Nintendo DSi 10 Things You Need To Know

Ten Things You Didn’t Know About DSi

Now that you’ve seen the hardware, have a glimpse of the games both currently out and those on the way, and gotten the lowdown on DSi’s new online functionality, you probably think you’re an expert on the system, right? Well chances are there are some little hidden features on DSi that even the most hardcore Nintendo fans out there didn’t realize were there.

The Power/Home Button: With the older DS models, the only way to quit out of a game or system application was to turn it off, and turn it back on again; not too friendly. With DSi, however, a quick tap of the power button will bring you back to the system’s home menu. This means no matter what you’re doing – be it playing a game, taking a photo, or cruising the new DSi Store – you’re always one quick tap away from all your options, your camera, and saved DSiWare games. If you want to turn it off, simply hold the button for a few seconds.

Let There Be Light: Older DS systems allowed for brightness changes only when at the system’s main menu. With DSi, however, you can simply hold the select button on the right side of the system’s face and use the volume buttons to switch up your brightness. Playing a dark game? Lighten it up. Heading back to the home screen? Dim it back down and save on batter life.

Get Your Games Straight! – Much like Nintendo’s Wii system menu, DSi makes use of little channel icons, and much like Wii’s ability to move around your favorite games and programs, DSi lets you sort and order your icons as well. Instead of tapping to select a game or program, simply hold your finger or stylus down on the icon for a second. Moving it while held will change where it is in the line of icons. Quick and easy!

Snap and Share: The DSi has two cameras built in, but what you may not know is that the system has multiple uses for photos once you shot them. Not only can you edit them on the system itself, but you can also share them in two different ways. You can simply shoot photos and auto-save to any SD card in the system, or if you’ve got a buddy with a DSi, you can also send any saved picture you’ve got over DS wireless and share them that way.

Cartridge Quick-Swap: Are you a chronic game changer? If you are, and if you owned a previous DS, you undoubtedly hated turning off your system over and over to change games out. Well on DSi, there’s no need. While ejecting a game during play (especially when saving) is bad for the cartridge, players simply need to tap the Power/Home button and return to the main menu. From there, you’re free to pull the game out while the system is on, plug in a new one, and get pack to playing.

A Photo a Day: Photos are a big deal on DSi, and to encourage you to snap them often Nintendo built in a DSi calendar into every system. When shooting, photos are automatically archived to that specific date, and can be accessed based on their date. Also included in the calendar system is the ability to tap any day, and write a small message with the DS touch screen to make quick notes about upcoming events, new games you might want to buy, birthdays, or any other quick reminders you might need.

Welcome Home: Yet another feature within DSi’s camera support, the system now allows one or multiple photos to act as your home screen. With all functions on the bottom screen, the DSi’s upper view-space will automatically display a single photo you select, or cycle through them each time you turn the system on or open it from sleep mode. What is sleep mode? It’s a built in DS function that lets you close your system at any time to allow a temporary pause in any game or application. The system remains on, but goes into a low power mode, and can be woke back up by opening it again; great for quick breaks.

Lefty Switch: Since using a stylus is so integral to the DS, most games allow for a leftie switch option. Though the DS is set up with the d-pad on the left and buttons on the right, most writing-based software includes the ability to swap those, letting you control your character or navigate with the four buttons, and tap each direction on the pad to act as the A, B, X, and Y functions.

A Note on Music: The DSi includes a music player and sound editor, but if you’re hoping to play your favorite tunes on the system you’ll need to take note of this slice of info. The DS won’t recognize MP3 format, so you’ll need to convert any songs you’ve got over to AAC format instead.

Shortcuts: Touch in the main control for DSi, but there’s also a few good shortcuts to look out for on the system menu. Most of these will show up on the top screen while you work, so keep your eyes peeled for them. What’s one of the most functional ones we’ve had so far? A quick tap of the L or R button in the main home menu will bypass all scrolling and setup, and bring you straight to camera mode. That means that even if you’re in a game, you’re only two buttons away from having your DS camera ready to go.