Birthday Gift - Small Electronic Device

Mai-Kero

I need to decide between a DS, a DSi, a PSP, an iTouch, or an iPod classic for my birthday present this year.

I realize these are completely different items made for different purposes, but I'd like some general opinions on them.

I've had a DS before, but it was either lost or someone stole it. I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially for how open it was to homebrew. I had an adaptor that let me use it as an ebook, which was awesome, even if the screens were tiny. Lots of great RPG game choices as well. And I wanted to play scribblenauts.

I've never tried using a DSi, so imagine it would be like a DS, but better in every way. My only concern is that my previous addon that let me use the DS for applications like the aforementioned eBook reader relied on the GBA slot, which this obviously doesn't have.

I've played around with a PSP a bit, and I've heard it has even better homebrew options than the DS. the Screen is higher resolution than the DS I believe, which leads me to think it'd be better served as an eBook reader. I didn't like how shooters played on it, but Patapon was a lot of fun and I think I'd go pretty much exclusively for strategy/puzzle/RPGs on it.

I've never owned an iPod, or any kind of smartphone or even MP3 player. I have an LG Dare right now, which functions adequately as an Mp3 player in my car or on my person with a large micro-SD in it. My concern with an iTouch is that it would be absurdly expensive for my tiny college student budget even though it'd be a gift, simply because paying for apps would bankrupt me.

I'm also considering an eBook reader, but none of the ones out right now have the option to transfer things in PDF or other formats. That seems to run into the same problem as the iTouch for me, as each reader probably has its own market for books, and therefor can set prices to 599 us dollars.

Any opinions on the above listed products? Or on something else I should look into?

lowlylowlycook

Well the DS is really hitting its stride as far as RPGs that aren't ports/remakes go.

If you are into that and don't care a whole lot about watching movies on the go, I think it's the natural choice.

Lord Yod

Mai-Kero wrote: »

I've played around with a PSP a bit, and I've heard it has even better homebrew options than the DS. the Screen is higher resolution than the DS I believe, which leads me to think it'd be better served as an eBook reader. I didn't like how shooters played on it, but Patapon was a lot of fun and I think I'd go pretty much exclusively for strategy/puzzle/RPGs on it.

I'm not very fond of reading ebooks on my PSP.

Since you don't like shooters there aren't going to be very many games on it that you will like. You can look at Slash's list but it's basically limited to SRPG's like Disgaea, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Jeanne d'Arc. Now, these are utterly fantastic games, and if you are a fan of the genre you will sink years into this little machine doing nothing else. But in my experience there aren't too many other games that really make it more worthwhile than either a DS or an iTouch.

Hahnsoo1

In my experience, my DS sits on the shelf unused while my PSP gets most of my playtime. But I play Monster Hunter, so my experience may be biased (why is it that the only Action RPG for the DS that's worth playing is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles??). :-P In all seriousness, I played my DS for The World Ends With You and Scribblenauts, and my PSP for Dissidia, Monster Hunter, Disgaea 1 and 2, Soul Calibur, and a host of other games. There are plenty of great games for both portable systems, though. The PSP is probably going to be better for downloadable games in the short term (what, with PS1 games being ported over at a steady clip and the PSN knocking off the PSP library and the minis for the PSP Go).

In the end, you really should make a list of the games or the kind of games that you want to play, and do some research on which system has those games. Or you can get both a PSP and DS cheap if you get the used older models, for the same price that you can get something brand new.

Fort1tude

Get a netbook and emulate all of the above!

piracy is bad mmm'kay

tardcore

As someone who owns a PSP, DS, and an iPod classic, it's hard to say... I mainly use my PSP for the occasional game and homebrew stuff. I use my iPod when I'm laying in bed or on car trips. The DS I use, but only in short bursts, like in between classes, when I'm using the crapper, or if I'm waiting for my GF to get out of the bathroom.

My vote goes to the PSP, as it can play music, movies, eBooks, display pictures, play games, and run homebrew if set up correctly. You can also rip your legally owned PSone games and convert them for play on your PSP.

Sterica

A DSi would be a pretty bad choice if the budget is low. You'll go poor real fast buying the sexy games.

A Touch, however, can sustain you with plenty of free games and lite versions.

JohnDoe

Get a netbook and emulate all of the above!

I know this was a joke, but emulating the DS and PSP take a lot of grunt - Netbooks don't cut it.

shorttimin

Mai-Kero wrote: »

I'm also considering an eBook reader, but none of the ones out right now have the option to transfer things in PDF or other formats. That seems to run into the same problem as the iTouch for me, as each reader probably has its own market for books, and therefor can set prices to 599 us dollars.
QUOTE]

I recommend checking out the Nook from Barnes & Noble. It's coming out 11/30, set @ $260, and has PDF support right out the box.

It's also got a ton of other neat features that have got me dead set on getting one, despite my utter lack of interest in any kind of eReader before this.

DeathPrawn

If you're only getting one of those devices, I'd personally shy away from the PSP. I love mine, but the library of good games for it is much smaller than the DS or the iTouch.

I'd say the situation with the DS and the iTouch is almost the opposite of what you described. The iPod Touch is full of tons of games for free or $0.99, whereas with the DS you'll find yourself quickly shelling out serious bank to get all the games you want (especially since all Square-Enix RPGs debut for $5 more than other DS games). The counterpoint to this is that the iTouch's library trends more towards puzzle games and action games than RPGs - you might find yourself wanting more out of it if you're looking for something more than pick-up-and-play games.

Out of the three, the iPod Touch is really the only one I personally would even consider reading eBooks on. If you have no issue using it with a DS, though, you'll have no trouble getting a homebrew device for cheap that works with the DSi. Also worth mentioning: if all you've used before is a regular DS (not a DS Lite), you're going to be shocked how sexy the DSi is. It's so much smaller, and the screen so much brighter.

Xaviar

I just recently got an iPhone, and if reading ebooks is your thing, after doing it all with mobipocket on my blackberry, I was absolutely blown away by stanza for the iPhone/iTouch. Plus it's free. Plus I can take any of my rather extensive ebook catalog on my computer and convert/send it right over. And it looks good and the interface is smooooooth.

Plus there are some amusing games for it as well.

Oh. And it plays music.

ZeroNow

to be honest, I think you should eliminate the ipod classic from the list, sure your sacrificing HDD space. but 16gb is more than enough for music + movies etc.

Then you need to decide if gaming is a priority. That would eliminate Ds/PSP or iTouch. If music and gaming is the choice - iTouch all the way.

I would personally recommend iTouch, it keeps getting better in terms of new things coming for it, and the firmware upgrades add new and better things. You can get games, music and movies on it very reasonably, and the games are as little as £0.59/$0.99 = bargain.