Nintendo DS Lite - Practically Perfection

The Nintendo DS Lite is currently my favorite little piece of tech goodness. It’s durable, light, and does what it’s made to do well and that’s play games. But enough of my vague gushing, I will go into detail.

The durability can be felt the moment you pick up the Lite. It has a clear plastic covering over a solid white plastic (or possibly black if you live outside the US). It also looks a little more modern in it’s design, along the lines of an Apple I-Pod. The only downside to this is that the clear plastic shell seems to be easily smudged. Within moments of using my Lite for the first time I had already marked up the bottom area of the system with my fingers, unintentionally. But this is a small issue can easily be looked over.

The system size is also nice. It’s definitely not the tiny size of a Gameboy Advance Micro (Which in my opinion is a good thing), but it can easily fit in your pocket. And despite the system’s small size, it has nice sized screens that aren’t too hard to see.

The DS Lite also has 4 light level settings, all of which are nice. To me, it seems that Nintendo didn’t have to put include all four settings since the third and fourth settings are incredibly bright. I would have to say you must suffer from some kind of vision impairment if you need to use those settings. But still, it’s nice to have those options there.

The system also has a built-in clock, calendar, Pictochat, DS download play, and other features. Pictochat is a small chat program that allows you to talk to other DS owners via wireless internet connection. It can send text messages and/or you can write messages via the touch pad using your stylus. DS download play is a feature that is used with certain DS games. It allows you to download part of a game from another DS user and play multiplayer with them. However, the game doesn’t permanently stay on the system. It is gone once you turn off your DS. I think at this point you can also see that the system supports wireless connectivity which goes with it’s games, at least the ones that support it.

The Lite is also backwards compatible with the Gameboy Advance. The DS-Lite even comes with a shell insert to put in the GBA slot when you are not using it. I guess this was done to help the system keep a sleek look when you weren’t playing GBA titles. There is a small downside to playing advance games, GBA titles stick out of the system and could be accidentally nudged or knocked out during gameplay. But if you are a careful person this really shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Two little more comments I would like to make about the overall design of the system is first the placement of the microphone. The mic is now located in the hinge that connects the two halves of the system together. I personally think this is good placement for it. Secondly, there is the storage of the stylus (The little plastic pen-like stick that comes with the system). There is a slot that is located on the bottom of the system that lets you slide the stylus in from the right side of the system. Headphones are also supported.

Battery life is another issue. I can’t speak for how long the system lasts on it’s third and fourth light settings, but it does last for quite a while on it’s lowest and second setting. About 10-15 hours on it’s lowest, and possibly 8-10 on it’s second light setting. Once your system runs out of juice you can easily plug in the charger, that’s included with the system, to a nearby outlet and it should take about three hours to recharge your system. I personally think that’s pretty good, but what do I know?

To summarize:

Pros:

- Lightweight and durable.

- Has a decent amount of built-in features.

- Is backwards compatible with the Gameboy Advance.

- Has a nice sized and growing game library.

- Has 4 light settings.

- Comes with charger/adaptor.

- On lower light settings can last for 8-15 hours.

Cons:

- Can be easily smudged.

- GBA titles stick out of the system.

- Higher lighting settings may drain the battery faster.

Overall, the Nintendo DS-Lite is a very well made system with nice little built-in features. It’s compact and has a good sized game library for the average gamer to choose from. As far as I can tell, the only reason someone couldn’t want this system is based purely on their gaming tastes of the current DS titles. But if you have any interest in the titles currently out or soon coming out, you can’t go wrong with a DS-Lite.