Nintendo has finally sent us word on the European launch of its much-vaunted Opera web browser for the DS. It will launch on October 6, at a recommended retail price of £30 and be made available as a standard DS cartridge.
In order to speed up access to image/multimedia-heavy websites, the pack will also include a Memory Expansion cart which will slot into the DS’s GBA socket, this will come in two versions – one for the classic DS (read: that big ol’ brick in your bottom drawer) and one smaller version to fit your new iPod-a-like DS Lite.
From Nintendo’s press release which just dropped into our inboxes: “The Nintendo DS Browser is a convenient web browser, which enables Nintendo DS users to surf the web, check and send emails, bank and shop online and even communicate with their friends in live chat. The Nintendo DS Browser features a built-in history function allowing users to bookmark their favourite sites and it has a fast start up time making it quick and easy to connect to the internet, at home or away. Nintendo DS owners can use the browser to connect to Wi-Fi environments at home, a public Wi-Fi hotspot or one of Nintendo’s free Wi-Fi hotspots.
“By using the unique interface of the Nintendo DS, users can effortlessly surf the web as if they were using a keyboard and mouse. The stylus can be used to activate hyperlinks and click around pages. For typing in URLs and filling in complicated information users can employ an onscreen digital keyboard and the console’s handwriting recognition system.”
There are two viewing modes in the browser - Overview Mode and Fit-to-Width Mode, plus the browser comes with full password-protection and parental control options in order for worried mums and dads to block little Johnny’s portable access to The Hun and other similar titillatory 'gentleman’s' websites.
If you have a DS, and especially if you are one of the 1.7 million DS users regularly playing on the awesome and free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, then this is going to be of some interest to you.
But the key question remains – will you actually use it? SPOnG will be sure to bring you a full rundown of what we think of Opera on DS as soon as we manage to get a hold of it. In the meantime you might want to check out this detailed analysis of the Japanese version (in English), from a guy called Joshua Zimmerman, who seems happy with Opera’s ease-of-use, but does have some worrying reservations about the lack of flash, video and audio playback, plus the extended time that the DS’s relatively slow processor takes to render webpages.
Zimmerman notes: “I was able to post messages on webforums, read my blog, check my gmail, send some gmail, and look at webpages I probably shouldn't. Not too bad.
“What is bad is the fact that the DS has a slow processor and spends a very long time rendering webpages. For example it takes a full three minutes to load CNN.com. Yeah. Minutes. I tried this on my home fiber optic internet connection and Airport Express and also at the internet cafe down the street.”
Hmmm. Well, watch this space for more news on the forthcoming European version. Speed issues aside, SPOnG will inevitably still use Opera on DS, as an emergency gmail backup if nothing else. Mainly because the one item we tend to have with us at all times wherever we are on the planet is our trusty DS.
In order to speed up access to image/multimedia-heavy websites, the pack will also include a Memory Expansion cart which will slot into the DS’s GBA socket, this will come in two versions – one for the classic DS (read: that big ol’ brick in your bottom drawer) and one smaller version to fit your new iPod-a-like DS Lite.
From Nintendo’s press release which just dropped into our inboxes: “The Nintendo DS Browser is a convenient web browser, which enables Nintendo DS users to surf the web, check and send emails, bank and shop online and even communicate with their friends in live chat. The Nintendo DS Browser features a built-in history function allowing users to bookmark their favourite sites and it has a fast start up time making it quick and easy to connect to the internet, at home or away. Nintendo DS owners can use the browser to connect to Wi-Fi environments at home, a public Wi-Fi hotspot or one of Nintendo’s free Wi-Fi hotspots.
“By using the unique interface of the Nintendo DS, users can effortlessly surf the web as if they were using a keyboard and mouse. The stylus can be used to activate hyperlinks and click around pages. For typing in URLs and filling in complicated information users can employ an onscreen digital keyboard and the console’s handwriting recognition system.”
There are two viewing modes in the browser - Overview Mode and Fit-to-Width Mode, plus the browser comes with full password-protection and parental control options in order for worried mums and dads to block little Johnny’s portable access to The Hun and other similar titillatory 'gentleman’s' websites.
If you have a DS, and especially if you are one of the 1.7 million DS users regularly playing on the awesome and free Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, then this is going to be of some interest to you.
But the key question remains – will you actually use it? SPOnG will be sure to bring you a full rundown of what we think of Opera on DS as soon as we manage to get a hold of it. In the meantime you might want to check out this detailed analysis of the Japanese version (in English), from a guy called Joshua Zimmerman, who seems happy with Opera’s ease-of-use, but does have some worrying reservations about the lack of flash, video and audio playback, plus the extended time that the DS’s relatively slow processor takes to render webpages.
