DealExtreme Keyboard and Mouse Drop Test

Hey everybody it's been awhile! I got these two defective products from DealExtreme and decided to perform a quick drop test to see if they would survive, that and see the innards of the machine, hope you enjoy your destructive needs!
Special thanks to DealExtreme http://www.dealextreme.com 

DealExtreme G700 Review

Hey everybody, I'm back with another video review from DealExtreme, this time the G700 Phone!









And Part 2:

The Price of HD

So just recently I finished up yet another video review and now I'm uploading it. Sad thing is, it's in two parts and all together it's 4 GB big. It's gonna be more than a day before it's uploaded. Joy.

3DS Case and AceKard 2i review

So this is my first video review, special thanks to http://slickgate.com for review samples! Please rate and comment to tell me how I did.

NOTE: During the video my touchscreen was going a bit crazy, turns out my calibration was just off and now the AceKard and everything else is working perfectly fine!

NOTE 2: I guess I kind of forgot to give a rating at the end of the video, but it goes as follows:

3DS Aluminum Case:
Packaging: 9/10
Durability: 10/10

AceKard 2i:
Packaging: 9.5/10
Software: 9/10
Hardware: 10/10

Thanks for watching!

Dealextreme Mouse Review

Introduction:

Hi everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read this review! First off, a special thanks to DealExtreme for supplying me with this review sample!

My first impression of this mouse when I got it right out of its packaging was rather… A high expectation, to say the least. When I received the product it came in a nice package, looked real fancy, kind of like a replica mouse for an Apple Mac. Let’s get more in depth, shall we?

Packaging:

The packaging was actually quite incredible, it was able to hold the mouse in place and keep the thing intact from any rough journey.

Just a few pictures of the case and mouse that is being held:

As well as this solid, plastic case, the mouse also came covered in a red bubble wrap within the package. The packaging is very sturdy and doesn’t look like it will break any time soon!

The back of the package also has the information about this mouse, including the specifications, the technical specifications, and the “quality assurance” which states that there is a one year warranty from the project purchase date, which is very useful, in case it breaks.

Overall, the packaging is very basic, hard plastic to cover the mouse, specifications on the back, and stickers that read 2.4GHz Wireless Mouse, Quality Guaranteed. I give the packaging a 10/10. It is solid, sturdy, and the mouse would have a hard time to break with the zero amount of “wiggle room” it has within the case itself, it looks like a good knock off from Apple, ** it reminds me somewhat of the iPod Touch cases that are sold with it.

Hardware:

The hardware is somewhat like every other wireless optical mouse, the basic 2.4GHz RF carrier, the nano receiver to plug into your laptop so you can actually use the mouse, but this one also includes a little “DPI” button, which means Dots Per Inch. Basically what it does is it can tone down or increase the speed of the mouse, it’s very useful when doing stuff like editing photos, and even when the mouse sensitivity is too high.

Just a picture of the upper and bottom side of the mouse:

Now the one problem I had with this mouse, and it still bugs me, is the tough right click button. When I first got this mouse, I opened it up and had a try using all the buttons on it to make sure it worked(since I was not at home), the right button seemed to refuse to actually make the clicking noise like the left click did. So I played around with it, and tried using the mouse on my computer, and it felt more or less sticky, it was real bad and I actually had to force the mouse button off the hinge it was being held by, and get under the plastic so I could press it by myself. It was no satisfying knowing that the right click button did not work, it was rather annoying since I use it constantly and it will still sometimes refuse to work. I am not sure if it was the mouse I got, or shipping messing it up, but it irked me quite a bit. Now the right click works “almost” properly. I say “almost” because it still does stick occasionally, but will usually give way if I flick the button or apply force to it. On top of the right click not working when I got it, it seems either my computer does not like the mouse, or it may be faulty, but the centre click of the wheel refuses to open new tabs when using FireFox. I use my other wireless mouse, a Verbatim branded one, and it works fine.

Now, let’s turn onto the bottom side of the mouse, shall we? It took me awhile to figure it out, but I found out that the receiver was hidden just above the battery placement for the mouse, a pretty decent spot to store it. Now the batteries are triple A (AAA) and not included, which is kind of a downside because I had to scour my house, but that doesn’t matter.

Just a picture of the bottom of the mouse:

What matters is whenever I try to place the batteries into spot, and flick the switch to the on position, sometimes it does not register. I move the battery on the right and pull it halfway out, and then it turns on. I did not realize it had to take this much precision to make a mouse turn on. It is ridiculous that I need to place the batteries just perfectly so that it registers and turns on.

