Here's a question: What happens when one of the world's largest electronics companies makes a move to edge its competition out of the top spot in the portable gaming industry? If you're Nintendo, and Sony has made it clear that it wants to crush you with its new PlayStation Portable, you throw a curve ball and try to beat Sony with what you do best: innovation.
Nintendo's latest innovation is not a bigger, faster processor. Nintendo's latest foray into the handheld market, a market it practically owns thanks to the legendary Game Boy -- is the DS. "DS" stands for either "double screen" or "developer's system," depending on which way the wind's blowing, and it's a cross between two Game Boys and a PDA, with a cell phone's messaging function thrown in for good measure.
It garnered cheers from the crowds at E3, the electronics expo held every year in Los Angeles, and it's seen as Nintendo's answer to Sony's march into portable gaming.
So what's the big deal with the little DS? In this article, we'll tell you what the DS is and what types of technology it sports, why it exists, and how it may change the face, touch, voice and experience of video gaming forever.
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Prior to release, Nintendo was extremely tight-lipped about the exact specifications of the DS for fear that a competitor might try and beat it to the market. Now that it's out, the company lists these specs for the DS:
- Size (closed): 5.85" wide / 3.33" long / 1.13" tall
- Upper Screen: Backlit, 3-inch, semitransparent reflective TFT color LCD with 256x192 pixel resolution and .24 mm dot pitch
- Touch Screen: Same as upper screen, but with transparant analog touch screen
- Color: Capable of displaying 260,000 colors
- Wireless Communication: IEEE 802.11 and Nintendo's proprietary format; wireless range is 30 to 100 feet, depending on circumstances; multiple users can play multiplayer games using just one DS game card
- Controls: Touch screen, embedded microphone for voice recognition, A/B/X/Y face buttons, plus control pad, L/R shoulder buttons, Start and Select buttons
- Input/Output: Ports for both Nintendo DS game cards and Game Boy Advance Game Paks, terminals for stereo headphones and microphone
- Other Features: Embedded PictoChat software that allows up to 16 users to chat at once; embedded real-time clock; date, time and alarm; touch-screen calibration
- CPUs: One ARM9 and one ARM7
- Sound: Stereo speakers providing virtual surround sound, depending on the software
- Battery: Lithium ion battery delivering six to 10 hours of play on a four-hour charge, depending on use; power-saving sleep mode; AC adapter
- Languages: English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian
- Color: Silver and black