DS Card World Blog » EZFlash Vi

Featured Card: The EZFlash Vi Card for the Nintendo DSi

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:47:28 +0000

Nintendo DS cards, and newer Nintendo DSi cards, were designed and created to let end users of Nintendo handheld consoles not only play games, but convert their DS / DSi into MP3 players and movie players. Newer cartridges like the EZFlash Vi also allow for other productive activities such as reading office documents, PDFs, and even allowing a DS to function as an eBook reader.

Should I buy the EZFlash Vi? ask some consumers. The EZFlash Vi card is one that has learnt from the past mistakes of regular Nintendo DS cartridges. The design and most of the architecture on the card is not only well thought out, but incorporates improvements from cards that have fallen short of its high standards in the past. For example, the original R4v2 card employed a spring mechanism which would cause mechanical problems for 2-3% of the cards owing to the spring being overused and ceasing to function. The EZFlash Vi incorporates a push-slot mechanism for this reason, and eliminates the potential problem.

The Micro-SD card slot on the EZFlash Vi is also ingeniously placed on the side of the card rather than the top of the card, which is traditional among other DS and DSi cards (except the M3i Zero, which was released after the EZFlash Vi and also used this design). This guarantees that a Micro-SD card cannot be dislodged during gameplay, as the top of the Micro-SD card would actually be inside the DS slot itself rather than resting on top. This also minimises the chances of someone accidentally losing the Micro-SD card.

The EZFlash Vi team has also ensured excellent dimensional control, where variation in size is nearly non-existant and is less than a tenth of a millimetre. This is of great important since variation in size can result in the Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSi console rejecting the card as it is difficult to slot in. This was a problem exhibited by earlier generation DSTT and N5 cards. It can also cause the connecting pins in the back of a Nintendo DS to fail to recognise the card. Thankfully, no such problem exists with the EZFlash Vi.

Firmware updates should not be a problem if bought from a reputable store, as good stores will pre-update the EZFlash Vi to the latest firmware version. If bought from a ‘lazy’ store and firmware is not upgraded, the user can do it themselves following instructions for updating the firmware to v1.4 on the official EZFlash Vi website. Great care is advised, however, as applying the firmware incorrectly can corrupt the DSi card.

The EZFlash Vi has a very old team working on software updates and compatibility issues with the card daily. Updates are released regularly (correct at the time of writing, July 2010) and the development team have been in existence since 200 and have been very responsive. The EZFlash team were also the first to have a workaround for the Nintendo DSi v1.4 update, a testament to their dedication and speed.

To summarise, the EZFlash Vi’s exceptional build quality and software make it an excellent choice for any DS or DSi user, and is also compatible with the newer DSi XL consoles as well. It would be a highly recommended card for any Nintendo enthusiast.

DS / DSi gamers can buy EZFlash Vi cards from DSCardWorld. Every card is tested prior to dispatch and customer service is on a 24 hour basis, which means that it’s impossible to receive a card that doesn’t work. With US based sales and support, this means a decision to buy EZFlash Vi cards from DSCardWorld is a pretty good one, dare we say so ourselves!

What you need to know about EZFlash Vi and DSi XL

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:54:59 +0000

There’s been some worry over the internet about flash card compatibility and the new DSi XL. I’ll set the record straight by saying the DSi XL is identical to the DSi eletcronically and by firmware. Every DSi flash card we carry will function on the DSi XL.

R4i SDHC- WORKS!
Acekard 2i- WORKS!
M3i Zero- WORKS!
iEdge- WORKS!
EzFlash Vi- WORKS! But….

Yes the EZFlash we carry will work, however there’s a potential complication for owners of older EZFlash Vi models. The EZFlash came in two versions, the older 705 and the newer 805 from January of 2010 that we carry. If you have an EZFlash Vi currently and you’re of the mind that bigger is better via the DSi XL, then you’ll want to make sure you own the 805 model.