Continuing on the bottom of the mouse, you see the optical laser. It works very well and there is not much to complain about it, it does what it is supposed to do and does it well.

Now moving above the laser is a little sticker and words right above the sticker that is barely readable on the photo, but the letters say “Connect”. I was assuming under the sticker would have been a connect button to connect to the mouse, but since it does it automatically, there really is no need for it but I decided to take a look at it under the sticker anyways. To my surprise, there was nothing but a piece of the main board under the sticker, not even a button!

I am surprised the company who made this mouse did not even fill this hole, it seems like this mouse is just a knock-off from the other company who originally made this mouse. I am not sure whether the button was lost, or the sticker was purposely placed there, but I am going to go with purposely placed so no one would see it.

Now, let’s go over what the pros and cons of this mouse are:

Pros:

Sleek, nice design

The scroll wheel scrolls nicely

The “DPI” button is a nice addition

Compatible with Mac and Windows
Works on many surfaces

On/Off button so you do not have to waste batteries

Cons:

Right mouse click does not work well

Centre wheel click does not work

Batteries need to be placed precisely

Connect button does not have an actual button, but just a sticker over it, proving the “Connect” even more useless

Random disconnects (Mouse powers off randomly)

Conclusion:

Overall, the hardware, for the price of the mouse (which was $10) is adequate. You get what you pay for which isn’t much, but is a nice mouse that will probably last awhile until you can find a good one.

Packaging: 9/10

Hardware: 4.5/10

I give the hardware a lower mark because even though the mouse is only $10, I do not like the fact that the right click was basically broken, the mouse itself randomly turns off, and the centre click does not work, but the DPI button is a good addition, so is the design of the mouse.

Calculated Total: 13.5/20

My total: 11.5/20

The mouse in my opinion is not really worth the buy, you could probably found a mouse of equal value that had a bit better quality, and a few buttons that actually work!

Once again, I would like to thank DealExtreme for giving me this review sample!

.
EDIT: It seems after reinstalling my mouse drivers(Syanaptic drivers) the middle mouse click seems to work now... Very odd. Since it works I have now switched my score up by a minor amount since it is a minor thing, but all the better that it works!

Recommmended Sites!

So I decided to add some recommended sites to the side of my site, hopefully people will find them useful!

-Tux

P.S. If I make enough money, I may be able to afford my own site, but this is probably only possible by AdSense.

So it's been awhile...

So yeah, it's been awhile since my last review, and I think it may still be the same for the next little/long while. I guess I need to find another supplier I think, oh well, just wanted to update, not all is lost(hopefully) and I may be back to reviewing soon enough.



P.S. Expect a new review coming shortly, courtesy of my hard-earned cash!

Dingoo A320 Review

Introduction:

Hi everyone so it has been awhile since I wrote a review, and I just recently got my Dingoo A320 from NDSCardSale

The features of the Dingoo A320 include:

Games: Play games in(8/16/32 bit) GBA/3D formats, SNES, NES, Neo Geo, Sega Genesis, and CPS1 & 2
Multi-media Player: Music format in MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, RA etc. Movies format in RMVB, RM, AVI, WMV, FLV, MPEG, MP4, ASF, MOV. Pictures format in JPEG, JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP.
Text Reader: Supports .TXT and English Text to Speech. It also supports font sizes, can be opened while music is playing.
Radio: Built in receiver and can record audio
AV-Out: Can connect to a TV
Operating System: Windows 2000/XP
Display: 2.8 QVGA LTPS screen, 65.5K colors
Weight: 110 grams
Size: 125x55x14mm (4.92x2.17x0.59in)
CPU: Ingenic JZ4732 @ 336MHz, under-clocked from 360MHz (clocks up to 433MHz) (MIPS architecture)
Input: D-Pad, 2 shoulder, 4 face, Start & Select buttons, Mic.
Internal Storage: 1/2/4 GB
Output: Stereo Speakers, Headphone Jack, and TV-out w/ included cable
Battery: 3.7V 1700-1800 mAH (6.29WH) Li-Ion, approx. 7 hours run time
Software Support: Official firmware and Dingux(Dingoo Linux)

So now after all of that, let's get started with the review!

