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Disassembling the US Nintendo DSi

Posted by timothy on from the keep-all-27-pieces dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Yesterday iFixit tore apart the Nintendo DSi and found several internal upgrades from the outgoing DS Lite. It seems that an experienced hand can completely disassemble the DSi in less than ten minutes using standard tools, especially since the job does not require a tri-wing screwdriver. This should make repairing and tinkering with the DSi substantially easier. The DSi now includes two integrated cameras that, unfortunately, have only 0.3 megapixel resolution. This is certainly a bit underwhelming considering most mainstream phones have cameras of at least 1.3 megapixels. As for chips, Nintendo is using a Samsung MoviNAND integrated 256 MB Flash memory / MMC controller chip, as well as a custom ARM CPU + GPU is stamped with the revision code 'TWL.' The DSi's chips all had manufacture dates around September 2008, indicating that Nintendo has been stockpiling these devices for quite a while prior to the North American release."

29 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting by AKAImBatman · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm surprised that they decreased battery capacity. I thought the reduced battery life was a side effect of the component upgrades. Apparently, that's not the case. Even more surprising is that the DSi mainboard is technically smaller than the DS Lite, but the unit has a larger footprint thanks to an expansion board hanging off the side. The board appears to be the contact points for the system's buttons.

    I wonder if the larger footprint was necessitated by the larger screens? One would think that Nintendo would shave off a bit of space from the sides, but perhaps that didn't yield as good of a grip as the DS Lite.

    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    1. Re:Interesting by Threni · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, my DS is way too heavy. Thank god someone's taking my complaints seriously.

    2. Re:Interesting by master5o1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They've got to leave room for improvement for the DS micro (Remember GBC? -> GBA -> GBA SP -> GB Micro) => DS -> DS Lite -> DSi -> DS Micro

      --
      signature is pants
    3. Re:Interesting by BenoitRen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's not a good comparison, as the Game Boy Advance was wildly different in capabilities from the Game Boy Color. Meanwhile the DS, DS Lite and DSi are essentially the same system.

    4. Re:Interesting by cizoozic · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's not a good comparison, as the Game Boy Advance was wildly different in capabilities from the Game Boy Color. Meanwhile the DS, DS Lite and DSi are essentially the same system.

      So it's true - Nintendo is developing better business sense with time!

  2. 0.3 Megapixels... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    0.3 megapixels is equivalent to a resolution of 640x480 pixels, which is twice the resolution of each individual Nintendo DS screen. The lower resolution CCD costs less, and the images are far easier to process in real-time with the DSi's limited resources.

    1. Re:0.3 Megapixels... by faragon · · Score: 3, Funny

      Fuck everything, give me the 5MP!

    2. Re:0.3 Megapixels... by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'd rather have a nice crisp 640x480 picture than the amazingly noisy and poor quality X-Fuckabit cellphone camera.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    3. Re:0.3 Megapixels... by Toonol · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes, I think the resolution makes sense for the DSi. Especially since I think it may figure into some game mechanics in the future; the cameras mounted on every Wiimote are only 320x240, I believe. They are IR sensitive, but I believe that all digital cameras are unless specific IR filters are installed. Does anybody know what the maximum frame rate is for obtaining images from the DSi cameras? Can it capture 30+ frames a second?

    4. Re:0.3 Megapixels... by bencoder · · Score: 2, Informative

      cameras mounted on every Wiimote are only 320x240, I believe.

      actually they are 1024x768 and can capture very fast, but presumably it's mono only. There's also no way(in software) to get at the output of it, before it goes through the SOC that does blob detection.

    5. Re:0.3 Megapixels... by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > equivalent to a resolution of 640x480 pixels, which is twice the resolution of each individual Nintendo DS screen.

      Each LCD on the DS only has a native resolution of 256x192 (almost the same as the old Apple ][s, except 15-bit.) Twice the resolution is 512x384. So you really should say "...which is more than twice..." (I would know, since I shipped a DS game last year, and this year.)

      For comparision, the Acer Aspire One also uses a 0.3 megapixel camera (which I've found to be OK.) So while the megapixel resolution isn't great, the issue is over-rated IMHO. The low resolution is party to cover up the low native resolution of the LCDs.

    6. Re:0.3 Megapixels... by Samah · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well... technically (in terms of pixels), 512x384 is 4x the resolution of 256x192.

      --
      Homonyms are fun!
      You're driving your car, but they're riding their bikes there.
  3. Megapixel fetishism by guspasho · · Score: 2, Interesting

    0.3 megapixel pictures are far easier to share and probably far easier for the ARM CPU to manipulate than 1.3 megapixel pictures. From a usability perspective the megapixel makes a lot more sense than trying to edit a much larger picture on such a small screen or trying to use such a small device to transmit the picture wirelessly to your friend's DSi.

    1. Re:Megapixel fetishism by guspasho · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I find your signature ironic since the post you responded to explains why it makes sense to use a smaller camera.

    2. Re:Megapixel fetishism by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The post was wrong. Well, that's my opinion anyway, but that's the obvious subtext when you make a subjective statement like that. Using a low-MP camera on the inside is fine because there's no need for anyone other than DSi users or the DSi itself to look at you with it. Putting such a pathetic one on the outside is pathetic because it eliminates many potential uses which demand a higher-megapixel camera. You can already subsample a camera sensor, so that you can treat a whatever-megapixel camera like a camera with some fraction of its actual number of pixels. Your response as almost as stupid as the kind of AC stuff I try to avoid rewarding, but since some people [read: you] didn't get it, I had to explain the whole thing.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. Homebrew applications, etc by kamelkev · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm really curious if the various mechanisms for running homebrew applications still work.

