January DS Homebrew Overview

marcellizot writes "Handheld site Pocket Gamer has a new monthly DS homebrew review roundup, which kicks off today with an update on slot-1 hardware methods, plus a look at DS Motion, Lemmings on DS, Flashback DS, Tetris Attack DS and more. From the article: 'The latest hardware is the slot-1 type, which is a DS-sized card and requires no additional hardware or modifications to the DS. These are much simpler to use than slot-2 devices, but as the majority of homebrew was designed for the slot-2 hardware and it's ability to boot GBA software, there are some compatibility issues. They are thankfully being ironed out, and as slot-1 devices become the standard we fully expect that all new homebrew will be designed with them in mind.'"

some info on homebrew

[Anonymous Coward]

I did some research into "homebrew" this week and ordered a M3 Perfect Simply for $45 (came to about $62 with shipping). It's a slot-1 cartridge (same slot that uses DS games). You insert a Micro SD flash card into the cartridge and off you go. It plays ROMs perfectly, without any need for conversion. Savegames are saved to the flash card. Its only downside is that it doesn't play GBA ROMs, which I didn't really care about.

My second choice was the R4, which is basically the same thing - slot-1 cartridge with flash card - but didn't look like as good for some reason (it might be, for all I know).

If you want GBA ROM support, you're looking at a slot-2 cartridge. They're generally more expensive and many (all?) need a booting card in slot-1. Bundles are available.

As far as homebrew goes, the M3 Simply plays videos and mp3s straight out of the box. It has a skinnable shell. There are applications that will turn your DS into a PDA or telephone, but I'm not sure if they work with the M3 - maybe someone here knows more on this subject.

Try to avoid homebrew solutions that require you to flash your DS bios. It voids your warranty.

Some links:

M3 website: http://www.m3adapter.com/ [m3adapter.com]
R4DS website: http://r4ds.net/ [r4ds.net]
Review of some common methods for homebrew: http://www.metku.net/index.html?path=articles/nds/ index_eng [metku.net]
Store: http://bamboogaming.com/ [bamboogaming.com]
Store: http://divineo.com/ [divineo.com]

DS firmware can't be updated that easily

[tepples]

They could easily go the route that Sony did and plug all the security holes with patches (your DS firmware can be updated via the wifi connection)

Unlike the PSP firmware, the DS firmware is not intended to be upgraded in the field. The firmware is write-protected (first 64 KiB on older models; first 248 KiB on newer models including the DS Lite). Installing DS firmware requires opening the battery door using a + screwdriver (right [jk0.org]) and pushing a metal paperclip device (lower left) into a hole in the case next to the battery slot to bridge a test point called "SL1".

Re:ebook reader ?

[Frogbert]

Moonshell will read text files and play movies. It is compatable with most, if not all, flash card devices.