Packaging:

When I first got the Dingoo at the packaging, I was very surprised that it was in excellent condition. Compared to the GBA SP Designer console I got, this was in pristine condition.
Awesome condition for the packaging!







The packaging has a plastic coating that you take off, and then you can open it from the top. The contents of the package include:
1 Dingoo A320 Console
1 AV Out Cable
1 Mini USB Cable
1 Set of ear buds
2 Instruction manuals, one in English, the other in Chinese
1 Warrenty Booklet in Chinese
1 USB Wall Charger

The packaging was excellent and good eye candy for first impressions. I give the packaging 10/10 because it was small and compact, the contents survived whatever it had to go through when shipping, and was very simple.

Hardware:

The hardware on the Dingoo A320 is very unique in its own way. The Dingoo has speakers at the bottom of the device, as well as a USB port to connect to a computer, a Mini-SD slot, and an AV-Out slot, so you can play on your television. The buttons have a very simple layout; a directional button pad and select button on the left, and A, B, X, Y, and start buttons on the right. There is also two buttons on the top of the device, a L button and a R button. As for the side of the device, there is a microphone and a reset button on the left side of the console, and the power slider and the headphone input on the right side of the console.

The device at all angles






The Dingoo A320 is very durable and does not break too easily when dropped. I dropped it from a distance of five feet to solid ground with no carpet and did not receive any scratch, nor a damaged screen.

This game console is kind of an odd design, and is very comfortable in my hands. It does not feel too big, nor too small and I can access the buttons very easily, which is really good when playing those button mashing games.

I give the hardware a solid 9/10. It is a nice, compact device, fits very well in my pretty big hands, and is a nice design, but the speakers should be on the front of the console, rather than on the bottom, for maximum sound towards the user of the console, and the little pads on the back come off very easily, and I have lost three out of the four pads.

Software:

In this section, I will be covering two different parts of the software: the original software that is preloaded with the machine, and Dingux, which you have to install yourself unless you buy it direct from certain places that will do it for you for a price.

Native Software

The native software is very basic and looks like the PSP XMB(Xross Media Bar). The categories consists of a 'Game Center', 'Music Hall', 'Movie Theatre', 'Radio', 'Record', 'Picture', 'Library', 'TV', 'Browser', and 'Settings'.

The Game Center is where you go and access your games which you can put on via USB transfer. There are two sub-categories in this category which are '3D Game' and 'Interesting Game'. 3D Games are games that come preloaded on the Dingoo and are games made for the Dingoo. The games are:

7 Days
Block Breaker
Candys House
Xing-Day Mars Decollation Warrior
Link Em' Up
Snake
Tetris
Ultimate Drift

The games are pretty good for the most part, and actually pretty addictive. I was expecting the 3D games to not be so great, but they were way better than I expected and past my expectations.

The Interesting Game category contains titles that can be emulated like Neo Geo, Game Boy Advance, NES, and SNES. The games run pretty well, but some games for the SNES, like Super Bomberman, use frameskip and can be pretty laggy at certain points in the game. Overall the emulators the Native OS uses on the Dingoo A320 is great and if you were to use it solely for emulation of SNES, NES, GBA, Neo Geo, etc. this would definitely be the best choice.

The Music hall, Movie Theatre, and Radio are pretty self-explanitory. You are able to listen to music in MP3 formats, watch movies in AVI formats, and listen to FM radio, AM is not supported. Record, Picture and Library are used for recording with the built in microphone, viewing many different formats of pictures, including GIFs, and reading books, but only in TXT format, no PDF support.

I give the native operating software a 9/10. The software is nice and simple, nothing complex, but some of the stuff is a bit limited, for example only being able to view TXT files in the Library, but other than that it is perfect for just the basics. If you want the ability to play some ported games, like Duke Nukem' or Heretic, you would need Dingux.

Some pictures of the main menu and emulator menu



Dingux

Dingux is the operating system for the Dingoo that is Linux based. There are instructional videos everywhere on showing how to install Dingux, and here is one of them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ9TBmYyo8I This is for installing Dingux, the driver and tools are provided in the description in a handy package, special thanks to qbertaddict1 for uploading this video.
The 'Local Pack' can be found here Thanks to everyone who made this package possible, but some files you will need to locate yourself.

