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Deleted_171835
Guest
OP
I purchased the DSi at Toys "R" Us. That was nearly 11 months ago. I decided to do a review now because after spending so much time surely I developed a solid opinion, unbiased opinion. The box of the DSi is fairly attractive. It's slightly bigger then the DS Lite's box but still relatively small. The DSi comes with a charger, extra stylus and an extremely thick manual.
The DSi is almost identical to the Nintendo DS Lite aside from the two shitty cameras, the location of the power button and the new indicator lights. The DSi is 4 mm thinner than the DS Lite and 5 mm wider. The matte finish is more prone to scratches then the glossy finish on the DS Lite as I’ve already got a few scratches. The system feels more durable in your hand and the hinge is more durable. The two speakers are two small holes adding to the professional feel of it. You adjust the volume with a push-button control instead of a slider. On of the more notable deductions is the lack of a GBA slot. Nintendo claims that it's because of size issues. I consider that pure bullshit considering that it'll only add a few millimetres to the system. Another notable addition is the two 0.3 megapixel cameras. The photos are crappy but you can't tell that just by looking at the pictures on the systems small screen. The stylus is slightly bigger making it easier to grasp for people with big hands.
The Nintendo DSi has a significant amount of new software preinstalled. I find the Nintendo DSi Shop to be the application that has the most potential. Like WiiWare it's used to distribute games and applications. As of March '10 there are a small amount of great games. Flipnote Studio was the first great free application for the shop. Personally, I enjoyed Birds and Beans the most out of all the 'mini-games' on the shop. The web browser distributed on the shop is decent. It's not practical when browsing sites like GBAtemp, though. The future looks bright for DSiWare based on the games revealed at GDC '10.
The DSi has a sound recording application. It's a boring application. It relies on the novelty factor to keep you amused. After a few minutes you grow tired of it and move on to other stuff. The music player on the other hand is decent. I find it interesting to listen to song with a different pitch and tone. The music player will be of little use to the people on GBAtemp, though as the majority of us have flashcarts and use Moonshell, a vastly superior homebrew app.
Pictochat hasn't changed a lot since the DS Lite. It's the same chatting application that you've probably got used to over the years with the exception of a rainbow coloured pen. Pictochat hasn't had any notable changes. DS Download Play is also the same.
The camera application is rather boring. You can adjust photos and add hearts and other shapes to the photos. The photos taken by the DSi are shitty but you won't notice it unless you send it to a computer. With the 1.4 update you can upload photos to Facebook. I'm sure many people would enjoy that feature. The camera application is one of those things that you use once and never use again. If you want to take good photos, buy a digital camera, not this.
The Nintendo DSi can connect to WEP, WPA (AES/TKIP) and WPA2 (AES/TKIP) networks unlike the DS Lite. It only supports in DSi applications though. You can't connect to the aforementioned networks when running regular DS games.
The DSi has improved specs. It has an ARM9 is clocked at 133 MHz, 16 MB of RAM and 256 MB of internal flash memory. You can expand the available space on the device by using an SD(HC) card. The improved specifications of the DSi enable many new things to happen. DSi games can make use of the added memory. No DSi game has used the upgraded specs in a way that I can consider notable, to date.
The DSi has not been hacked to make use of the DSi-mode, yet. When it is hacked, homebrew can make use of the upgraded specs to create interesting applications. Flashcarts currently can only access the DS-mode of the DSi. The best flashcart for the DSi at the moment by popular appeal is the Acekard 2i. The firmware of the DSi is upgradeable via Wi-Fi. I believe Nintendo incorporated that just to be able to block flashcarts via new updates.
Overall
I do not believe the DSi is worthy of a purchase. The added features do not provide enough compensation for the lack of a GBA slot. Unless you're in a dire need of a DS and have the money to purchase it. The DS Lite is a much better value.
DO NOT GET
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This is my first proper review on GBAtemp. Post any constructive criticism you have for it and I'll put it to use for my next review in April. If you're wondering why I spell 'color' with a u. That's because that's the Canadian (and British) way of spelling it. The proper way!
