Post by: NWR_Karlie on February 14, 2006, 10:07:12 PM
Giving gamers two windows to the Web: The Opera Browser for Nintendo DS™
February 15, 2006: Opera Software today announced that it will deliver the World Wide Web to Nintendo DS users in Japan. In Opera's agreement with Nintendo, Nintendo DS users will now be able to surf the full Internet from their systems using the Opera browser. The Opera browser for Nintendo DS will be sold as a DS card. Users simply insert the card into the Wi-Fi enabled Nintendo DS, connect to a network, and begin browsing on two screens.
Earlier this year, Nintendo reported that 13 million Nintendo DS systems were sold to consumers around the world within just 13 months of its debut in November 2004. Nintendo DS combines unique dual screens, touch screen, voice recognition and wireless and Wi-Fi communications capabilities. According to an independent market research company in Japan, Nintendo DS has become the fastest selling video games machine to top the 6 million sales mark in Japan in just over 14 months since its Japanese debut, breaking the old record held by Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.
"The incredibly popular Nintendo DS is already Wi-Fi enabled to support real-time gaming, so adding Web browsing capabilities was a natural evolution for this device," says Scott Hedrick, Executive Vice President, Opera Software. "Gaming devices are growing more advanced and a great Web experience is becoming a product differentiator for gaming manufacturers. Opera is excited to work with Nintendo to deliver a unique dual screen, full Internet experience on Nintendo DS."
With an on-screen keypad and stylus, users can easily navigate the Web from their Nintendo DS with PDA-like functionality. Based on the same core as the Opera desktop browser, Opera delivers superior speed and rendering of Web pages on the Nintendo DS.
“Within just five seconds of turning on the system, the Nintendo DS is already fully operational. This makes it the ideal device to enable people to swiftly obtain the latest information from the internet, wherever they are," says Masaru Shimomura, Deputy General Manager of Nintendo’s R & D Department. "Opera exceeded our expectations with its user friendly interface, quick access to all your favorite sites, ease of use and, most importantly, in making the best use of the Nintendo DS system’s unique double screens and touch screen features. Opera is an important partner for Nintendo in our efforts to further expand the users of the Nintendo DS."
Nintendo Co., Ltd. held a presentation today in Tokyo, Japan, to announce updates for the Nintendo DS. Information on the availability of the Opera browser DS card has not yet been announced.
Post by: KirbySStar on February 14, 2006, 10:30:41 PM
All in due time I suppose.
Post by: Mario on February 14, 2006, 10:37:26 PM
Post by: Artimus on February 14, 2006, 10:37:57 PM
Post by: wandering on February 14, 2006, 10:56:05 PM
Post by: Nephilim on February 15, 2006, 01:09:31 AM
even nintendo thinks opera is better then firefox hehe
Post by: cmoney on February 15, 2006, 01:35:42 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Mario
I think it'll be a bit limited in terms of things like that, since Nintendo might be worried people will hack it and somehow get emulators running on it or something.
There already are emulators running on the DS. But anyway, wouldn't it be possible to release the browser on a larger flash card? To allow for caching, cookies, and the like? I'd pay a few extra bucks for a larger card with the brower included.
Post by: KDR_11k on February 15, 2006, 02:07:11 AM
Bookmarks, cookies and stuff like that don't take up much space. I hope it's as customizable as the PC version but I suppose my favourite layout wouldn't work without a three button mouse.
Oh and what do we do about the lack of a scroll wheel?
Post by: Infernal Monkey on February 15, 2006, 02:08:59 AM
Post by: JonLeung on February 15, 2006, 03:52:04 AM
They'll probably have the scroll bars only on the bottom screen, or I guess the D-pad would do scrolling functions.
I always thought that if they could manage the memory and caching, etc. properly, the DS would be more ideal for web browsing than the PSP, since the DS has a touch screen so the stylus can act like a mouse pointer. I don't know how browsing is handled on the PSP but I imagine it's clunky.