Dingux is a great operating system to use on the Dingoo A320, much better than the native operating software in my opinion. The local pack that I have listed above comes with many different applications, emulators, games, and ports of games. There are some pros and cons that make the native operating software better than Dingux. An example would be the Game Boy Advance emulator. Gpsp was made for Dingux, but does not match up to the GBA Emulator in the native operating software. I prefer to use the Snes9X4D for SNES emulation over the SNES Emulator because it seems to run better. It has many pros and cons for emulation, but the possibilities are endless with the games you can use while on Dingux.

People have developed plenty of games for Dingux, and even ported some over, like Heretic, or ASCII Portal. They are fun games, and the menu has a bit more pizazz and is more customizable and shows more information, like the CPU, Volume, Battery, and the space left on the Mini-SD card.
The GUI, Gmenu2X in use



I give Dingux a solid 10/10. It is a great operating system and a great addition to have for the Dingoo A320. Though some things are difficult to do, like after using the native operating software for so long, it is hard to get used to the style of using Dingux and Gmenu, the GUI that Dingux uses.

I would choose Dingux over the Native software for games and extras, but as for emulation and music and movies, I would choose the native operating software, because emulation is more stable and you can move movies and music onto the Dingoo, unlike in Dingux where it has to be on the Mini-SD card

Native Operating Software: 9/10
Dingux: 10/10

Comparison of emulators:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWXMlSTFJpE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJaHzeobMrU

Conclusion:

The Dingoo A320 is an excellent device for what its main purpose is, emulation. The Dingoo A320's emulation is amazing, and being able to install Linux on it makes it even better. It's design is nice, compact, and best of all, simple. The hardware is perfect and it is nice and durable, which makes it the perfect travel device, and is a perfect Christmas, birthday, or just a present for no occasion because of the packaging it came in, it is the perfect gift box.

Packaging: 10/10
Hardware: 9/10
Software: 10/10

Total: 9.7/10

Once again, special thanks to NDSCardSale for supplying me with this amazing device! It is definitely worth the money it costs.

An extra thanks to qbertaddict1 for uploading all those helpful videos on how to install Dingux on the Dingoo A320, too!!

GBA SP Designer Console Review

Hey everyone, before I start this review I would like to thank for this review item! Anyways, let's get started with this review.

Introduction:





Well, the Game Boy Advance SP is pretty well built, had good software, and the packaging was well, except for one problem, but as the review gets more in depth, you'll see what the problem was. Aside from that, my first impression was “just another game system” but it was actually pretty fun to play around with and see what games there were.




Packaging:


When I first got the SP, I took it out of the package and the box was mangled and destroyed, like the people in the sorting room played baseball and my package was sadly the ball. The packaging was all beat up, but the contents of the box was still very well in place and not damaged at all, it looked like it the Game Boy Advance SP was unharmed throughout the travel and possible game of baseball.


Looks like the packaging was pretty damaged on its way to the arrival destination]






There isn't much to say about the packaging, it did what it was supposed to, but it would have been nice if it wasn't so damaged, it would have looked like a nice gift box.


I give the packaging a 7/10. The package did what it was supposed to and protect the contents inside it, but a package like this was also meant to have a type of pizazz to the consumer, and when it's damaged, it doesn't look so nice, but as I said already, it did what it was supposed to and that's all that counts I suppose.




Software:




The software on this machine was pretty sweet, it had preloaded games on it, different languages to choose from, and even some NES games. The bad part is that the box did not give any instructions on how to change the language on it, so my first use I had to ignore the Arabic and continue testing out the games.


The software was pretty fun to play around with



When you turned on the SP, the Game Boy Advance logo would shine and do its thing, but it was a bit slow in comparison to my normal SP. I scrolled through the list of games and realized the first four items on the SP was various video files which included .AVI .MP4 and .FLV. I was pretty surprised when I saw this and I tried the videos, they ran very well.


Games


The games on the SP had a bountiful amount, ten thousand in fact, but at game number 0476, the game list repeated. So there was only about 472 games on the SP, which is still amazing because most of them were really good Game Boy Advance games and some random NES games. The NES games used an emulator called “PocketNES” I figured this out when playing a NES game I tapped the L and R buttons and a menu popped up which had a scaling option, Save and Load State options, a game reset option, and an Exit option which just restarted the game.


The Game Boy Advance games I played had no lag or very little lag, hardly anything noticeable, which was very amazing considering I've seen comments on how the games lagged lots on the system, but I noticed very little lag, only some lag on Harvest Moon: Friends Of Mineral Town.


