26 out of 31(84%)reviewers recommend this product.
Product Reviews
Overall rating
4/ 5
Design
4/ 5
Functionality
4/ 5
Performance
4/ 5
Driftwood
DSi XL - A lot less eye strain but there are concerns of hinge durability.
PostedApril 14, 2010
For reference, I'm an older gamer who recently hit middle age. I began playing in the late 70's/early 80's with the Odyssey 2 and Atari 2600. After staring at computer screens for the last 20 years my eye sight isn't what it use to be. I've had my DSi XL for ~14 days now and here are my impressions.Screen:Upgrading from the DS Light I have a lot less eye strain. Previously I couldn't play anything on the DS for more then about 45 min before headaches began to set in. The screen is very well lit and quite viewable indoors. I keep mine set at brightness level 3 [of 5]. Outdoors, with the brightness set to 5, it's viewable in the shade but near impossible in direct sun. The extra space of the bottom screen has much improved my experience with games that have a strong writing component. Such as the Brain Age series and My Coach language series. Over all Form Factor:Despite the extra size of the unit, games that rely on the more traditional controls still leave my hands feeling cramped with the XL. Due to it's size and weight, I've noticed that how I hold it has changed from the previous Lite unit. When using games that rely heavily on the stylus, like Summon Knight: Twin Age, my left index finger rests along the "spine" of the unit, My thumb sits under the left speaker and the three other fingers support the unit from below. Previously all my fingers rested on the bottom half of the unit. I'm not sure if this positioning has led to the durability concerns mentioned in my head line.After 14 days of regular use the hinge has began to get some play in it. It still stops in it's 3 predetermined positions but has a lot of play, moving perhaps a 1/8" forward or back at it's outer edge. This amount of movement wasn't present when I first got the unit. I'm sure it'll survive beyond the 30 day return limit that Game Stop allows, but I am concerned for it's longer term durability. The i in DSi or the apps I've become indifferent to:I mentioned that I up-graded from a regular DS Light to the XL so the aps, camera and music player are new to me. Here are my impressions.System Settings: Fairly run of the mill, generally easy to follow. Only note of interest was that if you have security on your wireless router, and you really should, it can be a bit difficult to set up and tweak your settings [having to skip the basic set up and dig though the advanced settings].Game Card Slot: The nice thing here is not having to shut the system all the way off to change games. A quick tap of the power button will drop you from the game and bring you back to the DSi Menu where you can freely change games.DSi Camera: Slow and very poor quality. The resolution is simply poor and the capture time is a little slow [time between when you press the button and it actually catches the image]. I've pressed the button with a great picture on screen only to get something else when it's done processing my click. There are some nice touches, like it showing you a calender with a thumbnail on the days you used the camera to take a photo.DSi Sound: A fun little sound app that lets you play with your music, audio files and recordings but leaves a lot to be desired. Down side to the recording function is that any recordings you make are limited to 10 sec, So using it for anything other then a quick memo is out of the question. Music Files must be in AAC format. while this isn't a deal breaker it would have been nicer if it supported the more standard .mp3 format.Other packaged applications:There is the DSi Shop, I would have used it by now but I hear you can't transfer the apps you download to the memory card or to another DSi with out re-buying them. So I've put off using it till I see if the hinge is going to force me to replace my unit.Download Play: Don't know any other DS owners to try this with so I can't tell you much about it.PictoChat: same as Download Play. :(DSi Browser: Like most other non-computer based browsers, it's slow and clunky but usable. If
5 of 5 found this review helpful.
Overall rating
5/ 5
Design
5/ 5
Functionality
5/ 5
Performance
5/ 5
ChaosFinaleX
One of the Best
PostedApril 11, 2010
I really enjoy my DSi XL because it really helps keep me from straining my eyes when I'm playing a game such as Soul Silver or 358/2 Days. I really like the size of the screeens, much better than my DS Lite's screen because that one was so freaking tiny! So, it's a relatively simple design, so that makes it attractive. The size, well, I knew it was going to be large, so it didn't phase me one way or the other. I highly recommend this product to anyone looking for something decent from Nitendo or want's a new handheld. I'll also include my opion's on the DS Power Pack. That is a very simple protection case and easily portable. Sure it can only hold up to four DS games, but since I only play around two a lot, then it's better for me to have than a larger DS case.
2 of 2 found this review helpful.
Overall rating
5/ 5
Design
5/ 5
Functionality
5/ 5
Performance
5/ 5
Du Baconator
It's the best so far!!!
PostedApril 11, 2010
I got the DS Lite when it came out, then I lost it and got the DSi, and I thought "This is the best DS ever!" Then I saw this and was like "Holy Turd! I have to get it!" So I returned my DSi and some dumb games, then bought this one. I thought that they were gonna have black ones, but I already exchanged everything, so I kinda had to get it. After I got it, I was like, "Wow! This is the best DS I've ever seen in existance! Even the games that cames with it were fun!" In the end, I was very happy I got it because of everything. It somehow had better graphics than the old DSi, but I guess that's because of the bigger screen. So if you ever question getting it, Don't! Just close your eyes and hand the casheir your money. After you get home, you will realize $*** is enough for this little (or should I say big! LOL) sucker!
Overall rating
5/ 5
Design
5/ 5
Functionality
5/ 5
Performance
5/ 5
izzi8890fizz66
dude i wish everyone could have 1
PostedApril 1, 2010
OMG!i got the dsi xl for my birthday.It is awesome and i wish i could have 5,000 of them you could make a flat screen t.v. it is great.it's features are really great i got better at my math just because of the math game that is featured on the dsi xl.my mom was actually happy i got a dsi xl.My old dsi i gave to my sister i could have sold it on ebay or amazon or give it to game stop but my sister likes to v.s. me.everyone out there who has a dsi xl should be happy but i can't wait until next year they might come out with one even better than the dsi xl i mean who doesn't want a dsi xl?But i mean a dsi xl isn't just fun it is something that could improve your skills and i wonder how big your games would look with a dsi xl i mean it is 93% bigger!Imagine if you could take things out of the t.v and computer you know that everyone in the world could have everything they ever wanted in the life.But i didn't like the color i hope they make better colors than i will trade it in at game stop and use some of the money they gave me to buy the dsi xl and i am so lucky to have it!Out of a scale of 1 through 10 i would rate it 1,000 i am so so lucky i mean everyone has to try a dsi xl at least once in their life i mean who ever doesn't i feel sorry for them.
