Random: The Nintendo DS Browser Is On Sale, So Now You Can Use The Internet Wherever You Are

[Sent from my Nintendo DS Browser]

Really think this might be the future.

"The Internet at Your Fingertips" next to a picture of a stylus.

We’re now just blatantly promoting piracy now

I'm not sure people are gonna wanna carry around these new-fangled Internets device thingamabobs that'll distract them from real life.

I bet it will put my brand new 28k modem to shame. And here I was thinking I finally caught up to the modern world.

Finally, a device that fits in my pocket that lets me browse the web. I’m gonna be on Club Penguin all day, now!

Awesome!! I'll get this after I finish watching iCarly and beat new super mario bros on my ds

It’s astonishing no other company has thought to allow people to easily have access to the internet right in there pockets. Everyone would buy that!

This honestly reads like an April Fool's article. I'm actually convinced it is.

Still a better option than buying the Samsung folding smartphone

I did end up buying it, I think, in 2010 or so. I didn’t have a reliable smartphone until around 2013, so, it was nice to have for some barebones browsing capability on the go, especially in 2011, where I spent a good chunk of the year out of town (and the 3DS’s internet browser wasn’t available at launch!).

Does it even work anymore? I figured that support would have died along with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

I did wait until it was on clearance for AU$20 though. Nintendo were having a laugh demanding AU$70 for this. If nothing else, it’s a cool little collector’s item. I haven’t followed whether modders have utilised the RAM pack either. There was a lot of potential in that accessory that went sadly unused.

This'll be great! That is, if I have enough time after college class, and enough battery life after The World Ends With You.
Wait, I was trying to evolve my pins in sleep mode on that!
Damnit, if only this were 11 years in the future and there were far more advanced, more powerful, and more reliable portable devices for browsing the internet!

...wait...

That should make it even easier to hack now

The original version of the browser came with a memory module that plugged in the GBA slot, and based on reviews many don't include this. Without it this is useless.
Also aside from wanting a complete set, this browser is almost unusable with current HTML5, not to mention the DS only supporting 802.11b with limited security protocols. You may have to dig out an old access point to even get this online.

Well that is one thing 3ds can do that the Switch can't.

I have the DS lite version of this

I bought this before I ever got my first smartphone, it was horrible even for someone who had no idea what internet in my pocket could really look like. MySpace (lol) and Facebook took like 10 minutes to load after every click even if I was standing 4 feet from the router, and the touch controls were garbage. The Wii was 100 times better even if I couldn't take it with me.

@Screen BTW home brew ≠ piracy lmao 🤦‍♀️

@sikthvash I threw mine up the wall after reading this article.

This internet thing will never take off. It's too niche.

I remember being so excited to get one of these back in the day thinking I could play flash games and watch YouTube on my DS Lite. Oh how disappointed I was :')

I still own this cartridge and can confirm that it still works. Although you won't be able to watch YouTube on it as it had no Adobe flash support.

@Screen homebrewing is not piracy

@kducky11 and @CodyMKW

I was referring to the comment at the start of the article.

I had the DS Browser before I had a smartphone. Times were different back then you know!

I don't understand the humor, why Happy Feet? Why download a copy? It's a DS, it doesn't have a way of storing files?

Is this one of those ok boomer things?

I never thought I'd see the day when one of my videos got featured on Nintendo life!

Sure, it's an older video, but it's still an honor!
I can now die happy!

I actually bought the DS browser way back when it first was released.
I hated the Opera Browser back then, but it became better over the years. And now it sucks again!

I... have to remind myself that I am ancient, because I remember thinking this was cool as heck

I had this and was in love with it. I remember going on websites in my local cafe after school and feeling so cool. If I wasn't broke I'd buy this today for collection and nostalgia purposes. If anyone wants to buy it and wait a week, I'll send you $40 when I get paid next Thursday to ship it to me! you can trust me but even if I didn't buy it off you, these are going to go up in price real fast!

Twitter used to run pretty well on this.

I don't have a DS. So I will have to pass.

The other thing is that, of course, Nintendo shipped to stores the version with an Expansion Pak that looks nice in a DS Lite, rather than the one properly fits all DS consoles.

OG DS owners were expected to call Nintendo instead.

@Silly_G I remember using the 3DS Browser early on.
Not sure of regional differences but I know I can't use the browser on my JP N3DS because it has a tiny paywall I don't want to bother paying (some kind of JP online law compliance).

Has anyone tried Xcloud on this yet?

I guess I'm not necessarily the target demographic for this sort of content, but it sure does feel like every time I see a popular tweet or meme from the day before turned into an article here a day later, it's a Kate article, lol

Nice i can watch happy feet on my DS instead of my 4k tv, guess it will be a blast

I tried using the DS Browser last night, but the console won’t even recognise any of our routers (too advanced?).

R.I.P. DS browser.

Perhaps it may pick up my mobile phone as a hotspot, but I’m bothered enough to try.

@KingMike : I believe it may be the case that you need to use a credit card (which charges a very small amount to it) to verify that you are an adult before it allows you to use the browser. I can’t recall whether the amount is refunded though.

@Silly_G Yeah, the DS/DSL only supports something like WEP2 which is considered very outdated by modern security standards.

I've heard DSi had updated security support, but given that console is still 13 years old, I wouldn't be surprised if it too is too old for current security standards.

When this released on the DS back in the day, it was a big deal! No one really had cell phones and smart phones didn't exist, plus the internet was not something most people had access to either (computers were still an expensive novelty for most). This is kind of a strange but interesting piece of gaming history.

Sounds like the DS could use a stability patch to better use this.

Reminds me of the Flash Card I had. You couldn't use it to run pirated DS games, but there was some great homebrew. Playing old point and click adventures with the stylus via ScummVM worked really well. You could even run Linux, even though it was command line only and I never figured out what to do with it, besides using a command line player to listen to MP3s.

But what completely blew my mind was the fact that there also was a homebrew video player. You could watch videos (!) in bed!!!

@Screen lol, piracy of a product (the Nintendo DS) not even supported anymore??

In the meantime the PSP had a built-in browser that was still not that great but at least you didn't have to pay for the add-on...

@countzero max media dock, maybe?

@Tacolatte
I think it was this one:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/datel-fun-n-games-cartridge-for-nintendo-ds/8241146.p?skuId=8241146&intl=nosplash

Still waiting for the Switch port though.

@evanc : (

This is AWESOME!!!!!!!!