The SP even had a game slot in the bottom of it, which I was happy with, so I tried Harvest Moon in it, and it had just as much lad as the one on the one on the system itself, so nothing much to complain about.


I give the games a solid 10/10. It had a wide selection of games on it, and some NES games to go along with it, a very good combination of 472 games.


Software:




Although it had a good selection of games, it is near impossible to comment on the software. This is where the problem began with me. When I received it, I turned it on to realized the game names on the bottom of the screen were in Arabic, and I didn't know how to change it after ten minutes of fiddling around with it and figuring out it was the L button to change the language. I was not overall impressed that the makers of this system forgot an instruction booklet on the software, the instruction booklet that came with it was an extremely shortened version of the Game Boy Advance SP booklet. Being the person I am, I even noticed some spelling mistakes and noticed that one of the pages said “Turn to page 57” when there was only around twenty pages.


Aside from the frustration of not being able to change the language, the software had a little battery meter, which made me happy because I never liked charging my SP when the red light went on, because that usually meant I had another hour or so. This had a meter that indicated when my battery was low, a nice plus for those people who like knowing when they need to charge it when it is almost dead, a nice little pro for the software.


A nice little menu for all the games



Now here comes the problem. As soon as I charged the thing, I left it on my bed to charge as I went out for an hour. I come back to see that the charging light is still on, so I decided to turn it on and maybe play some Harvest Moon or Super Mario Advance 2. So I flicked the switch on, the light turned on, but there was no sound, no screen turning on, the SP bricked itself. I actually took it apart to see if there was anything wrong with the ribbon cable or the speaker, so I disconnected the ribbon cable, connected it and used the battery to turn it on. No luck. The software quite literally corrupted itself and made it unable to play games or even start up a game with a cartridge in the slot. Once again to no avail, it refused to boot. I even left it on overnight to see what would happen to the thing. So as I woke up in the morning, the green light was still mocking me as the screen did not turn on. I am sure it may have been my fault for leaving the SP on my bed where it collected heat, but it should be advised while charging it to keep it on a flat surface.


I give the software a 0/10. I give it such a low score because I did not expect it at all to brick itself. I leave my DS charging on my bed, even wrapped in the covers and it always has turned on and played games properly. I was very disappointed when it broke, I really enjoyed the system and all its games. I would even give it 1/10, but the system software did have some perks like the battery meter and the fact it had so many languages, a system clock, and adjustable brightness, too.


Games: 10/10
Software: 0/10


Total: 6/10




Hardware:


The hardware was pretty much the same on a Game Boy Advance SP, almost like and exact clone, which is very nice because it reminded me of my old SP and would be a nice collection to add to my Nintendo systems. There was one problem that I didn't really like was the buttons. They were really loud to press and the power slider would kind of refuse to turn on and stay halfway between on and off, making me press a bit harder to turn the SP on. The rest of the buttons which included the L and R, A and B, Start and Select, and even the directional pad was very loud to press making an awfully loud clicking noise, which my previous SP has never done. I did not like this very much, but aside from that the hardware was pretty durable.


The SP was an almost exact clone of the original Game Boy Advance SP





When I was holding the SP it felt very normal for an SP, and nice and sturdy. Whenever I pressed the A or B button, the back was nice and sturdy and didn't buckle inwards or anything, which was very nice,I never liked systems where you would press a button and you could feel the back of it kind of collapsing into the system itself. I even dropped it a few times off my desk and the thing didn't even get a scratch. Even when I took the system apart, the face of the SP only collected some minor scratches when I slid it along my desk, but it also could have been the colour, making it hard to see the scratches.


I give the hardware a good 9/10. The system itself was nice and durable, even after the travel and possible baseball game played by the mail sorters and people who shipped it. Still a good system, even though the software killed it.


Conclusion:


Well, having the SP for such a short time, and by short I mean around a day or so, it was very fun to play around with it, even though the software was able to kill the whole thing. All the games where fun to play and I may even buy another one in the near future!


Packaging: 7/10
Software: 5/10
Hardware: 9/10

Total: 7/10
Once again I would like to thank for this amazing review sample!! And thank you for taking your time to read this!




P.S. Sorry for the limited photos, I took pictures at the start and was planning to take more the next day, but since the SP killed itself I couldn't that many pictures...

R4DS Review

Introduction


First off, before I start this review, I would like to thank NDSCard sale for the R4!


