DSi Review prior to internet

So out of the potential good ideas I've had, walking around New York City with an injured back is probably not at the top of the list. But the good news is the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Center had the DSi available for some hands-on demoing. Additionally, I got one of my friends No More Heroes (without the Red Steel +$10 dual packaging. Buy it if you see it and don't have it because it won't be around for much longer!) and myself a pair of really comfortable Wii pajama bottoms.

Anyway, the DSi. The DSi is just... a lot of new fun things in a portable console. Will all of it seem relevant a month from now? Maybe not. Let's explore.

One of the new features on the DSi is its camera. The camera is about as simple to use as any cell phone camera, just minus the one-button activation on most phones (or at least on my LG Verizon whateveritis). The interior camera is only 0.3 megapixels, but the exterior one is a full 3.0. Funnily enough, the interior camera is actually really good, with photos showing up very clearly, probably even better than pictures I'd take on my phone (I SMELL A NEW PORTABLE NON-CAMERA CAMERA-ING DEVICE TO USE ON THE BLOG!!1oneforty). The menu allows you to toggle between cameras, meaning you can take pics of whatever's outside your DS or whoever happens to be playing with your DS.

From there, you can play around with the images, adding filters, morphing pictures, throwing in effects and other neat edits that won't be giving Photoshop a run for its money, but does give you a surprising number of options for photo editing software you use 100% on the fly. In fact, I had my handsome mug transformed by pulling my lovable kisser all-about using the touch screen.

Aside from the photo taking and editing capabilities, you also have a sound recorder using the DSi's microphone (or the DS headset, sold separately), which allows you to record sounds, slow them down, speed them up, change their pitch and not a lot else. Reviews say you can use this software in conjunction with your sound media files saved to any SD card, but since I was using a display model and don't randomly carry SD cards filled with AAC sound files, I couldn't be asked to actually test this feature out.

Needless to say, if I can entertain myself for a good 20-30 minutes playing a sound file of me saying, "Hey dad, can we get on sites? Nope," forward and backward in various speeds and pitches, adding the potential to mix and record your own audio files seems like a pretty sweet endeavor. And hey, why not throw on a beat AAC and sing over it for recording studio...ing on the go? If you're an aspiring singer, songwriter, or rapper, you could do worse if a flash of insight hits you while in the middle of an Ace Attorney trial.

In my previous post, I touted the DSi's ability to function as its own EyeToy peripheral from the PS2, as demonstrated on the DSi Store game download WarioWare title. Since it was available on the display systems, let me say that you wasted your money on an EyeToy without the WarioWare title, but the downloadable game (basically free if you buy the DSi during its limited time "Free 1000 Nintendo WiFi Store Credit" offer) just cements this fact. It's Smooth Moves but on the DS and, therefore, anywhere.

Finally, the Opera web browser. It wasn't available on the store DSi-s. So.
:D