Topic: Is the DSi worth the extra $40

@clicketyclick

Wow, criticizing the judgment of others after you've posted some of the worst arguments in this thread that I've seen from you to date.

1. "DSi browser also exists on DS and Wii and on computers for free" / "If a larger screen is better, then surely a computer browser is always better than the DSi browser thanks to screen size. The internet on tiny devices is awful."

You're joking, right? No one could put those arguments together with a straight face, even if your avatar chick is hiding her eyes behind those shades. The fact that browsers are free on the Wii and computers couldn't be less relevant, as the whole point is having a browser in portable form. Sometimes I, for instance, us it when I'm watching a film in the living room and suddenly have that urge to look up a certain actor or reference, without getting a laptop out, turning off the film to load the Wii, or going to another room. Likewise with reading some blogs on my porch without needing to carry out my whole laptop. The original DS browser is also pointless to bring up, as that one was much slower and fairly painful to use compared to the new one.

As for the internet on small devices being terrible: on most, yes, it certainly is, but with the touchscreen control and a very good optimization for the device, it's quite easy and smooth to browse using the DSi, depending of course on what exactly you're wanting to do online. (The iPhone also has a browser, by the way, that is nothing short of remarkable in how it can deliver a smooth experience in so little space.)

2. "...cameras are crap compared to cell phone cameras" / "... if you're happy with My First Camera" etc.

The camera is optimized for the size of the screen, for which additional pixels would just be wasted; it certainly won't look great if you print out those pictures or enlarge them, but that's not the point. Try to evaluate something based on its intended uses for once. It's there just to play with the photos, have a little social fun, and maybe post them to Facebook if that's your thing and something turns out amusing. Clearly it isn't intended to compete with full-featured cameras.

3. "DSiware titles are mostly crap" / "DSi exclusives titles are non-existent"

The latter remark is simply false. The former would be a separate debate, but let's just assume that you have at least a little respect for the reviewers on this site generally speaking, and they've already awarded 3 games a 9/10 and 13 more an 8/10 so far. Plenty of room for debate, sure, but your remark is hardly a bullet point you can throw out with nothing to back it, even though that seems to be your preferred strategy for all debates.

4. "no-one uses AAC" / "Which I'm sure you can appreciate thru your tinny little DSi speakers"

iTunes is the biggest music vendor in the US period now (retail or online), and reportedly has 70% of worldwide online digital music sales--music downloads from iTunes have always been in AAC. Whether or not you're happy with that, "no-one" could not be less correct. As for the speakers bit -- the nicer speakers are indeed helpful when you are playing a game without headphones plugged in, and, for the real audio enthusiast, you should know that it's not just the speakers. The sound processor in the DSi is far better than the one in the DS Lite. Many audiophiles who have the Korg DS-10 are quite enthused about the new DSi-enhanced version, not only for its improved features (more tracks, etc) due to the extra ram, but also due to the simple fact that all sound coming from the DSi, even through headphones, is sufficiently richer in quality and response than on the DS Lite. Look things up before you talk about them.

5. "Flipnote studios but paper is better"

You honestly can't fathom why Flipnote would be more convenient than having to use up a stack of paper every time you make a new animation, with no ability to easily shove new frames in the middle, the difficulty of smoothly flipping the pages, and no way to share your creations with others online without flipping the book in front of a camera manually? "Paper is better"... clearly you're just looking for a rise out of others with well thought-out arguments such as these.

DS lite is a fingerprint magnet.

If you have mild OCD the DSi is the way to go.

@click
If The computer browser is not portable
The dsi browser is pretty fast and is portable.

How is that possible if the DSLite was made back in 2006?

Nov.21 2004 to be exact . look it up

Yes

The DS Phat was but the Lite wasnt released until March 2nd 2006 which is far from 5 years now.

Only if you tell me how to get past level six on FLip CHamps.

the dsi shop sucks if that's a reason to buy it then I feel sorry for you.

What about the few GREAT games on the shop?

It did just start recently, just give it some time like the Wiiware

ok ok sorry

Wow lots of Dsi haters on a nintendo site

The DSi is great and a large improvement over the DSlite. I'd probably wait till the price drops at least $10, though. Or, at least until the DSi VC decides to show it's face.

@chad your gonna wait a long time then

@chad your gonna wait a long time then

Well thank you! I always aim to set new standards.

And I'm not criticising the judgment of anyone. Just making the observation that if someone buys a game and finds out that they hate it and really don't want to play it, they have poor judgment skills (because they couldn't evaluate whether the product was worth purchasing.)

If it's buying a console at launch, then okay I can understand being disappointed with your purchase and not knowing any better, but if it's a game, there are so many resources today that there's really no excuse.

@dsijared: laptops are portable and so are phones. And unlike the DSi, laptops and phones are able to surf the internet anywhere, not just from wherever you can hijack someone's unprotected signal. Right?

Yea but the dsi has 16 mb of ram what phone has that? so the dsi has faster internet

Laptops and phones are able to surf the internet everywhere? What?

Laptops don't fit in my pockets though. I tried fitting my laptop in my side pocket and I can't. Not that portable. At least with my DSi I can go anywhere I want. You can't go anywhere you want with you laptop. I'd like to see you get up at 6 am like me and go running with your laptop. Once I'm done running, I sit down and surf the web. Simple as that.

Its only poor judgement to pick a DSi, if none of the features attract you at all. It's also bad to say it's poor judgement to buy one just because you don't like it. That's just dumb.