Nintendo DS Damage Case

Gametech’s Sound Shell DLite not only gives your sound a boost, but it ensconces your DS in a bulky armor cocoon that makes it look like it’s ready for war. It snaps on around your DS Lite and gives it a serious upgrade in the audio department. The bulk is due to the amplified speakers and the battery compartment that powers them.

Still, it will protect your DS nicely in addition to the sound benefits, so I guess the added size is a trade off. It will cost you about $30. Forget the fact that it’s got a sort of…orthopedic shoe type of fugliness going on. I like the concept, hopefully they can streamline it just a tad.

Nintendo Ds VS PSP

Charging the NDS battery

The internal battery can be recharged about 500 times, which takes about 4 hours a time for a full charge. Nintendo warns that after those 500 recharges, battery life may have decreased to about 70% of its maximal potential.
We already knew that the AC adapter which comes with the Nintendo DS was compatible with the GBA SP: you can charge your GBA SP with the DS adapter. However, many people automatically assumed the opposite was also true: using the GBA SP adapter to charge your Nintendo DS. The manual doesn't explicitly deny or confirm this theory, but does throw in a warning to "ONLY use the included AC Adapter, Model No. NTR-002" (that's the Nintendo DS adapter).

Nds incompatibilities

Nintendo warns of the incompatibility of the Nintendo DS. When Reggie showed the Nintendo DS back at E3 and told the crowd that the NDS was capable of playing GameBoy Advance games, people started wondering whether GameBoy and GameBoy Color games were included as well. Shortly after that, questions on compatible GBA peripherals came into mind.
Nintendo warns the NDS owner that the unit is not compatible with:
• Original Game Boy Game Paks
• Game Boy Color Game Paks
• Game Boy or Game Boy Advance Game Link cables
• Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter
• Game Boy Advance e-Reader
• Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable
• Game Boy Printer
• Game Boy Camera
Even though this isn't the best news ever, it's still good to know.

Dragon's Lair on NDS

Tony Savon, famous for his video codec work on the GBA, has started to do a port of the Don Bluth classic Dragon's Lair for the Nintendo DS:

I'm porting Dragon's Lair to Nintendo DS (well... I'm trying to).

http://www.ds-video.com/dslair/

Right now it only plays the first 4 levels, so it allows no more than 5 minutes of fun ;-).
Thanks for testing!

VoIP on NDS

Since the Nintendo DS has a built-in microphone and a wireless Internet connection, what's to stop it from being used as a WiFi phone, or the DSphone, if you will?

I've scoured the 'net and found some projects currently underway that claim to do just that, albeit with limitations.

VoiceChatClient is a homebrew application that lets you freely call anyone who also has VoiceChatClient installed on their DS. This hack even adds extra value by transmitting what you write on the touch screen to the other person! VCC requires hacked firmware or some type of passthrough device. (source)

DSpeak has been developed by Nintendo themselves, but aside from a demo at E3 in 2005, nothing more has been heard about this program. DSpeak will reportedly allow in-game and out-of-game chat. And when you speak, an on-screen Mario or Wario avatar lip syncs along! (source)

HelloDS was released some time ago as a proof-of-concept hack, along with a promise of a future version of this homebrew software. Unfortunately, the update has not been forthcoming. The initial version is still available and requires the firmware hack or passthrough. (source)

Conclusion: Though this handheld gaming device is certainly capable of competing with other mobile WiFi phones, the current state of Nintendo DS VoIP affairs isn't very exciting. None of the above solutions include support for SIP or for dialing out. However, the demand seems to be out there, so the DS might get to see a true VoIP app yet.

[how to] use NDS as a wireless hub

A recent flurry of rumors and pictures has handheld gamers going nuts with speculation over the thought that Nintendo still has a huge trump card up its sleeve. A batch of pictures featuring creepy marionettes with the words "Find(s)me" along with a shot of a lone boy in a forest using a DS as some sort of navigation device seem to point to the possibility of a massive DS wireless network that's bigger and badder than we previously thought. The DS could act as both a wireless 802.11 device and as a repeater hub. In other words, you won't need a wireless router nearby to get online with these things - you'll just need someone close enough to connect to, and he'll be able to connect you to someone just as close to him even if that person isn't so near you, and so on. Potentially-huge networks of gamers could appear organically and play against one another regardless of pre-installed routers or proximity. While we worry a bit about the lone boy in the forest (should people know he's out there alone, and should his DS be announcing as much? Go home, boy, go home!), the possibility of a spontaneous wireless gaming network of multiple hubs is straight up amazing. Or is it downright creepy?

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