kjell1979's Full Review: DS Browser for Nintendo DS Lite (045496738730)
The Nintendo DS browser was for me one of the most highly anticipated tools of the summer. I wanted to be able to browse my favorite websites without lugging around a laptop from room to room. With two small kids running around the room, it was a recipe for disaster with a $400 laptop. The DS browser looked to solve that for me. Too bad the browser wasn't exactly what I originally envisioned.
Features
I purchased the Nintendo DS Lite Browser for my Nintendo DS Lite. Out of the box it comes with two cartridges. One is a typical Nintendo DS cartridge that fits in the top slot of my DS. It also comes with a memory expansion pack that fits snugly into the Gameboy Advance slot (or slot 2). The DS Lite Browser's memory expansion pack is designed to fit flush with the DS Lite system.
The browser utilizes the wireless functionality of the Nintendo DS to connect to the internet. This includes many of the built-in security features that allow it to implement WEP and WAP wireless security functions. The browser itself is developed by Opera. Opera is a pretty good browser that many people prefer to Internet Explorer or Firefox. Opera also develops the internet browser available for the Nintendo Wii. As a browser I used it for a little while and found it to be a pretty solid piece of software when used with a PC. For the Nintendo DS, it's doomed to failure.
You use the stylus to navigate web page like you would use a mouse. If you drag the stylus it will scroll the page in the direction you're moving. Tapping the stylus simulates a mouse click. You can also use the dpad to highlight certain clickable links and the face buttons to also simulate a mouse click.
Viewing a webpage can be accomplished one of a few ways. You can display a webpage as a single page split among the two DS screens. I don't like this mode as much because it's hard to select links at the top of the page (Epinions.com for example) and pages do not quite fit on the two small DS screens. There's also another display mode that allows you to view an expanded view of the page on one screen while viewing a magnified version on the other. This makes it easier to use the stylus to navigate the web. You can also toggle which screen has the expanded versus magnified pages.
Inputting text on web forms can be done one of a couple ways. By clicking on a text form, the browser opens up one of two different text input mechanisms. The default text input method is the qwerty-style keyboard. The keys are a little small and if your touch screen isn't calibrated enough, it can be frustrating to add text. The other method is a screen allowing you to handwrite letter. The problem with this is that if you don't have perfect handwriting or if you're not good at writing with a stylus, then you'll spend most of your time rewriting a lot of letters.
The browser also allows you to save your favorite bookmarks, and set your default search engine URL. You can toggle whether to display pictures to increase webpage loading performance. You can set proxy settings if you're behind a proxy firewall. Finally you can set your browser settings to display pictures and webpages to fit the width of the screen or to have them scroll off the edge as a full size image.
Performance
Perhaps it's the limited processing power of the Nintendo DS, maybe it's the lack of memory or graphical rendering speed; but the performance is absolutely terrible. Pages take forever to load. Many of your standard fare websites, even when you have picture rendering turned off take minutes to load. This is compared to the few seconds it takes to load a webpage using a broadband connection on a PC or even on my Nintendo Wii.
Another huge issue with the performance is how it registers stylus clicks. I'm not sure if this is the byproduct of the slow loading times of the websites, but I'll click on a button on the webpage and it just won't register. Sometimes it won't register, other times it might take a minute or two to register, which is really bad.
Compatibility
To put it bluntly, the Nintendo DS browser doesn't support flash, most plugins, music, video, and many javascript forms. I would say one third of all the webpages I visit on a regular basis cannot be viewed or used on this browser due to the above restraints. For instance, I cannot even use Google Reader to check my RSS feeds, most of which would be compatible if it didn't use a web technology not supported. If this was 1999, then this browser would be more useful. Pages would load with more regularity and much faster, but this is 2007 and the DS Browser just doesn't cut it with regards to compatibility.
Now can you load up a page on Epinions? Sure! That's one reason I got it. I thought I could mooch off an open wireless network in a mall while checking Epinions reviews while I'm shopping. What I failed to realize is that businesses have become wise to the consequences of having an unsecured wireless network. Most businesses' wireless networks, at least here in the Northeast are all secure. Just about the only stores that offer free wireless access are Barnes and Noble and McDonalds.
Summary
The fact is that this isn't the same Opera Browser that exists on the Wii. Yeah you can type a little faster and it is portable, but the bottom line is that there just aren't enough supported pages on here. I have trouble checking my gmail or yahoo email accounts, but I can do both using my cell phone and I don't even need an open wireless network to do it. At home we have one laptop, sometimes two when I bring home the one at work, which is used to check email my RSS updates, Epinions, and other things. If I found myself somewhere with access to a wireless network, where all I wanted to do was to read an online newspaper or a few blogs, then I can justify this product. The browser actually is really good for porn (if I was into that sort of thing) since many pictures have a surprisingly good resolution, though they load very slowly, while many porn sites lack complicated interactive web technologies. Still, it doesn't justify a purchase price of $30.
With the nintendo ds browser, anyone can enjoy quick, easy, and portable access to the world wide web on the ds lite. Featuring the opera browser, the...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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