Hopefully this DS browser will be available in North America (and worldwide)! I'd love to see my web site on a DS. It is image-heavy, but there's no video or Flash. However, the inefficient Super NES maps page's "index.htm" (before any images) is nearly a megabyte in size alone...I hope that'll be viewable.
Post by: Bloodworth on February 15, 2006, 04:37:45 AM
Post by: NotSoStu on February 15, 2006, 04:41:57 AM
And I'm still sorta mad that it's not available as a firmware upgrade, although it's understandable considering that the x86-Win32 version of Opera is around 9MB. I doubt it'll sell well.
Post by: UncleBob on February 15, 2006, 04:47:11 AM
And I *hate* flash. With a passion.
Post by: TheYoungerPlumber on February 15, 2006, 04:54:33 AM
Post by: Pale on February 15, 2006, 05:09:38 AM
Post by: Jensen on February 15, 2006, 05:10:07 AM
Post by: Mario323 on February 15, 2006, 05:11:48 AM
Post by: hudsonhawk on February 15, 2006, 05:32:46 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: TheYoungerPlumber
They have 128 MB to play with. Space really is not an issue, though processing power might cause problems with Flash.
That's for the browser footprint, but the memory restrictions that matter is RAM. The cart will have to have additional RAM built-in otherwise the browser will be pretty useless. Anyone who's used the PSP browser knows that it will run out of memory on large pages - and the PSP has quite a bit more RAM to play with.
Given the platform limitations, javascript is unlikely and there's no chance it will support Flash. This will be a very, very simple browser, probably akin to the Windows Smartphone version of Opera - a very stripped down, simple and quick browser.
Edit: It just occurred to me that they could probably use a proxy server to do all the heavy lifting for them - sort of like Blazer does on the Treo. That would let them work with the DS' very, very limited RAM (i.e. it wouldn't have to downscale the images on its own) and workaround page size limitations (by using compression and pagination).
Just a thought. It still won't have Javascript and Flash though.
Post by: ABlueflameA on February 15, 2006, 05:33:37 AM
Good decision Nintendo. I am proud.
-ABlueflamea
Post by: Smash_Brother on February 15, 2006, 06:23:12 AM
Post by: trip1eX on February 15, 2006, 06:46:16 AM
But please people keep your expectations in check. This ain't going to be a full-fledged browser that will replace your pc.
Post by: JonLeung on February 15, 2006, 07:17:56 AM
Post by: Smash_Brother on February 15, 2006, 07:18:55 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: trip1eX
But please people keep your expectations in check. This ain't going to be a full-fledged browser that will replace your pc.
Dammit, I JUST eBayed my PC before I read that...
Post by: KDR_11k on February 15, 2006, 09:32:39 AM
The PSP's browser is written by beginners, it's a crappy implementation of the concept. Opera Mobile was designed for cellphones and stuff like that which has even less RAM and screen area. AFAIK it's the best browser for portable devices available.
Edit: It just occurred to me that they could probably use a proxy server to do all the heavy lifting for them
I think that's what one version of Opera for small devices does.
Post by: vudu on February 15, 2006, 09:39:17 AM
Post by: TheYoungerPlumber on February 15, 2006, 09:48:35 AM
Post by: King of Twitch on February 15, 2006, 10:02:25 AM
Blow into the mic to scroll down, whistle to scroll up
Post by: vudu on February 15, 2006, 10:09:21 AM
QuoteYou could just drag the screen around using the stylus (kind of like what happens in Opera if you click the mouse wheel).
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Oh and what do we do about the lack of a scroll wheel?
Post by: Smash_Brother on February 15, 2006, 10:11:31 AM
Post by: ssj4_android on February 15, 2006, 12:02:27 PM
Post by: Bill Aurion on February 15, 2006, 12:05:46 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: TheYoungerPlumber
It's a long shot, but Nintendo could also include a RAM expansion pak for the browser (which fits into the GBA slot).
