DS Browser Released In Japan - console
(hx) 09:37 AM CEST - Jul,25 2006
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The
Nintendo DS Opera-based browser was released in Japan today. For some first
impressions,
check the link, it seems that it actually works fairly well!
From watching Joshua Zimmerman's video, it looks like we don't have too much to worry about. The interface looks very clean and well-designed. Handwriting recognition doesn't look bad, but we could use a closer look at it. The two browsing modes work well with the DS' small screen, and the entire experience is a beautiful one on the DS lite.
However, there do appear to be some loading speed issues. Switching browsing modes and loading many pages can be agonizingly slow, even with the additional ram included with the browser. Certain websites, such as CNN, take almost three minutes to load. There also seems to be the occasional lag when scrolling a page.
Since pop-ups, Java, and Flash are disabled, it's likely that instant messaging and Gmail chat are out. Every client-independent IM service tried so far seems to have failed due to either those problems or general incompatibility with Opera. Too bad, those features would be very welcome in lieu of an online Pictochat.
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