More DS web browser details emerge

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 17th 2006 at 2:15PM }

The Armchair Empire recently interviewed Opera's Executive Vice President of Devices, Scott Hedrick, about his company's upcoming DS web browser. And while Hedrick opted to leave the juiciest details to be revealed by Nintendo at a later date, he was willing to offer up some new tidbits about the browser. Currently, the version of Opera that is functioning on the DS will allow users to surf the entire Internet, but it doesn't support Flash—Nintendo has not announced the availability of upgrades (or parental control).

In addition, the Opera browser will feature two display settings: fit-to-width & DS mode. Fit-to-width utilizes dual-screen scrolling for an expanded view, while DS mode displays an overview of the webpage on the bottom screen with a movable (via stylus) pink box, which is used to highlight the area of the page that appears in the top screen. Unfortunately, Hedrick was unable to comment on the Opera browser's availability outside of Japan.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

perri @ Feb 17th 2006 2:41PM

Hey guys I've been emailing Opera back and forth, I've heard that the browser wouldn't support Java, Flash, or PDF. So I emailed and they said they'd get back to me, but apparently Java is included (which I think is a must) Flash would be nice, but I could probably live without, PDF...meh, who cares. But whats better is that When talking to Opera I asked about a North American Launch and she told me that it all depends on Demand. I told her that forums were already ablaze with wishes of a north american launch and she said that was good news. Its up to us! I think we'll see this in NA in no time.

Spence @ Feb 17th 2006 2:44PM

Javascript support?
RSS Support?
Java?
Will flash ever be supported?
Will there be security upgrades?
What images does it support?
Is there any media player?

Gah. I want more than this.

All I can say is at least they aren't rushing it to make the DS lite launch.

RS @ Feb 17th 2006 2:47PM

I guess its a no brainer to not support flash. Imagine playing mini flash games throught the browser LOL.

I seriously think the DS's screen size is too small for a web page unless it is built FOR the ds, but whatever.. seems like a decent idea to have the fit-to-width & DS modes.

32_Footsteps @ Feb 17th 2006 2:57PM

Having read Opera's forums, I'm really curious to see exactly how many file formats will be supported. Will any sort of streaming audio or video be allowed? Will it be possible to save favorite files and the like? Can you receive downloads via webmail (such as Gmail, Squirrel Mail clients, and the like)?

Though given the lack of country locks on the DS, I foresee the browser reaching across the globe fairly quickly, whether or not it receives an official release outside Japan.

Oro @ Feb 17th 2006 3:14PM

I hope that Java isn't supported, otherwise I'm never going to stop playing the Falling Sand game.

Morder @ Feb 17th 2006 3:16PM

It would be nice to see web designers take advantage of the gaming aspect of the DS and write java games where someone could actually play the game via the DS interface

Pictochat Prowler @ Feb 17th 2006 3:28PM

Orisinal on the DS. A match made in heaven.

GlitchCog @ Feb 17th 2006 3:36PM

On a computer you can do two things with your pointing device... move it around and click it. The DS only allows you to do those things at the same time. If you're in contact with the screen to move the cursor, you're already "clicking," and there's no other way to indicated an action.

Unless they made some work-around involving buttons while using the stylus, it wouldn't work for the majority of Flash games.

Dan @ Feb 17th 2006 3:42PM

FIANLLY a favicon for Joystiq!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fawazr @ Feb 17th 2006 3:46PM

I hope the US release is more polished and becomes a complete internet suite of software (mail, newsfeed, address book, browser, IM, widgets would be nice). A barebones browser just isn't enough to get excited about, especially considering the browser comes with a memory expansion that gives Opera room to make it robust.

Probot @ Feb 17th 2006 3:51PM

A DS web browser is the kind of thing I would buy, but never use. There aren't enough hot spots near me to make it useful. I usually just connect to my home network, so I'm never very far from my computer.

On a related note, Spong is reporting that the DS will get a RAM upgrade via the GBA slot to run Opera smoothly. No details about whether future games will use the extra RAM though.

(Source: http://spong.com/detail/news.asp?prid=9676)

Fenton @ Feb 17th 2006 3:53PM

[quote]On a computer you can do two things with your pointing device... move it around and click it. The DS only allows you to do those things at the same time. If you're in contact with the screen to move the cursor, you're already "clicking," and there's no other way to indicated an action.

Unless they made some work-around involving buttons while using the stylus, it wouldn't work for the majority of Flash games.[/quote]

Ahem... the whole point of a touch screen is so that you dont need to drag a cursor around... you just tap the link..

~NX~ @ Feb 17th 2006 4:05PM

A big usability problem with this browser arises from the low screen resolution of the DS. With each screen's resolution being 256 x 192, it's going to be very difficult to navigate web pages made for 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 resolutions. The extra memory add-on is a good idea, that is, if they include more than the PSP has.

Jesse @ Feb 17th 2006 4:15PM

that owns ;) ill be getting it.. then i can visit joystiq from my bed haha

Sagan @ Feb 17th 2006 4:19PM

Will they Support IRC? Because the Opera browser has an IRC client built in.

Paul P. @ Feb 17th 2006 4:23PM

Actually, ~NX~, from the description it seems resolution will be a non-issue since you just zoom in to the place you want to read, with a zoomed out page on the bottom. Sounds pretty intuitive.

Paul P. @ Feb 17th 2006 4:34PM

Darn, I forgot to add in my comment.

The most important thing for this browser, is will ytmnd work?

Seriously, though, they need to put in basic media function, even if it is just midis or whatnot.

fush @ Feb 17th 2006 4:51PM

Alright, check it:

http://web.utanet.at/nkehrer/ONE_Play.html

An online NES emulator in Java. Enough said.

epobirs @ Feb 17th 2006 5:10PM

One thing I'd like to see is WAP support to take advantage of site already designed for devices with small displays, little RAM, and little or no secondary storage for caching.

Without WAP I cannot imagine bothering with this. The novelty of the PSP browser on a much higher res display wore thin very quickly. The best that can be said about is that it's free with the base hardware.

If this serves as an enabler for a DS equivalent of XBLA it might be of interest but that sort of thing might better done on the Revolution and transferred to DS via flash memory card.

bob @ Feb 17th 2006 5:20PM

They better put some kind of parental controls, or little Timmy's going to be googling some interesting sites in his bedroom.

blankoboy @ Feb 17th 2006 10:28PM

Ok, we're getting OperaDS but where is our SkypeDS? =)
Bring it Skype!! Sweet Wifi Skype from anywhere.

B M @ Feb 21st 2006 7:55PM

Screen size will be a non-issue. Opera is famous for its mobile browsers, which offer incredible functionality such as javascript/etc at resolutions below what the DS has. The touch screen will function much like a touch pad on a laptop. You drag to scroll, and tap to click.

Merlin @ Mar 20th 2006 8:01PM

Its going to increase DS sales and decrease PSP (yay!) sales. I mean, one of the few good things about it is there is an internet connection. Even that is not so good. I mean, how can you surf the web with a joystick? Its almost impossible! The touch screen will be so easy to use. Plus, I don't think the DS gets internet viruses too easily. Get the Web browser over to America as quick as possible!