any DS cart automatically (see DS preferences).
Installing roms is as simple as a file copy can be, and since the AK2 now uses the standard FAT/FAT32 filesystem, any computer with USB mass storage will do (I'm myself using it Linux, an it's perfect).
<b>GUI
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/12.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The AK2 GUI will startup right away. I won't detail the navigation, as it is absolutely straigt-forward to enter a folder, launch a rom, tap on the screen on the menu... everything is done in a very natural, convenient way. Also, the GUI is very fast and reactive, almost no loading time. The top screen will feature an alarm clock and a calendar.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/14.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/15.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/13.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
A strong point for the AK2 is the skinnable aspect of the GUI. Let's put it simply, the skins provided are very nice fo most of them, or even absolutely gorgeous for a couple (the black theme for example).
It is clear that the Ace team has done a very good job with the GUI and it is safe to say that the AK2 features one of the best, if not the best looking appearance GUI in the market right now.
<b>Functionalities</b>
The AK2 system is packed with functionalities for the user.
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/17.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<b>Multi-lingual system
</b>Eight languages are included in the system (English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Spanish). I had the chance to review the English one, which is perfect, and the French one, which is mostly ok (some names not translated, some others inappropriate).
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/19.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<b>Trim Rom</b>
The GUI allows you to copy, cut and paste files to other locations (in another folder, for example). Activating the Trim Rom option will reduce the size of your destination copy by compressing it efficiently. Two drawbacks though: trimming a rom requires a transfer operation, and trimming will reduce game compatibility. Use it with care.
<b>Patches
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/20.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The AK2 offers different options, such as Soft reset (reset a game and go back to the AK2 menu), Download play (supposed to increase compatibility with Download play games, and Cheats. Cheats are entered into two databases, are in the Action Replay form and activated with a pressure on the X button on the game name. The Cheat browser is efficient and clear and will get the job done very quickly.
However, activating patches will usually decrease rom compatibility. Use it with care.
<b>Save files
</b>Save types (512kb each) are determined automatically andcreated with the rom name with a ".sav" extension. Saving is not done in real time, though. You need to return to the AK2 menu to have your microSD updated. Save files are exchangeable with other flash cards, such as R4 or EDGE, without any conversion.
As a reminder for all of you, this <a href="http://www.shunyweb.info/convert.php" target="_blank">site</a> will allow you to easily convert all your savegames between different flashcarts.
<b>Game compatibility</b>
Because the AK2 runs from the slot 1, no need to patch the roms. Compatibility is great, every game that I throwed at it launched just fine, sometimes by adjusting options (disabling patches), so I'll save you the long list of working games. Even difficult titles, such as Final Fantasy: Ring of Fates and its infamous "Moogle of Death" work well.
Wifi games connected without any glitch.
Finally, the AK2 recognizes a potential slot-2 flashcard or expansion card and will work with it when needed.
A big warning however: the AK2 doesn't seem to accommodate well slow SD cards. Running the now "infamous" Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow intro video will usually result in slowdowns and choppiness. More seriously, games relying on heavy, large data transfers may hang up at some point, a very frustrating experience. Class 6 SDHC cards are recommended for smooth gameplay. A beta of the next version of the system (4.08) has been released a few days ago and seems to fix that issue, though, proving software improvements are coming soon.
A handy tool, if you had any issues with your microSD, would be the Panasonic SD formatter (found <a href="http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/sd/download/sd_formatter.html" target="_blank">here</a>) which is free and formats your SD card and optimizes it.
<b>Homebrew compatibility
<img src="http://gregory.schmitt.free.fr/21.jpeg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
</b>The AK2 features auto-DLDI patching, so you should never have to patch anything.
As well as roms, all homebrews launched well: DSorganize, PocketPhysics, Still Alive, Game Melody Oratorio... Soft reset is disabled for homebrews.
<b>The Future
</b>OK, here's maybe the most interesting part of my review, as it features up-to-date news with my personal thoughts about it. I'm going to talk about two events that may make you reconsider your decision to buy or not the card.
<b>Bad batches
</b>Starting in May 2008, several AK2 owners had their cards die very quickly, usually a few days to a month after first use. The AK2 would first behave strangely (slowdowns, hang up, white screens...) and later display an unrecoverable error message (FAT error, error 010101010...). The card died.