(Click image for link to site)

Hey everyone, today I am going to be reviewing the R4DS or Revolution 4 DS. When I first received the package, I was intrigued by how small the packaging was. It was small, just had a bit of space to put the logo R4 on it and fit the card. This suited me just perfectly because I do not like big extravagant packages all that much, anyways this is a 1:1 clone of the R4 and is able to run WoodR4 on it, and that is what I am going to use throughout this review, now let's get started!




Packaging


As I said in the introduction, the packaging was very small, a good size but does not show off too much, which is rather nice to see that some packages are less show and get you to concentrate on the main part of it, the flashcart itself. The package is plastic and has little clips at the top that holds the plastic together, it just takes a bit of a tug and then you can get to your R4, nice and easy.


Packaging is pretty small




The back of the package has a micro SD/Trans Flash for the PC, and behind that is the little piece of paper that shows the features of the R4. I don't really like this set up because it interrupts the view of the features, I had open the package and remove the paper just to read the features, but it still is good packaging, nothing could possibly be harmed inside it while it was being shipped, everything was nice and sturdy.


The back of the package



I give the packaging 9/10, it is good, but it is a bit small for my liking, I could just make out what the features were because the text was so small, and the T-flash reader was in the way, but overall it was good packaging, didn't have any troubles removing anything from it.




Build Quality


The build quality of the R4 is adequate, there are some flaws in the cartridge itself, mainly the bottom of the cart, a little piece is easy to move around and feels as if it could be easily broken off. The R4 is held together by adhesive and a screw at the back, so if you ever want to get to see the PCB of the R4, you would have to find a really small screwdriver and pry it apart, not the kind of thing I would want to do.


The screw at the back, and some plastic teeth on the sides



The Micro SD slot is not spring loaded and on the top. I like the design because it is easy to remove and I don't have to worry about the Micro SD launching across the room, which is good, but bad at the same time. The con to having a spring-less Micro SD slot means that I need a fingernail in order to grab the Micro SD. Along with the Micro SD slot being spring-less, it is not very flush with the card itself, the Micro SD sticks out the top a bit, but doesn't really interfere with anything, just a little speculation.


The Micro SD pops up just a little bit



The durablility of the card is great. The flashcart doesn't seem to have a flaw in it, except for the bottom piece which is easy to pull at, but aside from that it is wonderful. If I were to drop it from the height of my head to a concrete floor, I think it would not break, it would most likely scratch, but definitely not break.


When you insert the R4 into the ds, it is really easy to insert, like any other flashcart, but taking it out is a bit more difficult. The cart seems to catch on the two indents it has where you put your fingers to pull out of the DS, which is troublesome. In fact, the R4 has collected a few scratches on the sticker because it was stuck in the DS slot.


I give the build quality 8/10. Although the durability was excellent, the quality was kind of iffy. If it did not get stuck in the slot in my DS, it would be much better, but that is the only complaint for the build quality of the R4.




Software:


The software, WoodR4, is amazing! It is like the AKAIO menu, but for R4, it is really nice, and even has a file manager, unlike the SuperCard DS ONE and M3 DS Real. With WoodR4, you are able to delete, cut., paste, copy, show file info, change the User Inteface(UI), change the language, and even change the file types you see when you browse through the Micro SD.


Graphical User Interface:


The graphical user interface(GUI) is amazing. When you first boot up the R4, you are met with a menu with three options: SD, Slot2 Card, and Favorites. Micro SD goes to the SD card and you can browse through everything in it, Slot2 Card allows you to boot to whatever is in the GBA Slot, and Favorites shows what you have marked as a favorite, which is easier to browse games if you have a lot on your Micro SD card.


A little look at the main menu




When you go to wherever your games are in the R4, you have a choice of three different ways of showing the titles, you can switch these by pressing the Select button. The first way shows the image of the game, the name of it, and the company. The second way shows the title of the game that you named it when you placed it onto the Micro SD card, and the third way gives a list view with no images, but the names that you put it as, plus the file extension.


I give the GUI a solid 10/10 because it was nice to have a file browser that can cut, copy, paste, delete, and move. There really isn't anything wrong with it, to me, it's the perfect GUI, it would be hard to top this GUI.


Compatibility:


The compatibility of the R4 using WoodR4 is exactly the same of every modern cart today; basically everything works on it, but just for information purposes, here is a list of compatible games:


Super Mario 64 DS: works
Mario Kart DS: works
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time: works
Tetris DS: works
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies: works
Tetris Party Deluxe: works


And now for a homebrew list of compatibility:


CLIRC: works
Lameboy: works
nesDS: works


I give the compatibility 10/10. Everything works fine, like every other flashcart, can't really complain.


