Console Review: Nintendo DSi - Page 2

You will also hear a difference on the DSi, with its improved speakers. The increase in volume is welcome for those who do not carry around a pair of headphones everywhere. Other improvements include a much faster primary CPU at 133 Mhz and four times the RAM at 16 MB. I am sure these changes will come in to play with the DSiWare for the system.

DSi Menu and Software
Just like the Wii, the DSi has a menu for storing your games and applications. Unlike earlier Nintendo handhelds, the DSi supports software upgrades. I personally hope they support MP3 in a future software upgrade, and not just use it as a way to thwart piracy.

The DSi Menu has around 40 slots for games, similar to the Wii’s “channels” metaphor, which can be rearranged by dragging and dropping them. When you power on the unit for the first time, you will see System Settings, DSi Camera, DSi Sound, DSi Shop, DS Download Play and PictoChat.

There are some nice enhancements in System Settings. For DSi software, the console supports robust parental controls. Data management mimics that of the Wii and allows you to copy applications to and from the internal 256 MB of memory. The DSi supports WPA and WPA2 for the first time for Wi-Fi, though this does not extend to older DS software.

Tips:

• Hold the Select button and push up or down on the Volume buttons to change the brightness level.
• Drag up or push up on the D-pad to arrange the icons in the DSi menu to your liking.
• The Power button is now a soft reset button, too. If you are inside an app or game, push it once to get back to the DSi menu. Push and hold the Power button to turn the unit off.
• You can now hot swap DS cards while the unit is turned on.

Nintendo DSi Camera: There is a camera mounted on the exterior of the case and one on the inside hinge, which you can switch between to take photos in the Camera app. The software has a calendar to keep track of the dates you take photographs. When you shoot a photo, 10 different lenses are available from distortion, graffiti, mirror and others. These lenses are also available after you take photos. The lenses that require a face to process the effect seem very finicky as to what is recognized as a face. This took some tinkering to take a shot of a face that was actually recognized as a face. This actually frustrated my friends who were trying it out for the first time.

Article Author: Ken Edwards

Ken Edwards is the Gaming Editor at Blogcritics, and calls Breaking Windows home. Ken works part time for Student Publications at BGSU as the Webmaster and System Administrator. He is also a freelance web developer.

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