DS Card World Blog » DSi Cards

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!

Why should you get the Acekard?

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:40:55 +0000

Anybody who has researched ds flash cards has come across numerous references to R4 and some of the more expensive ones like M3i, Supercard, and iEdge. Unfortunately, they might skip over a card that retains many of the features and stability of a top card without the premium, the Acekard 2i. An important thing to note is that the Acekard team was the first team to develop a workaround for Nintendo’s card blocking technology for the DSi v1.4u.

The Acekard 2i is the third card from the venerable Acekard team who have been making cards since 2006 for the Nintendo DS. Their first card the Acekard and Acekard+ made a strong showing and by the time of the release of the Acekard 2.1 had solidly placed themselves at the head of the industry for good products. There was a side project of a highly customizable Acekard R.P.G. which had some mild success, but by the time they hit their flagship product, the Acekard 2i, they had picked up a large following. While the Acekard name has had a few hiccups, they seem to take responsibility for any diificulties.

GBAtemp, one of the largest Nintendo ds card communities, consistently recommends the Acekard 2i. That team has avoided a lot of the drama of other card brands for things like bad clones, stolen firmware workarounds, slow updates, and general manufacturer irresponsibility. This team works fast, and efficiently. Acekard users rarely have to wait long for patches and compatibility updates. There is an alternative loader for the Acekard called the AKAIO software. While it was not created by the Acekard team it has their full endorsement and improves loading speed as well as adds support for the EZFlash 3in1 slot-2 device for loading gameboy advanced game backups.

The Acekard 2i features many useful assets like the ability to flash the firmware (provided that the DSi console hasn’t already been updated), Action Replay cheat codes, saving to the micro sd card, auto-patching for DLDI, multiple languages, four screen brightness settings, and reduced power consumption. For those who enjoy customizing their menus the Acekard 2i is also skinnable. The only major feature it seems to lack is Real Time Save but that typically requires a card with a higher cost.

This midrange card holds its own with the best of them. Pickup the Acekard 2i at our shop here: Acekard 2i

Fake iEdge: Detailed Comparison

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 06:18:34 +0000

As you may have heard, there is a new clone on the market, a fake iEdge card that is NOT affiliated with the famous Edge team. We now have further details available now that we actually have one of these fake devices in our possession.

In our last post we kind of glossed over the packaging except for the text on the back, but upon further inspection, a myriad of differences show up.

First, let’s inspect the front of the package. The pattern is nearly identical, but on the fake iEDGE there’s an extra iEDGE logo at the top near the point.

The elastic band on the fake iEdge also sports an “iEdge” logo whereas the real one only has the general “Edge” brand icon. Detailed below:

The elastic band itself is also different. The colors reverse on the real one as seen in the photo below with the logo showing in reverse as well. However with the fake, it’s the same main turquoise color on both sides, and there is no logo on the back of the band.

If you look closely at the real iEdge packaging, on the right hand corner it has an “i compatible” note that is missing on the fake.

The back of the packaging is the most discussed as it contains the fake iedge web address. Here, you can see side by side the fake and the real. As you can see the real card has two lines of text with the real website http://www.edgd-ds.cn and the fake website http://www.edgei-ds.cn on the other box.

Once the fake iEdge is loaded up it will display different behavior as well. As previously mentioned, the fake iEdge will show up as having Danny Phantom flashed to the firmware much like the M3i Zero and the EZFlash Vi.

Previously it was reported that loading up the wrong software, i.e. software NOT from the fake www.edgei-ds.cn website resulted in a red dstt menu, but this was not our experience. We found a black “System File is Missing” Screen. The REAL iEdge has a white screen that says “Edge.DAT not found!”

Here you can see the GUI menu of the fake iEdge. The REAL iEdge (unskinned) has a multicoloured 3d wallpaper on the top screen unlike a plain metallic logo on the fake menu.

The games selection screen is different too. The REAL iEdge will load the game straight from the window and not show all the info in the bottom screen. Settings like Cheats will be set in the main 3-icon menu under “Settings”

There you have it, a full rundown of the fake iEDGE and comparison shots with the real iEdge packaging and menu software.