Zimmerman notes: “I was able to post messages on webforums, read my blog, check my gmail, send some gmail, and look at webpages I probably shouldn't. Not too bad.
“What is bad is the fact that the DS has a slow processor and spends a very long time rendering webpages. For example it takes a full three minutes to load CNN.com. Yeah. Minutes. I tried this on my home fiber optic internet connection and Airport Express and also at the internet cafe down the street.”
Hmmm. Well, watch this space for more news on the forthcoming European version. Speed issues aside, SPOnG will inevitably still use Opera on DS, as an emergency gmail backup if nothing else. Mainly because the one item we tend to have with us at all times wherever we are on the planet is our trusty DS.
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Comments
BlackSpy 8 Aug 2006 12:09
1/10
It seems likely that some of the most used sites would come up with DS compatible versions of themselves in dur course, but the accessibility doesn't sound great right now.
I'd probably use it on holiday ahead of an internet cafe for little things but it doesn't sound like a great way to access the net.
I'd probably use it on holiday ahead of an internet cafe for little things but it doesn't sound like a great way to access the net.
I'll Eat Your Soul 8 Aug 2006 15:46
2/10
It's a nice idea, but it's not £30 worth of additional purchase on top of the system.
If for the money it also allowed me to slot in my SIM card and use the DS as a phone, then I might be interested.
If for the money it also allowed me to slot in my SIM card and use the DS as a phone, then I might be interested.
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RiseFromYourGrave 8 Aug 2006 16:44
3/10
agreed, i had it in my head that it was going to be released at 19.99. 29.99 does rather sting for what youre getting.
do you think an even larger capacity ram expansion could help with its crappy speed?
maybe someone will release one at somepoint
josh lad cited the cpu as the ds's problem with the browser, but he doesnt know for sure. it may just be that theyve provided penty enough memory in the expansion, and that the cpu is the bottleneck.
josh lad cited the cpu as the ds's problem, but
do you think an even larger capacity ram expansion could help with its crappy speed?
maybe someone will release one at somepoint
josh lad cited the cpu as the ds's problem with the browser, but he doesnt know for sure. it may just be that theyve provided penty enough memory in the expansion, and that the cpu is the bottleneck.
josh lad cited the cpu as the ds's problem, but
Ditto 8 Aug 2006 21:30
4/10
Me? It's not something that appeals.
You have to carry the RAM pack and cart about just to access the Internet.
This should be provided as a firmware update.
You have to carry the RAM pack and cart about just to access the Internet.
This should be provided as a firmware update.
RiseFromYourGrave 8 Aug 2006 23:00
5/10
well if it physically cant do a reasonable job of surfing the net, then no end of firmware updates would fix that.
plus, i didnt know that nintendo did firmware updates for the ds
plus, i didnt know that nintendo did firmware updates for the ds
Ditto 9 Aug 2006 00:00
6/10
RiseFromYourGrave wrote:
well if it physically cant do a reasonable job of surfing the net, then no end of firmware updates would fix that.
Yeah, agreed. But if they are going to provide the functionality, I personally think it should either be free or low-cost and added on to the DS firmware. Prehaps you buy a cart and it updates the DS firmware on first run.
plus, i didnt know that nintendo did firmware updates for the ds
I'm sure they can do it somehow. They must have thought about what happens when all the games get cracked and whatnot. Or when they discover a big bug in the DS software.
RiseFromYourGrave 9 Aug 2006 12:22
7/10
yeah, it would be better if it was free or cheap, but if i was going to use it id definitely take the option of a ram expansion pack despite the impracticalities, if it meant it took half the time to load up pages (and it still takes minutes with the pack!)
and i can only think of two ways they could update the firmware, via a cart like you said (expensive) or via wifi. if they could put a program or something on the web, that you download and run off your computer or run straight off the website, then you click 'download play' on the ds's main menu and then your ds is communicating with the installer program, something like that.
and i can only think of two ways they could update the firmware, via a cart like you said (expensive) or via wifi. if they could put a program or something on the web, that you download and run off your computer or run straight off the website, then you click 'download play' on the ds's main menu and then your ds is communicating with the installer program, something like that.
I'll Eat Your Soul 9 Aug 2006 16:04
8/10
Nintendo don't do firmware updates generally - but that's because the DS did what it was designed to do out of the box.
RiseFromYourGrave 9 Aug 2006 16:50
9/10
^yeah
to play games on and offline, to pictochat and check the time, Nintendo got it right first time. as you should expect any company to do with such a product
to play games on and offline, to pictochat and check the time, Nintendo got it right first time. as you should expect any company to do with such a product
neriah 3 Jul 2007 19:17
10/10
how do you connect to a port e.g computer?
