Sunday, December 18, 2005
Revamp for Nintendo DS?
When Nintendo introduced the Game Boy, I remember being so in awe. I did have doubts about it being so big. It took 4 AA batteries and it was quite thick. But still, I was willing to lug the thing around and play with it. Then for several years, I lost touch with it. I still like the unit, but I just didn't keep up with it. Then I heard about the Game Boy Advance launch and was quite impressed. It was a lot smaller than the first Game Boy and this time only used 2 AA batteries. I later realized that the first Game Boy went through several modifications before the Advance came out. Nintendo kept the same form factor but was able to make it thinner and use less batteries, I think it was 2 AA or 2 AAA. Also Nintendo added color. But back to the Advance, after it was out for a while, Nintendo modified it to the SP. This time it changed the form factor to a clam shell and added an internal light. Additionally Nintendo started using lithium-ion batteries to meet the small size. I missed the AA batteries because they are easy to replace and cost less. Also rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries come in standard sizes. But the thing with lithium ion is that it can be shaped into any size. On a tangential note, I wonder if alkaline and NiMH batteries need to be in a cylindrical size. Back to the SP, the last update to it is an increased brightness level of the LCD(or actually the internal front light) but the problem is the light can not be turned off anymore now.
The new Nintendo portable now is the DS. I think there is some history repeating itself. Although the DS has all kinds of features going for it: dual screen, touch screen(with a stylus and some thumb string thing) for the bottom half, wi-fi, a built-in microphone and the usual advanced hardware to produce games with better graphics and sounds, the unit is at the end of the day a bulky thing the original Game Boy. So now I can't help but wonder if Nintendo will modify the DS, especially in making it smaller and maybe even change the form factor. Here are my ideas:
1) Following the SP design, add another LCD flip up. The extra LCD would flip out from where the SP LCD is to finally reveal two LCDs so there are two hinges and the DS would not only be thicker than the SP but also bigger in width and length to account for the extra hinge and also the DS has slightly larger LCD size than the SP. The only problem I can see with this is the unit now is too long, but if it can fold up to a smaller size than the DS, then I'm all for it.
2) A modification to 1), the 2 LCDs would still be hinged together but there is some spacing between the two as the controls, the D-pad and the X,Y,A,B,L,R,start,select buttons are hinged on the left and right sides of the bottom LCD. The controls are between the 2 LCDs when the LCDs are folded, so the controls open outwards. Of course these things don't necesarily just contain the controls, they could store the stereo speakers, the charging input, the headphone jack and other circuitry.
3) A modification to 2), rather than the controls being hinged, they are instead hidden inside the left and right sides of the bottom LCD and need to be either manually pulled out or have a spring action pull out.
Wow, can't believe I came out with these 3 ideas while writing this. I didn't have it in mind when I first started writing this article. So.. a little pat on the back, hehe. So yeah, I'm really looking forward to Nintendo modifying the DS in the near future!
The new Nintendo portable now is the DS. I think there is some history repeating itself. Although the DS has all kinds of features going for it: dual screen, touch screen(with a stylus and some thumb string thing) for the bottom half, wi-fi, a built-in microphone and the usual advanced hardware to produce games with better graphics and sounds, the unit is at the end of the day a bulky thing the original Game Boy. So now I can't help but wonder if Nintendo will modify the DS, especially in making it smaller and maybe even change the form factor. Here are my ideas:
1) Following the SP design, add another LCD flip up. The extra LCD would flip out from where the SP LCD is to finally reveal two LCDs so there are two hinges and the DS would not only be thicker than the SP but also bigger in width and length to account for the extra hinge and also the DS has slightly larger LCD size than the SP. The only problem I can see with this is the unit now is too long, but if it can fold up to a smaller size than the DS, then I'm all for it.
2) A modification to 1), the 2 LCDs would still be hinged together but there is some spacing between the two as the controls, the D-pad and the X,Y,A,B,L,R,start,select buttons are hinged on the left and right sides of the bottom LCD. The controls are between the 2 LCDs when the LCDs are folded, so the controls open outwards. Of course these things don't necesarily just contain the controls, they could store the stereo speakers, the charging input, the headphone jack and other circuitry.
3) A modification to 2), rather than the controls being hinged, they are instead hidden inside the left and right sides of the bottom LCD and need to be either manually pulled out or have a spring action pull out.
Wow, can't believe I came out with these 3 ideas while writing this. I didn't have it in mind when I first started writing this article. So.. a little pat on the back, hehe. So yeah, I'm really looking forward to Nintendo modifying the DS in the near future!
# posted by kfcblog @ 11:01 AM 