Avoid the Fake iEdge!

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 06:21:01 +0000

Beware Fake iEdge Card

Just recently, as early as February 12th, the existence of a fake iEdge card has come to light. We’ll try to report as many details on it as possible and we assure you that we neither stock nor sell fake cards. Many users have come to expect R4 cards to have bad and unreliable clones, but it’s always been assumed that the Edge brand was clone free, as it was for so long. That’s now changed with the introduction of this new clone. So far it has been confirmed that they are being distributed through www.r4i.co.uk but other sources might crop up in the coming weeks.

Looking at the packaging, it’s difficult to tell that it’s fake, but as soon as you open up the card there are a few giveaways just from the physical clues:

A black iEdge card is likely FAKE
A spring clip micro SD slot on the iEdge is FAKE
Packaging that directs you to http://www.edgei-ds.cn instead of http://www.edge-ds.cn is FAKE

While many production shots of the iEdge, even those on the official site show the iEdge in black, the actual card itself comes only in white. A black one may come out in the future, but is not in distribution currently.

If you are still unsure, then the following should also verify that the card is real or not:

Danny Phantom showing up instead of Sudoku (or the iEdge logo if unflashed) is FAKE

A red Menu? Icon showing up with improper software installed is FAKE

A different GUI then the official Edge software is FAKE

As near as we can tell the fake iEdge displays behavior of a DSTT clone, but there is also speculation that it is an Acekard 2i clone. Needless to say, it is far less refined then a real iEdge card and has no guarantee of its stability or continued support. It is definitely recommended to avoid this pathetic fake. The Edge Team has recognized the fake’s existence and released the following statement…

22 / 3 / 2010

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Fake iEDGE products in the market!

It has come to our attention that a site, namely http://www.edgei-ds.cn, is selling fake products using the EDGE brand name. These fakes are not supported by the EDGE firmware and the product is no way associated with the EDGE team. Consumers should avoid purchase of this product, as the support is poor and the compatibility is low. We will shortly post pictures showing you how to identify the fakes.

Below we have pictures of the REAL iEdge card in action. You can find this card on our page here: iEdge

A REAL iEDGE is polar white (for now).

A REAL iEDGE shows up as Sudoku after proper boostrap flashing (we preflash the card for all of our customers).

A REAL iEDGE has a non spring clip slot for the micro SD.
A REAL iEDGE directs you to the proper manufacturer website http://www.edge-ds.cn .

A REAL iEDGE has the official Edge software GUI.

As further developments occur we will report them as we come across them. If you are interested in an iEdge, rest assured, we carry the real deal. The software on our site comes straight from the manufacturer, and we never hide the manufacturer’s website from our customers, because…well…we have nothing to hide .

Once again, you can pick up an iEdge at the following link: iEdge Order Page

All the best,
The DSCardWorld Team

R4i SDHC Card System Date Error

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:15:34 +0000

For anyone who owns an R4i SDHC, there’s a recent bug out that flashes this screen on boot:

System date error! Please check NDS system date.

The problem is a software based one, and should be fixable It might be caused by any one of the following:

The DS console running out of battery.
Transferring a .SAV file from a different user who perhaps has a different date on their DS.
Attempting to activate cheats in certain applications.

To resolve the issue, we’ve found in some cases that simply changing the date of your DS system back a few days before the system error occurred, or as much as month may fix it. This bug has only been around recently, so all the details are still being uncovered, but it seems like the R4i SDHC team is aware of the issue as they list it on their FAQ http://www.r4i-sdhc.com/rde.asp. Unfortunately they provide no further details, but when a full fix comes out we will, of course, provide that. For now try to reset your date and you should be able to use your R4i SDHC as normal.

As we gather more data it helps us understand what is causing the bug and how to fix it so please feel free to contact us with your information and we will continue to monitor the situation and report to you our findings.

