MobileViews Blog

Category: Portable Gaming

Portable gaming devices, accessories, games, and related software

  • Nintendo DS Lite Discontinued. End of GBA Support

    Read this item in GamePro.

    Nintendo Axes Game Boy Advance Support

    What surprised me is that the DS Lite was a supported product up until now. It released in the U.S. in June 11, 2006.

  • Tower Madness HD: Interesting But Not my Cup of Tea

    Tower Madness HD for the iPad is a free tower defense type game. The object is to place weapons in the path of the invading aliens to protect the sheep (sheep?). My problem with it is too difficult at the very first level. It seems to want to force you to make an in-app purchase (using real money) to buy better weapons.

    Addictive games tend to be easy in the beginning to let your learn the rules and draw you in. Addictive games also provide enough interactivity to keep you interested and engaged. Tower Madness HD simply runs on automatic pilot for wave after wave after wave of invading aliens after you place the weapons on the playing field. I’m surprised it made it so high up the iTunes iPad free apps list (it is currently #4). I’m uninstalling it from my iPad. Next!

  • Video Farewell to the Sony PSP Universal Media Disk (UMD)

    The Sony PSP UMD is apparently being abandoned with the release of the next generation PSP expected in June. Here’s my not-very-fond video farewell to an oddball storage format. Sony seems to specialize in odd storage formats, btw. Remember:

    – Beta tape (actually excellent quality but overtaken by VHS)
    – Mini-disc
    – Memory Stick

    And, perhaps Blu-Ray discs may join this group soon.

  • Sony PlayStation Portable 4.01 Firmware Update

    I noticed Sony released the 4.01 firmware upgrade for the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). Since I rarely use the PSP, the batteries were completely drained and I had to let it charge up before starting the upgrade process. Sony doesn’t let you flash the system unless the battery is over 50% charged (wise decision). It took a bunch of tries to connect to the upgrade server using the PSP’s WiFi net connection. I first thought it might be a problem with WPA2. But, browsing worked reliably. So, it must be some other issue. The main purpose of this minor point release upgrade seems to be video playback issues. You can find more information about the update at…

    Sony PSP 4.01 Update

    When I bought the PSP I thought it would be a mobile web browser tool. But, web browsing on it is a bit clunky and typing is an exercise in frustration. So, that idea didn’t work out. My iPod touch has become my “wander around the home web browser”.

  • Disney Testing Nindendo DS as Park Tour Guides

    ds fanboy and other Nintendo DS and Disney focused blogs are reporting about Disney testing the idea of providing guides to their theme parks on the Nintendo DS.

    Taking a Closer Look at the Disney DS Guide

    Before you pooh-pooh (pun intended) the idea, consider this. I recall hearing or reading somewhere that the Nintendo DS Lite sold something like 4 million units this past December alone. It is probably safe to say that the DS was the largest selling handheld WiFi-enabled device in 2007 far surpassing the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices (probably combined). Having spent several weeks inside of several Disney theme parks with my child at various stages life, I would welcome an electronic guide if it provided more information than the crumpled maps I pulled out of my pocket and if it were faster than running through the fine print on those paper guides.

    What I would really prefer, though, is a downloadable electronic guide for a smartphone with a GPS if the guide took advantage of the GPS’ capabilities. This would be especially helpful for first time visitors to a theme park.

  • Sony Playstation Portable 3.80 Firmware Upgrade

    The Sony PSP 3.80 firmware upgrade is available. The update includes the option to listen to Internet Radio. Sony provides what looks like two 3rd party options for this. RSS feeds can be imported using OPML now (good to finally see this given how difficult it is to “type” on the PSP). They also added the ability to see photos in RSS feeds. My WiFi settings remained as-is (unbroken) after this update (unlike after the 3.73 update).