- Introduction -
The Supercard DS ONEi is the DSi reiteration of the Supercard DS ONE. We’ve
reviewed several versions of the Supercard DS ONE in the past, and each time
there were significant upgrades to the software.
The Supercard team has dedicated themselves to their products for many
years now, they started out with carts for the Gameboy Advance, and they are
still selling well now. They have been known for providing updates well
beyond what is generally required and providing more features over time.
This is the latest installment in the Supercard series, and I'm sure there
will be plenty more.
So what’s special about this Supercard DS ONEi? Well asides from being
perfectly compatible with all models of the DS including the new Nintendo DSi,
the Supercard DS ONEi comes with a USB adapter, touting the ability to upgrade
the bootloader of the cart without the use of the DS. Because of the DSi’s
ability to upgrade its firmware, there is a lot of speculation that over time,
Nintendo may release firmwares that will block out flash carts or their method
of running, much like how old DS carts no longer work.
It runs on the DSi.
This is a genuine concern for the many that want a cart that will last, and
flash cart makers such as the EZ Flash team and the AceKard team have put in
rewriteable chips where they store the firmware, so that they can essentially
rewrite the entire cart and change the way they boot. These carts however
require that you turn on the DSi and run the file in the cart, but the
Supercard team saw this as a problem. How would you turn on your DSi and run
the cart if it has been blocked already? Their solution is a USB adapter that
simply powers the cart to run the update. Because it doesn’t do any actual
programming, this USB adapter supposedly runs even if you connect it to an AC
adapter, and it doesn’t matter if it is connected to a MAC or PC.
The Supercard DS ONEi is currently the only flash cart with a USB firmware
updater, the rest of the competition either cannot run updates or do it
through the cart's menu.
- Design -
The Supercard DS ONEi comes in a stylish silver box with minimal designs. I
actually much prefer the last packaging with the foam, but this one does the
job well too, with a plastic tray securing the USB adapter, the MicroSD reader
and of course the all important Supercard DS ONEi.
I thought the latest packaging for the slot 2 Supercards looked the best,
but this one does the job fine too.
The USB reader is a bit bulky for my liking, but I guess there isn’t much
they could have done asides from providing a USB extension cable. It actually
blocks out the ports beside it because it’s so expansive width-wise. In any
case, there wasn’t even an update for me to test, so I can’t comment about the
speed. Reportedly it takes a few minutes to erase and rewrite the cartridge,
but again I have no personal experience with it. The adapter itself is built
pretty well, the Supercard DS ONEi fits in there real nice, and the adapter is
secured by screws rather than cheap glue.
Reminds me a lot of the G6 Real...
The MicroSD reader is fantastic. A little big, but it seems pretty
reliable. I’ve been transferring a lot of files through it, and though it
seems a little slower than the MicroSD reader bundled with the last Supercard
DS ONE, it has survived quite a bit of abuse already.
Lately cart makers have been moving towards those junk "World's Smallest
MicroSD Readers", and they just don't work as well or last as long as a good
old fashioned, full sized reader. These aren't even that big to begin with.
The cartridge, or the Supercard DS ONEi itself is built fairly average.
I’m not happy with it because the last Supercard DS ONE I’ve reviewed was
great, and then they released another version of it. I’m guessing all
Supercard DS ONEi will have this design, it can be noted by the notch on the
side. It is by no means bad; rather, it is disappointing to see the design
actually. I mean it doesn’t feel like it’ll snap, the two parts of the cart
fit together well and are held tightly by a screw. The MicroSD slot is a bit
tight at the start, but seems to loosen up over time.
To the left we have the Supercard DS ONE SDHC, and to the right is the
Supercard DS ONEi. I felt that the Supercard DS ONE SDHC was the better cart
in terms of build, but they are both pretty good in comparison to their
competitors.
.
.
.
Complete review available here