Far from being an isolated event, forums were soon (and still are) flooded with help requests, messages from angry owners, etc. To address the issue, the Ace team published in their forums a statement that some "connectors" were loose due to poor manufacturing, and that they would work with their manufacturer to improve QC (quality control). It now seems that bad batches amounted for way more than 1% defective (the usual industry standard), and the situation as it is now is unclear regarding the reliability of the AK2, some people calling it a "time ticking bomb". However, the AK2 is guaranteed one year by Acekard, so should you run into trouble, you'll have the option to have another one sent.
<b>The Open Source system: rise and death</b>
Recently, another event led people to think about the future of the card. The AK2 is still officially supported by Acekard, and system improvements are expected soon. However, one of the AK2's greatest strength is the possibility to run a slightly-modified version of the system because the system is common between the RPG and the AK2. These modified versions would originate from developers volunteering for the job. Two versions were very popular among AK2 owners: Bliss menu and the AKIO. Bliss menu was basically a revamp of the original system, with more options, greater compatibility and extra content. AKIO was supposed to be the next generation of the system, bringing new features such as real time saving, game slowdown on demand, etc. However, conflicts between people running these two systems led to harsh words being exchanged, accusations of code theft, etc. and eventually led to the cancellation of the AKIO (which would never be released) and Bliss (whose development would be stopped right away).
<b>My thoughts on these problems
</b>Well, regarding the bad batches issue, it is understandable to assume that many owners became upset with the high proportion of defective units, as well as with the lack of communication from Acekard, accusing them of "taking the money and not doing anything else". Let me bring some light on it. It is clear that most owners are angry and will not recommend the AK2. On the other hand, it would be wrong to assume that Acekard is fine with the issue, as it means loss of business, reputation going down, batches to repair, and so on. They also have reasons to be worried of this issue.
People criticized the lack of communication. Two arguments against that fact<ul><li>Acekard has already communicated (very shortly, though) on the matter. They are likely embarrassed by the problem, as any company would be. No need to demand a public apology.</li><li>Would you rather have them spend time on extra communication instead of actually looking at how to solve the problem ? Nonsense. Their main priority is to have it fixed, period.</li></ul> Now, regarding the second issue. Obviously, by releasing the system under an Open Source project, the Ace team desired to create a community built around the Acekard family. Many hopes were created when projects of new, hacked and improved systems started. With time, two systems came out as dominant forces in the Acekard world: Bliss and AKIO. With the (apparent) demise of both systems and the departure of most key developers, the current future for the Acekard system does not look bright. Sure, there'll always be official support, but for how long ? New generations of flash cards appear every year or so, people with slot-2 cards (I also own a G6 lite) can testify how useless a card becomes when it is not supported anymore.
The attempt to create a community of hackers around the Acekards (AK2 and RPG) unfortunately failed. The idea was great, but a lack of organization (AceKard should have built a structure to support efficiently and officially code improvements), unclear distribution (there is not even a mention of the license of the source code in the download page!) and developers feeling unrecognized for their work led to this sorry situation. Hopefully, a new team will emerge, build itself as a REAL team and launch a new system.
Rumours start spreading around that Acekard has finally understood the real value brought by community developers to its products, and is currently in the process of contacting developers to have them back on the project, possibly with official support.
<b>Conclusion
</b>The AK2 is definitely a worthy card. Great compatibility, many features, fantastic GUI make it a card of choice, despite the "budget" aspect being present everywhere (price, build quality, accessories).
Still, it is difficult to recommend it at this very time. Not because it's defective by design (it's not), but recent issues regarding defective proportion (estimated at 10%, if not more) and uncertainty regarding official and unofficial system support (in comparison with the CycloDS, for example) make it a card whose future is not guaranteed. I feel sorry to say that, but it's my true, personal feeling about it.
This is exactly why I won't rate it. Maybe in a few months will the situation be clear. As it is now, it's a good card (a 7/10 at the very least), but who wants to buy something that may be relinquished in a few months, or that may break without a warning ?
I can only wish the Ace team will react and get back on the right way, they deserve it.
