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Nintendo 3DS Review

Nintendo 3DS is a portable game console and the latest high end product from Nintendo. The device was first released in Japan and saw its debut in the European and North American markets in the end of March. The device is backward compatible with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software.

Nintendo 3DS

If you are planning to own this cool gadget, make sure you read our Nintendo 3DS review first.

Nintendo 3DS Specs

Nintendo 3DS weighs just 8 ounces and has a closed dimension of 2.9 inches X 0.8 inches X 5.3 inches in its height, depth and length respectively.  It has one 2D front-facing and two 3D rear facing cameras with a resolution of 640 X 480 for each camera. Dependent on the CMOS capture element, the lenses are singly focused and have an active pixel count of approximately 30,000 pixels. The upper screen is a LCD display screen that supports 3D viewing without the requirement for any special glasses. Nintendo 3DS has a display of 3.53 inches and this can support approximately 16.77 million colors. This cool gaming console has a 800 X 240 pixel resolution and it allocates 400 pixels to each eye for 3D viewing. The lower screen is a LCD touch screen that also supports 16.77 million colors display. The screen width is slightly smaller than the upper screen and has a resolution of 320 X 240 pixels. It has a 2 GB NAND flash memory and has a stylus that is extendable up to 100 mm.

Nintendo 3DS has a 128 MB FCRAM and has an ARM processor and Nintendo 3DS also supports local wireless communication amongst Nintendo 3DS systems in order to enable StreetPass and game play. The wireless communication enables access to the Internet from the wireless LAN access points. Nintendo has also announced that future updates will include an internet browser that can access WEP and WPA access points. This feature is expected to be released in its May update.

Nintendo 3DS Design

Nintendo 3DS has one of the most robust designs in the market with an artistic look. The final product was chosen from a list of 12 designs and features three layers. The top layer in the Nintendo 3DS Design essentially allows the user to easily open the system. The second layer has been designed so that the user does not accidentally hit the buttons while carrying the piece or operating it and hence has been slightly recessed. The third layer in the Nintendo 3DS design has strategically placed buttons and has been designed in a way that mimics the sign systems at airports.

3D Technology

The 3D technology is what really sets Nintendo 3DS apart from its competitors. The 3DS technology makes it possible for users to play 3D video games with the Nintendo 3DS. In addition, this gadget also allows 3D content for both pictures and videos. The device can be used for both capturing and displaying 3D images. Similarly, the 3D video enables it to play videos. The best part of Nintendo 3DS 3D technology is that it does not require any additional glasses and hence gives it a very natural feel. Based on the autostereoscopy, the Nintendo 3DS is similar to the 3D we see on printed 3D images. If the device is moved frequently as common in some games, the 3D effect vanishes and this is a drawback of the current technology. However, this is the best 3D gaming device currently in market. For every 30 minutes of game play, a 10 minute rest to the eye has been advised to prevent eye strain and headaches.

Nintendo 3DS Pictures

Nintendo 3DS will be one of the few devices that is capable of taking and displaying both 2D and 3D pictures. The biggest advantage is that there are no glasses to be used either while clicking or viewing a Nintendo 3DS picture.  The Nintendo 3DS picture quality may not be that great as the high end cameras but it is decent enough for the price and the new technology that is associated with it. Moreover, the Nintendo 3DS pictures are similar to those taken with other devices like iPod.  Another important feature of Nintendo 3DS is that it stores the pictures in the industry .MPO format thereby enabling easy sharing of the Nintendo 3DS pictures. There are quite a few sites for sharing these 3D pictures and it has been reported that pictures from Nintendo 3DS are in far greater numbers than any other 3D cameras.

Nintendo 3DS Video

The Nintendo 3DS is also capable for 3D movie and Nintendo 3DS video playback without any additional glasses. There are deals with leading studios like Warner Bros, Disney and DreamWorks to deliver 3D movies. The trailers for Warner Bros movie, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, DreamWorks movie, How to Train Your Dragon, and Disney’s movie Tangled have already been shown on the Nintendo 3DS during the E3 Expo. At the 2011 Game Developers Conference, it was also announced that Nintendo 3DS will support live streaming for Netflix. The initial firmware update for North America included the 3D version of the music video for “White Knuckles” from OK Go.

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Nintendo 3DS Software

Nintendo 3DS comes with a range of built-in software which includes  the Home Menu,  the Nintendo 3DS Camera, Mii Maker, Mii Plaza, StreetPass, AR Games, Face Raiders, Activity log, internet browser, Nintendo 3DS sound, 3D Videos, System Software, and software to download classical games and lot of other useful stuff. The Home Menu is designed to be accessible at all times. When used in the middle of a game, Nintendo 3DS software automatically pauses the game and this can be resumed at a later time. Once can access internet browser, friends list, notifications list without terminating the game. All these user friendly Nintendo 3DS software have been designed to give the user additional flexibilities.

Nintendo 3DS performance

Nintendo 3DS has had very positive performance reviews. The 3D depth slider has been widely appreciated as it gives the user the power to adjust the 3D to their comfort level. At its lowest level, the game becomes a 2D type and has extreme 3D effects when put at its maximum level. Most people have found the optimum to be around 50-60% giving a great 3D version of the games. This 3D depth slider also gives an additional flexibility to the game designers. Some games have the best visual effect when the slider is set at either low or high levels. Also, there are no ghosting images when held in the right way.

Nintendo 3DS Price

The product has been fairly priced at USD 250 in the United States. This is slightly higher than Nintendo DSi XL, Nintendo DSi but comes with the amazing 3D capabilities. In the competition of DSi XL Vs PSP Go, the DSi XL as been observed to be better in design and also has a large number of games compared to PSP Go.

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Written by

Jyotsna Ramani is a passionate writer and an avid globetrotter. She had a knack for writing since her early years, though that was mostly letters to her penpals and jotting her thoughts down in her "Dear Diary". Over the years, she realized how her hobby could turn into a full time career and she started writing web content, books and pieces for local magazines. There has been no looking back ever since. Follow Jyotsna Ramani at Google+

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