Geartest.com Games - Nintendo DS - Hands-on preview of the Nintendo DS dual screen wireless mobile game console, GameBoy & GameBoy Advance SP

Home > Games > Nintendo DS > Preview [2]

Nintendo DS - PictoChat wireless instant messaging feature displaying onscreen virtual keyboard - dual screen Gameboy portable multimedia game handheld

Nintendo DS hands-on preview [2]

Wireless networking & PictoChat wireless instant messaging

Nintendo says that its wireless networking has an effective range of 30-100 feet, however we were unable to test this claim. The wireless networking used the 802.11-based Wi-Fi wireless local area network (LAN) of the offices we were in.

The PictoChat application was reasonably straightforward to use, letting us draw pictures, scribble messages in our own handwriting, or use the virtual keyboard and touchscreen to hunt-and-peck messages. Recipients can cut and paste your message, annotate or modify them and send them back.

The messages appear on the top screen. You can scroll back to view previously received messages using the D-pad.

Nintendo says that as many as 16 people can participate in a PictoChat chatroom session. Unfortunately there weren't enough units on hand to put the performance of a large chat session to the test.

Screen layout and design

The boot-up sequence is fast and elegant, displaying the system logo and health and safety warning with an audible chime. A keypress or tap of the touchscreen invokes the main menu. On the top screen an analog clock and monthly calendar appear, along with three indicators, one of which denotes the battery life. It was unclear what the others icons represent.

On the lower screen, four buttons are displayed. At the top of the screen is a button to launch the game in the DS media card slot.

Side-by-side in the middle section of the screen are one button to launch PictoChat and another to launch the DS Download Play mode which should wirelessly download software content, provided a download source is available.

The bottom portion of the screen is reserved for a button to launch GameBoy Advance games.

Along the bottom edge of lower screen are two small soft-buttons. The first button darkens the screen. The second button is the on/off switch for the alarm clock.

[Nintendo DS games: Metroid, Mario, Spider-Man & more >>]
1 2 3 4