Update: The new version of the software for R4i SDHC red box should fix the problem v1.23b: http://www.dscardworld.com/download.shtml

NOW Available! iEdge at DSCardWorld

admin — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:29:42 +0000

We are NOW carrying the iEdge!

The immensely popular Edge card is BACK and now for DSi and DSi XL. Supplies are very limited so be sure to pick up your card ASAP. All iEdge cards from us come preflashed and ready to load up the OS menu software. Listed below are the official specs:

Latest DSi firmware supported: v1.4
Supports DSi/DSL/DS
iEDGE comes blank without any copyrighted software, making it 100% LEGAL
Fully upgrade-able bootstrap to combat future DSi firmware updates
Supports DSi firmware v1.4+
Plays commercial NDS ROM
Plays homebrew NDS ROMS
Frequently updated OS for best compatibility
In game reset
Automatic ROM protection patcher
SlowMotion mode
Save game saves directly to Micro SD
Automatic save game type detection
Supports clean ROMs
Supports MicroSDHC cards up to 32GB
Multimedia playback such as movies and MP3′s
Action Replay compatible cheat system
Multi language user interface
Micro SDHC card reader included
Full download play support

Buy your own iEdge card here: iEdge

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

M3i Zero the Most Expensive DSi Card

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:56:37 +0000

M3i Zero- The Most Expensive DSi Card

The market right now is flooded with all kinds of makes and models of flash cards for your NDS or DSi. I can think of twelve off the top of my head, even if you don’t count all of the fakes and clones. As with anything, some are better the others and none can top the M3i Zero. From the same team that brought you the smash hit M3DS Real and M3DS Simply, their card for DSi is now available at our shop.

When Nintendo released their v1.4 update for the DSi, all cards were blocked, and many users were left out in the cold. Quickly following the 1.4 release in August of 2009, teams developed workarounds for their cards such as the R4i SDHC. While the workarounds have proven to be successful- they trick the DSi into reading the ds flash card as a regular game, there’s no guarantee that further updates from Nintendo might not render flash cards completely nonfunctional.

What is special about the M3i Zero is that it comes with a USB adapter cable to hook up to your computer directly. While you will still use the included stylish Micro SD reader to add files onto the micro SD, the USB connection cable allows the M3i’s hardware to be completely updated by new kernel firmware from the M3i team. This insures future compatibility with any update Nintendo might release.

The Supercard DSi-One also includes a USB adapter for the physical card, but the M3 team has a long standing proven track record of quality, and their menu software loads much faster.

Along with that crucial firmware flashing ability the M3i Zero also features its own custom GUI interface with built in Moonshell media player. It’s really easy to use and doesn’t rely on separate Moonshell homebrew like you would be forced to use with other cards like the DSTT and R4i SDHC.

Faster loading, tighter integration, and the support of the best team in the business; things you won’t find with lesser R4i SDHC cards. Even if you’re still plodding along with a DS Lite and a DSTT ds flash card, the M3i Zero is fully backwards compatible with older DS systems.

M3i Zero available at our online shop: Buy M3i Zero

Below are the listed features of the M3i Zero
-Compatible with DS , DSL & DSi .
-100% game compatibility .
-supports Real Time Save function . (Save & Restore anytime, anywhere.)
-Supports Multi-Language System (English,French , Germany , Italian , Spain , Portuguese, Dutch, Korea & Thai Language .)
-Continue to update & frequency enhance software/ firmware.
-Support micro SDHC (capacity over 4GB, 8GB ,16GB & 32GB …)
-Extreme simple to use, just plug & Play .
-Super Cheat Function
Fully AR Cheat Code Compatible engine .
Support reading individual cheat code file too. (xml, cht, dht, dat-R4 format)

-Supports software rest function .
-Support slow motion feature .
-Automatically detect and generate game save file .
-Excellent homebrew support ,DLDI auto-patcher
-Robust & skinnable GUI
-Build in PassMe .
-Intergraded least Moonshell 2.0 version .
-Supports download play .
-Supports rumble pack , GBA expansion pack & DS Browser .
-Supports 4-scale-lightness adjustment .

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.