In this post I will discuss the use of the Nintendo DS Lite as a travel tech device.  While most users will focus on the games (and there are plenty of them) available for the DS Lite, I pre-date the hand-held game device and have yet to find one that sparks my interest as much as “Joust” did in the arcades of my youth.

On the other hand, I am facinated by the more ‘fringe’ applications of any tech device and so I have wandered the shops and internet looking for more functionality to wedge into this little device.  Of particular interest to me are the following:
   Wireless Internet browsing
   Music player
   Portable Video player
The Nintendo DS Lite will actually function as a multi-use device with an astonishingly small footprint for travel.  With a little work, you can listen to your favourite music in .mp3 format, watch a movie and browse the internet from a wireless access point all on a device which will fit in your jacket pocket.

Wireless Internet:
PROS:
Nintendo already produces a web browser for the DS series which comes in two parts: the cartridge and a memory expansion card.  You will need both to use the browser.  The wireless works surprisingly well and the touch screen keyboard is actually quite easy and efficient.  You may find it difficult to obtain the browser as it does not seem to be in current inventory.  If you do find a copy used, ensure you test the memory expansion unit before you settle up as the browser will not function without the extra memory.
Straight forward browsing works very well, the browser comes with a zoom feature which allows you to quickly move around a page on the small screen and switch between standard and enlarged view.  Pages display very well and are functional even in the standard web format.  Data entry on-screen is simple, select a text entry box and the browser pops-up a text entry window.  The touch screen provides a full keyboard which is simple to use with the stylus and is as quick as most hand-held devices I have seen.
CONS:
The version of the OPERA browser is not up-to-date, nor have I found a way to get an updated version for the DS.  This is truely a shame since the browser works well in this format.  Don’t expect Java, Flash and other fancy functionality which does limit some of the uses (like YouTube… ) but for many straight sites the browser works well.  The wireless security settings do not allow you to enter some secure sites as you are not able to enter some password information for wireless routers.  This with the lack of Java may limit your ability to use some secured wireless sites, however with more and more ‘hot spots’ popping up with little security you would be surprised how many places you can actually use your DS.

Summary:
The DS browser is surprisingly well put together, I would like to say that Nintendo and Opera hit a home-run with this application, however it seems that few of us actually use the DS as a browser. 

Music and Video:
I know; you can’t talk about this with your local dealer…. R4 cards…. shhhhhh….. the worst kept secret in the world of DS.

No one will talk about them because everybody and their dog want to sell you one of these fine little cards with one billion games included.  I don’t want any more games, particularly not the pre-release, bug-filled, badly hacked, non-playable selection they seem to want to push on me as part of some fabulous deal…  Just let me burn my legally purchased music to .mp3 files for travel… let me play a digital version of my legally purchased DVD on the small screen… let me take my photo album with me to grandmother’s house.  And why not on my DS you may ask?  Because everyone is caught up in the fact that someone found a way to hack DS games, nobody can have an R4 card.  Nintendo; you are missing out on a whole world of applications (and I don’t think it’s slowing down those people out there who are hacking your games anyway).  I have purchased every game I wanted for my DS, all my music and all my movies;  I’d love to take them on my DS as I travel the world and advertise what a great all-round device you have…  maybe next year?   Here’s hoping.
PROS:
It really works!  Great sound, surprising picture and great portability !  All in one package which I can easily pack in my bag, has great battery life and charges on the road.  On top of that, you can still play games and even use the handy-dandy alarm clock function !  It’s a winner !
CONS:
Since Nintendo does not support this functionality directly, it can be a bit of a pain to setup.  If you have some time (or a geek in training in the kid’s room) you probably will have little trouble setting up your R4 card.  Now you just have to explain why you can do this and your kids can’t download every movie or game ever produced from the torrent library on the internet.

It’s a real shame, I have always felt the Nintendo could reach out to a whole new audience with some more real-world apps like this one.  The device is rugged, well sized and simple.  Just what I consider to be a winner.  I think someone should take a second look at this platform, almost every household has at least one, and we ‘grown-ups’ could actually get some use from them in the real world as well.  Everybody is trying to invent the perfect mini laptop, when these are sitting right in front of us already…. think re-use, re-new, re-cycle….