    I have an R4 chip from my regular DS - my guess is they've closed up whatever hole was opened and a new method will be found, but has anyone tested this so far?

    1. Re:Homebrew applications, etc by Djehuty3 · · Score: 4, Informative

      R4s, Edge, M3 et al will not work on the DSi - however, the newer "EZ Flash Vi" and "Acekard 2i" both will. I am not aware of any other DSi compatible carts though.

    2. Re:Homebrew applications, etc by tlhIngan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm not wildly familiar with the issue; but my impression is that all the current DS methods were closed; but that Nintendo didn't make any real "progress", if you can call it that, toward building a hardcore lockdown hypervised mess, and that hacks are expected to appear in the fairly near future.

      The DSi is more like the Wii in that respect - there are firmware updates available - heck, there's one when you open the box and try to get your free 1000 points!

      So any holes found will be closed, and others reopened, until we get something like the Homebrew Channel for it. Just a big cat-and-mouse game, really.

      I'd suggest getting one now with buggy firmware, and hope that someone will release a "Custom Firmware" for it a la the PSP... which is more likely to happen with buggy firmware early machines, than later ones.

      Else, don't bother. Sony really needs to get their act together and make the PSP a more compelling system - the lack of PSP competition gives us stuff like the DSi... no real improvements. (Of course, one could say piracy is killing the PSP since very few people seem to be developing for it, and new releases for PSP are thinner and thinner...).

    3. Re:Homebrew applications, etc by trytoguess · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, there are cards that work on the DSi. http://www.dsiflashcard.com/ I'd still wait until there're cards that can mimic the DSi only and works better on DSi cartridges.

  5. It seems... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    It seems that an experienced hand can completely disassemble the DSi in less than ten minutes, using standard tools

    A non-experienced one will take 10-30 seconds with no tools at all. This may not make repairing and tinkering with the DSi substantially easier

  6. Re:Stockpile means nothing by SCPRedMage · · Score: 3, Informative

    Or they built them, waited until they had a decent amount, and released them all at once, instead of having massive shortages like when they launched their LAST console...

    --
    My sig can beat up your sig.
  7. Underwhelming. by wiggles · · Score: 2, Informative

    This rev of the DSi is really underwhelming. I traded my old DS phat in for $50 off of the DSi, and though the upgraded screen is nice, I'll never use the damned camera. It doesn't support mp3. Downloadable games are nice, but I haven't found a single one worth downloading at launch. I'm hoping somebody comes up with a way to play old snes roms on it via the SD card -- if that happens, then my purchase was totally worth it. Otherwise, I'd have stuck with a DS lite if I had that option.

  8. Re:STOP THE PRESSES! by Icegryphon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Because it is Slashdot "The nuts and volts of news for nerds" Which means this documentation is now the first step of any modifications. I and many other NERDS, Love modding and getting the most bang for your buck. It is just like Car Guys who are always looking for more performance.

  9. Re:STOP THE PRESSES! by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    How in the fuck are pictures of the internals of an electronic device front-page worthy?

    What? Get the fuck out.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  10. Not pirated games, just homebrew by gknoy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are a number of DS homebrew games I'd love to use, if I ever have the disposable income to spare on the adapters and cards. There's a painting app ( http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/about.php ) which looks neat, especially if you are traveling and want to sketch something, or just like to doodle. There are also some PDA-like programs which might be handy, though I don't know how I'd find them useful.

    ScummVM ( http://scummvm.drunkencoders.com/ ) is a homebrew app to let you play old LucasArts games, as well as newer (free) games made for the Scumm interpreter. (Yes, one could pirate the old LucasArts games. The morality of playing a no longer published game on a newer platform is not something I wish to discuss. I don't plan to pirate it, if that's any consolation to you.) There are some free games, such as several from Revolution Software, that have been re-released from Amiga to Nintendo DS.

    There are even e-book and comic reader homebrew apps for the DS... though I've not used them. (I prefer paper books.)

    I'd get a lot more geek cred if I were part of the nintendo DS demo scene, but I'm not. (: However, I hope I have adequately debunked your claim that all we'd want to do is use it to run pirated games.

  11. Re:STOP THE PRESSES! by midicase · · Score: 2, Funny

    Components or GTFO!

    That's better.

  12. They're always perfect circles by tepples · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Each side of the sensor bar has half a dozen infrared LEDs in a line. But have you ever noticed that the dots on the Wii Remote sensitivity screen are always perfect circles? The screen actually reads the four biggest blobs (X, Y, brightness) and draws them to the screen as circles with radius proportional to brightness. So you're not seeing the direct output of the 128x96 pixel* sensor in the Wii Remote but instead an interpretation of this info.

    * The effective resolution is 1024x768 because the remote's firmware uses brightness and area information to refine the estimated position of the centroid of each blob to 1/8 pixel increments.

  13. Just got one of these as a birthday gift by Lord+Bitman · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Can't wait for this to be (jailbroken? is that an applicable term?) opened up. As in, really, I can't wait, so I asked Nintendo how to become a developer "officially". Still waiting for a response, not expecting one.

    Why do people lock down hardware? I definitely wouldn't have bought one myself without a clear path to being able to develop things for it :/

    --
    -- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
  14. Re:STOP THE PRESSES! by Locke2005 · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is slashdot. We get hardons looking at picture of naked electronics. If you don't, try hanging out somewhere else.

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.