I give the software a total of 8.5/10. All in all, the software is perfect, except it doesn't have a Real Time Menu or Real Time Save, which is kind of bad considering most flashcarts do, but other than that, the soft reset and cheats and everything is perfect!


Pros and Cons


Pros:
Compatibility
Multiple save slot support
Built-in file browser
Skinnable GUI


Cons:
No SDHC support
No DSi/XL support
No Real Time Menu or Real Time Save


Conclusion:


Packaging: 9/10
Build Quality: 8/10
Software: 8.5/10


Total: 8.5/10


In conclusion, the R4DS(using WoodR4) is a cost efficient flashcart. If you want to pay cheap, like around three to five dollars, it is definitely worth the few bucks. Even though it doesn't come with all the features more recent flashcarts do, like Real Time Save and a Real Time Menu, it is a perfect basic flashcart, for anyone who is purchasing their first flashcart.


Lastly, I would like to thank, once again NDSCardSale for giving me the opportunity to review this flashcart!


Demonstration video:


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iywbyyq3Bg[/youtube]
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iywbyyq3Bg

EZ Flash Vi Review

Hey everyone, before I start this review I would like to thank for suppling me with this EZ Flash Vi sample!

Introduction:

When I first received the EZ Flash Vi, my expectations were at a normal level, which was “Just another flashcart”. The EZ Flash Vi is the successor of the EZ Flash V Plus, which only worked on the DS and DS Lite. The Vi was released and was compatible with the DSi. This review will cover most of the features that are featured with the EZ Flash Vi.

Packaging:

The packaging on the EZ Flash Vi is standard among flashcarts. A compact size, and a plastic inside that holds everything inside it together. Although, the package had trouble fitting the contents, when I tried to put the plastic tray back into it, it took a bit of effort and a bit of a rip in the box, but it's nothing too concerning, unless you collect the boxes of the flashcarts you own.





The deluxe version comes in a box that contains a stylus(Varies on sizes), a thumb slider, a micro SD USB reader, and of course, the EZ Flash Vi.




On the front of the package, there is a little bit of a darker, glossy shade, and a little red light, representing a DSi. On the front of the box, is a URL to the website where you download the firmware for the EZ Flash Vi.

The packaging is very standard and common for flashcarts, it also has a bit of pizazz to it. I give the packaging 9.5/10.


Build Quality:

The build quality of the EZ Flash Vi is pretty amazing. It gives the standard DS cartridge look to it, except for the plastic teeth.





The EZ Flash Vi is held all together with adhesive glue, like a normal DS cartridge. There is no screw or anything on the back. Also, as you can see, the SD slot is on the side of the cartridge, instead of on the top.

Behind the EZ Flash Vi's sticker are two windows, both components of the inside of it, the ASIC component is a Xilinx Spartan XC3S50a being on the left, and the one on the right is is a stacked memory (CMOS FLASH MEMORY & CMOS SRAM) RENESAS TECHNOLOGY M6MGB641 S8TP.(Thank you so much Mbmax!)



The two little windows kind of interfere with the way the cart slides out of the ds, it kind of gets stuck when you push down to eject. You have to pull it in order to get it out. It's not like a normal DS cartridge where you can push down to eject and make it go flying. I kind of like how it sticks, rather than flying out, so I won't lose it if that ever happens.

I give the build quality a 9/10 because it reminds me of a classic NDS cartridge, but the two windows behind the sticker interfere with injecting and ejecting the cartridge into my DS, causing some of the EZ Flash's sticker to wear down a bit around the edges, taking off the shiny finish the sticker has.

Software:

Ah, the EZ Flash Vi Kernel. A real great piece of work and effort the EZ Flash team has made. Although, rather confusing to set up if you are a first time user. When I visited the EZ Flash website, I clicked on the download link and it brought me to the English forum of the EZ Flash site, then to FileTrip to download the kernel. I couldn't really just go to their site and find a direct download. I was actually kind of confused when I was trying to find out where to download it, but I finally got it and got it all set up.
In order to set it up, you have to download the file fromHere and extract all the files. Once that is done, put all the files onto your Micro SD card and boot up the EZ Flash Vi. The .nds file that comes with it is the updater, if you hit the settings button, and if it is different then “VER: H[805] F[101] K.30 OB1” then you need to run the .nds file and make sure you follow the on-screen instructions, and update it, the new update has a bunch of new features, including better compatibility.
When you first boot up your DS, you are introduced with a game title. The EZ Team's choice was the game title “Tak, The Great Juju Challenge”. I can see why that they didn't do a popular title from Nintendo, like New Super Mario Brothers, because they could get into a lot of legal trouble from Nintendo. Aside from the choice in game title that you have to look at for all of two seconds when you start up the actual flashcart.



