5tags » Reviews
Oct 5

Two weeks ago I told readers that I had purchased a DS lite web browser from Lik-Sang.com. I received the package on Monday from Hong Kong. I was very excited to get it because this web browser was why I purchased the Nintendo DS in the first place.

Value

I bought the web browser from a Hong Kong company called Lik-Sang. Lik-Sang is an online store that sells import games to customers around the world. They sell these games at a higher cost, but offer free shipping, which balances it out. The web browser is sold in Japan for 3300 YEN or about $33 USD. I paid $49.90 from Lik-Sang.com.

When you purchase a new computer, a web browser is not something that you think of paying money for. Windows based computers come loaded free with Internet Explorer and Firefox is only a “free” click away. Opera tried to sell a browser for PCs but soon realized that people did not want to spend money to browse the internet, when they could use several free alternatives. Opera then switched their primary focus to “small screen devices” such as cellular phones and the Nintendo DS. Compared to Firefox for a PC the DS browser actually can preform a lot of the same tasks. The only reason somebody would want the DS web browser was if they did not have another mobile device that could browse the web or did not have a desktop computer. Compared to browsing the web on a computer the DS browser seems outrageously priced but when compared to other mobile devices it is a bargain.

Functionality

After using the browser for almost three solid days I know it inside and out. Since I do not understand Japanese I can’t translate the error messages but I do have translations of the menu and setting panel. The DS web browser can browse in two modes, dual screen mode, and single unified screen mode. Dual screen mode shows the full webpage in one screen and a zoomed in view on the other screen. The user then navigates around using the stylus and can click links or enter text fields by switching the screens back and forth. Dual screen mode shows the webpage in its true form. Most websites will load correctly in dual screen mode. The single unified screen mode strips out some of the images and CSS styles and formats the page to load amongst the two screens. This view makes the webpages majorly distorted but the content is served faster and more efficiently than dual screen mode.

Most people expect the browser to preform the same tasks as a computer browser but we have to realize that the hardware on the DS is not made for browsing the web. When using the browser a memory expanding option pack must be used. This option pack expands the RAM and saves your settings. Opportunity this version of the browser does not support Flash, audio, or video. Future releases may have these feature but until then it can only serve images and text. To save loading time you should use the mobile version of a website. Lots of websites have mobile versions including Gmail, Google, Digg, and Flickr. These versions are stripped down and load within seconds. Google’s mobile edition of their search renders mobile friendly websites, which are separated into pages for faster loading. Since these websites are meant for even lower hardware these website load extremely fast.If you only need the browser for checking email and a few other small websites like digg.com then the browser is perfect for you.

Instead of typing in you favorite URLs every time you want to visit a website you can use the bookmark feature. You can create folders and even select how you want the pages to render.

Looks & Design

The design of the browser is very nice. The navigation is always showing at the bottom and it is possible to use without knowing any Japanese. The browser renders the pages beautify, it almost looks like a print-out behind a plastic screen. Opera did a great job on this browser, making it accessible for people of any language. For some reason I am a sucker for anything bright and white. The box makes we want to use it so bad. The colors, the designers, and brightness, the box could sell the product to someone without a DS!

Actually Using It

I do most of my major browsing on my desktop computer but when I need to quickly check my email at odd times for want to see what’s new on Digg I can simply pop open the DS and see my mail in about one minute. Besides not being able to see flash content I have not seen a website that does not load correctly in dual screen mode, but then again I haven’t been to a lot of websites with it. Despite what others have said the browser has great load times. When using mobile websites whole page can load within a second but when trying to load whole sites like the full version of Digg it can take up to 45 seconds. You can digg stories, comment, and do pretty much anything you could do on a PC.

Like I said the browser works but it is not meant to be a replacement. If I am in a different room I find myself checking my email on my computer rather than my DS, even if it is with me. It just seems to be faster and more efficient for me.

The Bad

The DS does not remember your login information after you turn the DS off. This means that you have to type your login details every single time you want to login to a website, unless you have been there that session. There isn’t a lot of text so the Japanese does not bother me but you would think that they could have a setting for English. The programmers were probably English thenselevers and had to hire a company to translate the menus. I know that it was done this way to “prevent” exporting but why not?

Helping You

I would like to share some of my advise to owners of the DS web browser.

List of Mobile Websites:

DON’T FORGET ABOUT MY YOU TUBE VIDEO REVIEW!

Sep 15

Introduction

I have had my Nintendo DS lite for two months already and have had 0 problems in terms of performance or durability. This was my first Nintendo product since the Super Nintendo, although I have played the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube. Nintendo used to dominate the video game industry, but slowing lost market share with the older teenagers and young adults to Sony’s Playstation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox. About 5 years ago when I was in the market for a new console I just overlooked the competitors and purchased a PS2. I am not very “into� video games so I have only played my PS2 for a total of about 300 hours over the past 5 years. One of the only accessories that I got for my PS2 was a network adapter for online play, this product made the PS2 so much better.

