I received the following email from xendula:
While looking for a b-day present for my nephew, I stumbled over the new Nintendo DSi XL on amazon.de. If you have a look at the video at the attached link*, you can tell that it is geared toward “Touch! Generations” folks: The colors are subtle, the stylus -emm – stylish, and Nintendo is advertising it heavily as an e-book reader, with its larger screen (93% larger than the DSi). It is launching in Europe on March 5, this time BEFORE the Americas, which is very untypical.
While (non English speaking) Europeans are still waiting for their type of Kindle, and already know that they will be left out of the ebook equation by Apple, Nintendo is offering an alternative, however limited. I noticed that in Germany, there are many more educational and adult non-gaming titles for the DS than in the US. There are English learning “games” for any age group, including some that adhere to school curricula, math games, elementary school games, career coaching, life coaching, travel books, etc.
There will also be a new classical book collection on launch date, and the option to download a handful more ebooks post-launch for free. It seems to me that Nintendo is trying to figure out the ebook market over there.
Here is the Amazon Germany listing (picture above) for the Nintendo and here is an Engadget report on it. The Amazon site is selling it for €179.99.
I hate to burst anybody’s bubble but this device will be the absolute pits for ebook reading.
The screen is larger physically but has the exact same pixel resolution as the smaller DS. This is necessary so that existing games will work correctly.
The resolution is a horrid 256 x 192 which will give you very blocky text indeed on a 4.2″ screen.
In contrast the iPhone, with it’s 3.5″ screen has a crisp 480 x 320 resolution.
True, it won’t have a larger screen resolution, but should make viewing easier on the eyes nevertheless. My HTC HD has a 480×800 screen resolution. The same resolution on a larger screen would make reading easier. Anyway, at the moment, it is simply a portable gaming device with what they are trying to make appear as real ebook potential. I found the same video in a higher resolution here:
http://www.nintendo.de/NOE/de_DE/systems/nintendo-dsi-xl-15527.html
I think the fact that Nintendo is looking into it and at least considering ebooks is pretty huge. I doubt this will happen, but if they can figure out a way to sell ebooks through their online channel, they could entice people who play games like Brain Age to spend more money on content. Right now, it appears that they are just testing the waters.
Another interesting bit is that they mention it coming with games and “apps” preinstalled.
Wow! Nintendo eBooks? I’ve done a research project on eBooks, and I knew about eBooks on iPhones and Japanese cell phones, but I wasn’t expecting Nintendo eBooks. I shouldn’t be surprised, though, because eBooks are becoming more and more popular. Being a lover of books, I think it would be very convenient to be able to have a book handy on such a small device—for example, just pull out your iPhone and read something while waiting at an airport—but I’m more sentimental about printed books. When I read To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, or the Bible, I would rather feel the paper brush against my fingers as I turn the page. As for the DS eBook—I think it would be more worth it if I actually played with a DS on a regular basis. Sounds pretty cool, though!