Just so everyone knows, a RAM expansion pack is being packed with the browser...It will fit into the GBA slot (with two versions being made, one made smaller so it doesn't stick out of the DSLite)
Edit: Image
Post by: Artimus on February 15, 2006, 12:06:01 PM
Post by: ssj4_android on February 15, 2006, 12:13:08 PM
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on February 15, 2006, 12:44:17 PM
Post by: MegaByte on February 15, 2006, 01:05:00 PM
Post by: vudu on February 15, 2006, 01:49:37 PM
QuoteThat is so hot it's unbelievable.
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
Just so everyone knows, a RAM expansion pack is being packed with the browser...It will fit into the GBA slot (with two versions being made, one made smaller so it doesn't stick out of the DSLite)
I wonder if the RAM expansion will be available seperately, just in case someone gets one version and then wants to upgrade/downgrade to the other DS version.
Post by: thepoga on February 15, 2006, 01:53:25 PM
it looks like they'll have extra memory in the GBA slot.
Post by: MegaByte on February 15, 2006, 01:58:52 PM
Post by: Cap on February 15, 2006, 03:00:00 PM
Post by: Renny on February 16, 2006, 05:06:24 PM
Nintendo's new website incompatibility was weird. The last time they updated the site, Opera worked as poorly as any other browser from the get-go. I promptly sent them a snide email pointing this out. :¬]
Post by: dsgirl on March 23, 2006, 06:51:06 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: PGC NewsBot
It'll come on a DS card and you'll be able to browse the Internet in double!
Giving gamers two windows to the Web: The Opera Browser for Nintendo DS™
<small>February 15, 2006: Opera Software today announced that it will deliver the World Wide Web to Nintendo DS users in Japan. In Opera's agreement with Nintendo, Nintendo DS users will now be able to surf the full Internet from their systems using the Opera browser. The Opera browser for Nintendo DS will be sold as a DS card. Users simply insert the card into the Wi-Fi enabled Nintendo DS, connect to a network, and begin browsing on two screens.
Earlier this year, Nintendo reported that 13 million Nintendo DS systems were sold to consumers around the world within just 13 months of its debut in November 2004. Nintendo DS combines unique dual screens, touch screen, voice recognition and wireless and Wi-Fi communications capabilities. According to an independent market research company in Japan, Nintendo DS has become the fastest selling video games machine to top the 6 million sales mark in Japan in just over 14 months since its Japanese debut, breaking the old record held by Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.
"The incredibly popular Nintendo DS is already Wi-Fi enabled to support real-time gaming, so adding Web browsing capabilities was a natural evolution for this device," says Scott Hedrick, Executive Vice President, Opera Software. "Gaming devices are growing more advanced and a great Web experience is becoming a product differentiator for gaming manufacturers. Opera is excited to work with Nintendo to deliver a unique dual screen, full Internet experience on Nintendo DS."
With an on-screen keypad and stylus, users can easily navigate the Web from their Nintendo DS with PDA-like functionality. Based on the same core as the Opera desktop browser, Opera delivers superior speed and rendering of Web pages on the Nintendo DS.
“Within just five seconds of turning on the system, the Nintendo DS is already fully operational. This makes it the ideal device to enable people to swiftly obtain the latest information from the internet, wherever they are," says Masaru Shimomura, Deputy General Manager of Nintendo’s R & D Department. "Opera exceeded our expectations with its user friendly interface, quick access to all your favorite sites, ease of use and, most importantly, in making the best use of the Nintendo DS system’s unique double screens and touch screen features. Opera is an important partner for Nintendo in our efforts to further expand the users of the Nintendo DS."
Nintendo Co., Ltd. held a presentation today in Tokyo, Japan, to announce updates for the Nintendo DS. Information on the availability of the Opera browser DS card has not yet been announced. </small>
i heard that already, and it say's like it runs by a DSLinux....correct me if i'm correct
_____________________________
http:// ds.qj.net "my dsblog site" - luisa
Post by: Dasmos on March 23, 2006, 07:00:14 PM
