Turn Your Nintendo DS Into A VoIP Phone
For those of you who have played Metroid Prime: Hunters, you know how awesome it was to be able to talk to anyone you were battling against. Well, how about some actual applications that allow you to use your Nintendo DS as a VoIP phone?
Nintendo recently stated that just in America alone, they have sold 10 million units. And that’s just in America. Imagine the possibility of 10 million people having the opportunity to call each other? I did, and I did a little research to see what I could find in ways of programs to be used on the Nintendo DS to transform it from handheld gaming machine to communication tool.
DS Speak: DS Speak was actually developed by Nintendo, but has only been spoken about at E3 2005. According to hands-on impressions, DS Speak allows in-game and out-game chat, and while someone is speaking, an on-screen Mario or Wario will lip-sync any words that are spoken by either party.
VoiceChatClient: VoiceChatClient is a homebrew application that allows you to call anyone else who is running VoiceChatClient on their DS. The program even allows each user to have a whiteboard of sorts so you can write to each other. VoiceChatClient is a tricky to run since it does require a hacked firmware or a passthrough device.
HelloDS: HelloDS is a program that was initially released in early 2006 and it’s website really hasn’t been updated in a while. HelloDS also requires a hacked firmware or passthrough device.
Metroid Prime: Hunters: Since none of these programs look too promising, you and your friend could simply purchase Metroid Prime: Hunters and chat with each other in the pre-game/post-game lobby. Might not be the real reason why you’d want to get this game, but hey, at least it’s a cheap alternative to a cell phone.
Conclusion: Right now, the software isn’t there, but the actual technology is. I just wish Nintendo would have continued their work on DS Speak because not only would it have been trippy to hear your girlfriend’s voice coming out of Wario, but it really would have been a great communications tool and another reason why people should own a Nintendo DS.
[Via VoIP Service Blog]
February 5th, 2007 at 6:11 am
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February 5th, 2007 at 11:47 am
Hmmm, though it is a very innovative and cool concept I do not know if I would actually go out of my way and make this into a voip when I have a cell. Well perhaps just as a conversation piece though people will just point and laugh and call me a nerd!