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Home > Games > Nintendo DS > Preview [4] |
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Nintendo DS hands-on preview [4]Problems with the Nintendo DSThe Nintendo DS is not without its problems, including some difficulty simultaneously seeing both screens clearly due to parallax -- the shifting of the view when seen from different angles -- depending on which screen you are looking at in a given moment. If looking at the top screen, the bottom screen will seem to dim in comparison, and vice versa. The stylus is far too small, especially for adults with large hands. Stubby pencils that are distributed to fill out forms at government offices are larger, thicker, and therefore much more manageable and easier to use. The keys on the virtual keyboard are too small and require a high degree of accuracy when typing a message. A longer stylus would mitigate this problem. The Nintendo DS locked up completely about a minute into the PictoChat session. It gave no indication of the problem. The only method of unfreezing and recovering from the system error was to shut down and reboot the machine. In the span of an hour, three of the six Nintendo DS units froze in a similar manner while running three different applications, which suggests a firmware or hardware problem. Keep in mind that these were late pre-production models. If it is a firmware issue a software update should be able to fix the problem. If there is something wrong with the hardware, that is much more serious. Finally, an ergonomic issue arises when playing games in stylus/touchscreen mode. The weight of the unit has to be supported by one hand, which leads to a sore hand after extended use. Nintendo says it will resolve the problem with a stylus that you can strap to your thumb, giving players the ability to use the stylus while holding the Nintendo DS with both hands. Overall impressionsThe Nintendo DS wireless portable gaming console is a platform that has strong potential, particularly with the wireless networking and touchscreen aspects of the console. The potential is greatest in developing non-game applications that take advantage of the touchscreen and Wi-Fi networking. The most obvious applications include using the Nintendo DS as a PDA (personal digital assistant) and organizer. Developing a mobile Web browser also immediately comes to mind when one considers the proliferation of wireless 802.11 hotspots. The Nintendo DS is an impressive piece of hardware with some unique features, especially when considering the price of a consumer device. We'll publish a full review of the Nintendo DS once we are able to spend more time testing it.
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