N64oid emulates Nintendo 64 classics on Android smartphones

@MrAhh

To play Devil's Advocate, I'm pretty sure the openness of the Android platform which allows for stuff like this is the same reason why we don't get stuff like an official Netflix app. So it can kinda go both ways.

@MrAhh Because you get N64 games, Android is better than iOS? Right.

Of any argument you could have picked, this is probably the least solvent.

@jrr
There is a Netflix app for Android... but it's only going to be supported by newer phones that run on a newer Tegra 2 chip. See, previous hardware/software is unable to support the kind of DRM that Netflix needs, so the various TV & film studios were wary of supporting the platform. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like something that can be fixed via software.

@MrAhh Because I'll always make sure to have my Wiimote in my travel bag just in case I get the itch to play some N64 games on the road.

Tech demos are fun but how is this useful to the extend that it should make me want to get rid of my iPhone?

@jrr

You don't get stuff like Netflix because they are lazy. Android has a wonderful SDK which allows for native code apps, ie secure apps. Think about it: It's available in many forms on the PC, and that's about as open as they come

@MrAhh And you will remain at the mercy of Sir Doucheness.

@MrAhh Emu's are on every OS, you can speed the game-up all you want to achieve this. I play on my iPhone just as easily. They all perform "Okay" and you have to lug a remote around. It's nothing stellar or game breaking, really

@jrr

It has nothing to do with the openess of the Android OS. Being that Android phones vary in speed & power, Netflix will not release an app just for people not to be able to use it due to the slowness of their phones. That being said, Netflix will be able to have a Netflix app pre-installed on future phones that will be able to handle streaming properly. So Netflix is on IOS as an app because all iPhones & iPod Touchs can handle it being that they have generally the same specs. So Netflix can stream on Android, it's just not on the App Marketplace

@MrAhh
My iPhone is jailbroken.
I can do whatever I want with it and have tons of extra functionality that vanilla iOS devices don't.

Like an N64 emulator.
The thing your argument is based on.
Failing to see your point here.

I hate Android fanboys, they're so quick to dismiss iOS because they're so insecure it seems.
"Hmm, an article on iOS, I better flame it quick so people understand my love of another competing device! Derp!"

Get over yourself, no one cares what phone you like more.

@jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5

You realize Apple fanboys are the same way, right? An article about Android, and the fanboys flame the hell out of it. Go over to Engadget, hell, even the EDITORS do it. Most of them can't help but be snarky in articles about Android. They have actually banned readers for commenting on that in articles.

@jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5 I choose you because you seem to have a point, you had to jailbreak your iPhone, correct?

I'm done here.

@jrr I believe the lack of netflix is due to the devices varying so much, one thing in Apples favor is the unified only one device to code for approach. To all the others especially the guy that said he doesn't lug around a wiimote I can smell hate on your breath dood.

@sammo21 due to my inability to read your comment I am led to believe it made little sense. I hope this comment also fades away so I can join you in irrelevant comment limbo.

@jtrjuwrue5iiejie5ijeie3i5 This emulator can run on stock Android phones, no jailbreak needed.

@Prboi

But aren't ALL the new iPhones that come out every year better than the last? Yea all those phones released that year will be the same, and any apps released will run the same on all of them. But those same apps will perform much worse (or not even operate) on the older iPhones/touches (which most people seem to forget even exist...).

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam It won't be limited to Tegra 2 chips, it's also coming to both new Qualcomm Snapdragon and TI OMAP 4 chips with the necessary hardware DRM. You can already access Netflix if you use PlayOn. Hulu, too.

@sammo21 - How 'bout Flash 10.1 support?

@Prboi It has nothing to do with "slowness." I can have Netflix on my 1st gen iPod touch but not on my Android device with twice the CPU clock speed and four times the RAM? It's all about the DRM, or so they claim.

@MrAhh its a good thing iOS has had a N64 emulator for a while now...

@MrAhh there is nothing that stinks of angry virgin more than people arguing over droids and iphones.

@EGOvoruhk

Well, as an Android developer, I can tell you that the SDK is far from "wonderful", but it's "great" at the very least. Documentation can be a bit iffy and the push to use Eclipse IDE isn't fantastic by any means. Greatly improved with Developer Tools 10, though. That was much welcomed.

The problem content providers face with Android is because of how Android operates, unlike iOS where everything is locked down in a way to create an isolated, video game console-like environment where obscurity replaces proper security, it's much easier for them to implement DRM which is favourable. Apple also fully supports DRM policies at the OS-level which makes video/audio content expire over time, where as Android does not.

So what we're seeing isn't so much a hardware issue, most Android devices could - at least at a technological, hardware level - run the DRM schema which content providers lust for, but only select devices which have support for their DRM at the OS-level will have access to their applications. Because Android is open source and companies can build their own modified version of Android (which almost every manufacturer does, with very few "vanilla" Android devices out there... I can only really say the G1, Nexus One and Nexus S are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head), they can add-in things like DRM policy compliance or custom user interfaces. So you'll find phones shipped with Netflix embedded, rather than a Market application.

(I provide http://blog.netflix.com/2010/11/netflix-on-android.html as evidence to support my assertion)

@MrAhh
I guess the N900 is hipster standing in the corner going "hmph I could do that a year ago"

@The Wicker Man are you aware you have a ninja turtle avatar? i mean can you see that or is it just me?

@MrAhh. Just you.

@danomak

Task Killer is your friend

@Rawrnosaurous

Saria IS sexy. The hell's wrong with you?!

@ipsum
1. She's like twelve.
2. She stays the same age forever.

@xTetheredWingsX
Um, that could be because the PSP is using a 6 year old hardware and a fancy new Android isn't.

Reminds me when I ran an emulator to play Diablo for the Playstation on my pc.

I was playing a port of a pc game on a pc with an emulator.

I had Diablo for the pc, I was just trying it out.

@Drakkenfyre
You think that's something?
I was running a SegaCD game remade for Sega Saturn ported to Playstation 1 on my PS3 over wireless to my PSP.
(Can you guess what game it was?)

@Peffse was it lunar ?

@Scuffles. It better have been Lunar!

@The Wicker Man
specifically Lunar 2.

@Scuffles
Nintendo has never done a C&D for emulators... and NES, SNES, GB, and GBA emulators have been on Android for much longer than this.

@Scuffles
Emulators are 100% legal so there can be no C&D.

They are very much a gray area though, only Google is willing to let them in their app store.

Gotta love how open they really are.

@BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam

There is no kill switch on computer emulators though.
My bet is Nintendo will step in soon enough.

@Scuffles

Plus you don't even need the app store. Just drop in the APK.