Prior to my trip to Japan I was hoping to purchase a device where I could go online and check my email. I know of a few North American devices that can do this, but I wanted a cheaper solution without a subscription fee. I did some research and found out that Nintendo was coming out with a new DS, called the DS lite. My interpretation of the Japanese advertising was that the DS was going to be pre loaded with a web browser (unfortunately the web browser is sold separately). This device was scheduled to be released the week prior to my arrival in Tokyo. Excellent, I thought. I landed in Japan and one of the first things I wanted to do was go to an electronic store. I took a few days but I finally was able to go to a store. Not really to my surprise the DS lite was 100% sold out. In the next week I probably went to over 40 stores and each and every one was completely sold out. I actually came across a salesman that spoke English and he said that every store in Japan was sold out. He was nice though and allowed me to play his. I played around with it and was very surprised, I knew I wanted one. To be honest I was surprised that I could not find one in Akihabara, which has a history to sell popular good for higher prices in a “black market� environment. To be honest I was pretty mad on my last day in Japan that I did not buy a DS lite.

When the North American release came, I did not jump to buy one. I don’t know why. In early July I woke up and decided that I wanted a DS lite. I looked in a weekly flyer and found out that they were on sale for only $139 CDN. I went to that store and to my surprise they were sold out. Just for this reason I wanted my hands on a DS lite, that instant. I went across the street to Walmart and ended up finding one for about $10 more at $149 CDN. With this purchase I also bought “The New Super Mario Bros.� and “Brain Age�.

Market

The DS lite originally came out in Japan in March 2006. It wasn’t until June 2006 that it was released in Canada (and the United States). In Japan it was 16, 800 Yen or about $170 CDN but in North America it was $149. One of the DS’s major competitors is Sony’s PSP, which costs about $270. Although the PSP can play video, store data, and play “better� games in terms of graphics, game play, and maturity level of the games. The DS lite is priced at a great price and it is very hard to justify spending just about double for a PSP. Another benefit to the DS is that the games are very cheap. Brand new release games are priced from $29 to $45, where as PSP games are priced from $35 to $65 and sometimes higher. Another advantage to the DS is that you can play older Game Boy Advance games. These GBA games can be purchased for extremely cheap on auction websites like eBay or online classified websites like Craig’s List. Since the DS lite is so small, it is a great for children who are generally rough with things. Another benefit to the PSP is that the screen is hidden by a folding the DS in half rather than leaving the whole screen exposed like the PSP. With Nintendo’s reputation for putting backwards compatibility in their new systems, buying DS games is a great investment.

Design

Nintendo has never really been known for their design but the DS lite is slick! At a quick glance it looks exactly like an Apple product. Being an Apple fan boy I love the DS lite’s design, especially the white version. The new version of the DS is 21% lighter than the old version which makes it about 218 grams. The first Japanese release saw three colors including polar white, navy blue, and ice blue while North American’s were only able to purchase polar white at the first release. As of September 2006 Nintendo is now selling pink and black in North America.

In my opinion the design is perfect. It fits in my hand perfectly and the white does not mark up that easy. The screen excellently and does not scratch up, even when playing Brain Age all of the time. Nintendo could have worked on the hinge, which has been reportedly breaking, but I have not had any problems with that.

Features

An awesome feature the DS lite has to the ability to play Game Boy Advance games. This feature makes older games useful again. GBA games will only use the top screen, while the bottom touch screen will remain black. There are 4 different screen brightness settings, each of which use for battery power. Unlike other systems, the DS lite has a rechargeable battery. Using the brightest setting and maximum volume the system should last about 6 hours. If you use the minimum settings it can last around 16 hours, if not longer. To recharge a battery it can take up to 3 hours. One of the best features is the built in wireless networking. If you have a wireless network in or around your home, you can play other people online or even browse the web (with the DS browser for $40). The wireless also allows DS players in the same room to play each other in the same game, or chat. One of the best things about the DS is that you only need 1 copy of a game and both players can play it.

One of the only things that I would have added to the DS is a web browser, build in. I would have also used Firefox instead of Opera, although Opera has almost perfected a small screen rendering browser. If I was Nintendo I would have released a toolkit which allows people to purchase blank flash cards where they can develop games, apps, etc. This would allow some cool open source things on the DS. I guess I am just dreaming, no company would do such a thing in the current market.

The Bad

The DS lite is not perfect. I don’t like having to restart the DS whenever a setting is changed or Pictochat is exited. This system is also not very powerful and therefore can not play video or play flash, video, or music when using the web browser. A lot of the games that are released for the DS are for children, but this also allow people like me to beat them easier. Then again it also prevents me from playing some games due to patience problems. Besides some very non-important problems the DS is pretty much perfect. I have had no problems with it.

Closing

One of the main reasons I bought the system was to use the web browser. As of this week I have just ordered the Japanese version from Lik-Sang for $55 CDN. I am hoping that it will come before the end of the month. I hope!