The main menu:

When you boot up the flashcart, you are met with the main menu of the EZ Flash Vi, which is usually at the root of your Micro SD card.




The top screen of the DS is the file browser, the bottom is a little menu. The “V” symbol is the power, you can turn your DS off using that switch. The night sky switch is used for loading Moonshell, if it is present on your Micro SD card. The light bulb is to adjust the brightness of the DS, and the screwdriver and wrench is the settings. All of these switches are pretty self-explanatory.

File Browser:

The file browser that is on the EZ Flash Vi is very neat, it doesn't show every type of file, but it shows more or less the necessary files that you need to see, like save files. Moonshell is meant for most of the file viewing, like JPG, MP3, TXT formats, but the main file browser of the EZ Flash is a very good browser, much better than the SuperCard DS One file browser, in my opinion.

Settings:

The game settings are based on a game by game preference. As in, each game has its own set of preferences, whether the soft reset is turned on, whether the in-game menu is turned on, if you have a game guide, turn on cheats, use special mode, or even turn on the real time save. These settings can be very frustrating if you play several games, because then you would have to change the settings for every single game. There is not even a way to change all the settings at once, it takes time and patience if you play every game on your flashcart and need to put all the same settings for each game.



Compatibility:

The EZ Flash Vi has amazing compatibility! I tested quite a few games on them for at least a few minutes, or where the anti-piracy measure was supposed to kick in, and it still seemed to work! Here is a compatibility list for NDS games:

Maple Story DS English Patch: Yes
Tetris Party Deluxe: Yes
DQ IX: Works
Super Mario 64: Works
Mario Kart DS: Works
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time: Works
Super Princess Peach: Works
Tetris DS: Works
Metroid Prime Hunters: Works
Pokemon Heart Gold: Works

All the games I tested worked one hundred percent that I threw at it, a very good flashcart for compatibility

There were also some homebrew games I tested with the EZ Flash Vi, and most of them seemed to work, here is another list for compatibility:

CLIRC: Works
Lameboy: Works
NesDS: Works
SnemulDS: Works
SSBDS Crash: Works
ZeldaDS: Gives black screens

For some reason, ZeldaDS would just freeze, but other than that, everything worked one hundred percent.

GBA Mode:

The GBA mode on the EZ Flash Vi requires that you have an EZ Flash 3in1 cartridge. I did not get to test out the NOR mode much because the battery in my 3in1 is dead and I need to replace it, but I still tested some games to see how well they loaded and how quickly they loaded. The PSRAM write does not take long at all, but the NOR writing takes quite awhile to erase it and write the GBA rom onto it. One thing that has me complaining is the save patch. You have to wait for the save patch to finish in order to start playing the GBA rom. In my case, when I try to load Super Mario Advance 2 – Super Mario World, the save patch freezes halfway through, making me turn off my ds and turn it back on.

All in all, the kernel for the EZ Flash Vi is quite amazing. You can even make your own skin using the EZ Skin Forger. It is a computer program for windows that let's you design your own skin, including the start-up animation.

I give the software a 8.7/10 because overall it is good, but the GBA usage isn't up to par. Some games won't get passed the Save Patch, like Super Mario Advanced 2. In my opinion, the M3 GBA Launcher is better because all the games I tried worked successfully. I also didn't really like the fact that the game settings were on a per-game basis. I can see that some people may like it, but I find it frustrating that I cannot use a global setting to turn the in-game menu or soft-reset on and off.

Conclusion:

The EZ Flash Vi is an excellent cartridge! It has a wonderful, designable, ease of use software it has makes it the perfect cartridge to purchase as your first flashcart. It is really simple to use, and has a basic GUI, just amazing if you are a first flashcart owner.

Packaging: 9.5/10
Build Quality: 9/10
Software: 8.7/10

Overall: 9.1/10

**One last thanks to for the review sample and Mbmax for clarifying some hardware!