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Nintendo DS Lite: So close to perfection

For the first time since the Sega Dreamcast, I have purchased a video game system before it was woefully out of date.  I am now a proud owner of a shiny white Nintendo DS Lite.

Praise for the machine is everywhere, so I won’t waste too much of your time saying how awesome it is.  The screen is bright, it feels good in your hands, game cartridges are small, the touch screen is awesome.  At $130, it all feels like a bargain.

One thing is bugging me, though — the lack of PDA/organizer software.  Nintendo is bringing Opera’s web browser to the system soon, but there is a perfect opportunity for the DS to be not just a gaming machine but also a organizational tool.  When you turn on your DS, up pops a calendar on the top screen.  But no organizer, to-do list, etc.  Just a plain old calendar sitting there taunting you, as if saying “Hey!  I’m a calendar on a machine with a stylus and great connectivity!  But you can’t use me to organize your life!”

Now, I realize that these kind of functions take memory — you have to put the program and the data somewhere.  I understand that.  But, my little cell phone has an organizer built into it, and it remained small — why not the DS?  I don’t know the engineering details behind squeezing the DS Lite into such a pretty and small package, but I’m not convinced they couldn’t have put an organizer in there and not affect the form much, if at all.

I’m not asking for a full out Pocket PC here — just some basic tools that could come in handy if you carry your DS around with you everywhere.  I don’t, but maybe I would if it had more than just games.

Thu July 13th, 2006 3:43 pm

Filed under Gadgets, Gaming

18 comments

  1. Zach said:
    July 13th, 2006 4:20 pm

    It’s like they’re teasing you just for the fun of it when you turn on your DS. I figured it would have had an organizer as well, but I guess Nintendo didn’t think it was needed.

  2. Rainbow DS said:
    July 13th, 2006 8:06 pm

    I totally agree with you there as I would love to have some form of organizer on the DS because everything is already there to be able to easily imput data in. Nintendo had announced the Organizer Plus soon after the release of the original DS, but there are absolutely no news about it and not even a release date.

    I find it sad that they worked on that Opera web browser first, especially since most people access WiFi from their house where they have access to a full fledged browser already.

  3. Andrew Kaufmann said:
    July 13th, 2006 11:16 pm

    Zach: Yeah, exactly. It’s annoying.

    Rainbow: Right — it’s a perfect setup for an organizer. And I don’t need anything fancy, just something to put memos on. I wonder if they ditched the Organizer Plus project? Hmm.

    And I’d love to see a web browser on the DS, but I want an organizer too. I would just use Google Calendar as my organizer, but what happens when you’re away from a Wi-Fi connection?

  4. ds user said:
    September 27th, 2006 7:23 pm

    i was really hoping there was a homebrew organizer but have not found one i wanted to try to make one but i dont really know how to make games

  5. singapore said:
    October 20th, 2006 3:17 am

    Yeah….I thot it came with the organizer program….so that I hav an excuse to bring my DS to meetings… haha XD

  6. Maggie said:
    October 29th, 2006 3:08 pm

    Ask and ye shall receive ;) http://dl.qj.net/index.php?pg=12&fid=7939&catid=220 (DSOrganize)

    I just loaded it via my new DS-xtreme & it worksl ike a charm

  7. ME said:
    November 15th, 2006 9:09 am

    hey I just downloaded the organizer program, but how do you install it onto my DS lite? Thanks”

  8. rachel said:
    December 17th, 2006 8:43 pm

    I was just wondering the same thing… I just downloaded the program but am wondering, how do I get it from my computer to my DS Lite?

  9. Davin said:
    January 6th, 2007 9:42 pm

    you need to have a flashcart like supercard or such to run the software. Worth the investment. There are a lot of great independent developers out there that create great software - including Okiwi, a soon to be released web browser (and free to boot).

  10. Ibero said:
    February 20th, 2007 2:51 pm

    I just read about a Firelinkcard, comes with organisersoftware for DS(-lite). Apr. 60€ for 4Gbit version. (www.firelink.com)

  11. BradyDale said:
    April 28th, 2007 4:57 pm

    yes, Yes, yes! I want a PDA on my DS! Agh! All I want is a simple calendar and contacts program. THAT’S IT!!! Very simple! Nothing fancy! Please, please, please!!!

  12. Krystal said:
    October 10th, 2007 3:55 pm

    You just read my mind!

    I actually found your page by searching Google for a “Game” that offered a calendar/organizer.

    Thank you for putting this out there!

    Also, I would like to thank your readers for the information that they provided.

    Have a wonderful day! Krystal

  13. Georgi said:
    October 30th, 2007 4:09 pm

    Cheers for this post. Am ordering my R4DS card this week, can’t wait to load this on it. I got the ice blue DS - so adorable!

  14. Michael said:
    December 7th, 2007 5:10 pm

    I d/led the DSOrganize… I put it onto my R4 card and all. When I try to run it though… no dice. I have a DS-lite is that the problem? It has so much potential to be awesome! Please work!!

  15. Dave said:
    February 5th, 2008 7:41 am

    Here is the latest Update for the PDA calendar for NDS. It has contacts, schedule and calendar

    http://dl.qj.net/Homebrew-Applications/pg/12/fid/15803/catid/220

  16. Andrew Kaufmann said:
    April 13th, 2008 9:28 pm

    Wow, thanks guys for all the DS PDA tips… the internet at work! Thanks :)

  17. Macy said:
    July 8th, 2008 2:13 pm

    I have a DS Lite too & want to know if this will work for it please?

  18. Wesley said:
    July 26th, 2008 2:10 am

    Thanks for the links. Just have my DS for two days (bought one for the misses as well, and the first thing I tried to do was find the organizer function.. Thank you for the links, will need to buy some hardware first, but then I will have a PDA, sweet :)

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