How can you verify this? The EZFlash Vi itself will tell you. Load up the latest menu software RC 13, but as low as RC 10 will work. You can find it here: EZFlash Vi Website. Once you have it loaded on your micro sd card boot into the EZFlash card on your DS and click the system settings icon in the home menu. It will bring up a settings window that tells you the Model version shown below.

How to check EZFlash version

If you want an EZFlash Vi that’s guaranteed to work with the new DSi XL then you can pick one up at our shop here: EZ Flash Vi for DSi XL

DS Flash Card Family Tree

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:58:49 +0000

Please click the image for a larger version.

It shouldn’t be news to anybody that there are loads of flash cards on the market of varying degrees of quality and “originality”, some with very complex relationships. There are clones of clones of copies and keeping track of their history is important to some. For usability the main thing you should be concerned with is proven history of developer reliability. Please note that while some of the cards we carry at our shop are known clones, they are well supported by professional teams of developers that are dedicated to updating their cards.

As a disclaimer, my research is based on rumor and hearsay. If you can prove that any part of the chart is incorrect, comment with a link to the relevant information and I will update accordingly. This article is not a full review of each card, but an explanation of their connections. The list is not exhaustive, and unpopular and discontinued cards were not included to save space. To get an idea of the breadth of clones produced, check out this link with a list of all the firmware available: http://www.linfoxdomain.com/nintendo/ds/

While most of the chart is comprised of clones a clone doesn’t necessarily mean a bad and unreliable card, but there are many deliberately confusing labels. A bad fake can mean instability or infrequent updates, but to date there has only been one card that’s been known to cause harm to your DS console. The N5 card had a flaw in the design that caused a short and a blown fuse after so many insertions of the Micro SD card.

Initial teams got started as early as the Gameboy Advanced and kept it up with crude slot 2 flash cards for the original DS console. I’ll give a nod to those teams and discontinued slot 2 cards, some of whom are still at work including the Supercard team. Since then there have been a lot of migration of developers adding to the confusion of whom was making which card.

More advanced slot-1 cards came into development soon after and the R4DS quickly rose to the top in popularity. The R4DSv2 is an upgrade mainly in the removal of the spring-clip sdhc slot. The R4 team and the M3 team are closely related, if not the same team, and the M3DS Simply was a rebranded R4v2 with new firmware, as opposed to an unlicensed clone card. The M3DS Real is a legitimate upgrade and not a clone of the M3DS Simply. The iTouch series comes from the M3 Team, designed as an entry level to their family of cards. The M3i SDHC (clone source unconfirmed as DSTTi or EZ Flash Vi) and the M3i Upgrade are fakes that are NOT from the M3 Team.

Cards from other teams were in development at the time or soon after the R4DS and they lie along the same line on the chart; the DSTT, the EZFlash V, the Acekard, the Supercard DSONE, and the CycloDS Evolution. The Supercard team claims that the CycloDS card is a clone of theirs but this claim has not been substantiated. It is generally considered that the CycloDS is superior to the Supercard DSONE, and proved so valued (if expensive) that it spawned the immensely popular Edge card as a clone.

I know this looks like a family tree for the world’s worst soap opera, but hopefully this answers a few questions you may have. Just remember, especially in the case of the R4 cards, you may need the exact firmware intended to run on your card or clone.

Don’t forget to pick up your ds flash cards from our shop at the link below!

DS Flash Cards

Notice: EzFlash might not work with your 8GB Micro SD

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:41:59 +0000

There is a known compatibility issue with the EZFlash Vi and specific 8GB micro sd cards. If the card is made by Kingston and manufactured in Taiwan, then your EZFlash Vi will get stuck on the booting screen. Any other size card, brand, or manufacturing origin will work just fine, including 2GB and 4GB sizes available on our site. As far as we know, it is an issue with the EZFlash card firmware, not the Micro SD Card. The EZFlash Team is currently working on a fix and should have it ready for the next update to their card. As always, we will keep you updated on important updates and will have the latest software available on our website DSCardWorld.

Thank you and hold on to your cards, a fix is coming.