iEDGE DS Card Released on 9th January 2010

The much anticipated iEDGE DS was released on the 9th of January 2010. It will be the replacement for the EDGE DS card, which was arguably the most reliable DS gaming cartridge ever made. The original EDGE DS was retired in October of 2009.

The official iEDGE DS specifications include the following:

* 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
* Full download play support
* Automatic ROM protection patcher
* SlowMotion mode
* Save game saves directly to Micro SD
* Automatic save game type detection
* 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

The iEDGE DS comes in a triangular box with a swivel cover, which makes it look fantastic as a gift. The look and feel are almost identical to that of the original EDGE DS card; why fix something that isn't broken? It looks set to be a hit, and its reliability should be incredible.

Get official EDGE and iEDGE information from http://www.edgedscards.co.uk

iEDGE/EDGE Support and Shop: Buy iEDGE

Official iEDGE/EDGE Website: Official Website

New M3i and iEDGE Announced!

The brand new iEDGE card has been announced by the team that produced the famous EDGE DS card. It is not quite in production yet but may be soon, and will be available on both DSCardWorld and NDS-Gear, which stock all sorts of R4i and R4i related cards.

The M3i Zero is also available on both of the websites: DSCardWorld and NDS-Gear. The M3i Zero is the most robust card in existence for the DSi, where the software was even co-written by one of the authors of Moonshell!

Take a look at these sites now and grab your M3i today.

Different Types of R4 Cards

There are many different types of R4DS card on the market.

We're going to use examples from one particular store (particularly good if you're in the U.K. since they are the fastest, most reliable supplier there and in Europe!) to illustrate the different types of R4 DS cards.

R4DS - the original R4 DS card, otherwise known as the R4v2 or simply the R4 card. This is your original R4 card. It still, after all this time, has the fastest loading time of any DS card in existence. However, it's biggest drawback is that it can only take up to 2GB worth of memory. This is still large enough to store 10 to 20 games, mind, but may not be enough for everyone, especially if you use your DS to listen to MP3s and play movies etc.

R4 SDHC - the upgraded version of the R4v2, the R4SDHC allows you to play games on your DS card and multimedia as well. The crucial difference, though, is that it accepts higher amounts of memory than the original R4 card. It can in theory hold up to 32GB worth of files, although it would be difficult to fill all of that! NDS-Gear only sell up to 16GB Micro-SDHC cards at the moment, probably because they are quite expensive. Perhaps in a year's time the affordable 32GB card will become a reality, though!

R4i-SDHC - The first R4 card to be released for the Nintendo DSi (not the first DSi card though, that honour goes to the Acekard 2i). Many compatibility issues with games have been fixed, and the card is backwards compatible with the Nintendo DS and DS Lite. That makes the new R4i card a perfect solution regardless of which version of the Nintendo DS console you have!

R4i Gold Edition - The gold edition of the R4i-SDHC is an interesting one. It is essentially the same as the R4i red, but is manufactured with a different bonding technology. What this essentially means is that if in the future, there are any modifications to the Nintendo DSi's firmware, it would be easier to be compatible with future developments. If you like, the R4i gold is a 'future-proof' version of the regular R4i card.

So, now you know all about the main types of R4 card. I hope it's been helpful - click on the links to see the different box-art etc. for the different cards. :)

Fake Versions of the R4 Adapter

Different Versions of the R4 DS

Since the wildly successful original R4 adapter came out, there has been one major revision to the card, as well as several copycat variations of the R4 adapter. All but one of these variations of the R4 DS were not produced by the original Team R4 DS - however, some work better than others, and a few have distinct advantages. Our quick list of what versions are out there, and what to avoid, are below. The cards we recommend are in bold:

• RECOMMENDED: R4v2 Adapter (Original, current version)
• RECOMMENDED: R4 SDHC Adapter (Non-original, but reliable high-capacity adapter)

Fake R4 Adapters?

The notion of "fake" R4 adapters is both a truth and a myth. It is true that pretty much every card that spawned from the original R4 DS card is not original. However, spin-offs of the original Team R4 have produced the R4 SDHC card. While not original, the R4 SDHC card holds a key advantage over the original R4v2 adapter. There are some companies, however, that appear to produce sub-standard cards. Some of these include:

- R6

- E7

- R4 Advance

In summary, there is no real thing as "real" or "fake" cards - only the original R4v2 adapter, and 'copies' separated into two categories: Those that work reliably, and those that don't!

R4 SDHC DS Card

The R4 SDHC adapter is a card that uses the original R4 DS interface, but has the massive advantage of being able to take, in theory, up to 32GB Micro-SDHC cards! The original R4v2 adapter can only take TransFlash technology Micro-SD cards, which means its limit is 2GB.

Best of all, the R4 SDHC adapter is as reliable as the original R4v2 adapter, and would be our choice for a good card that can take more than 2GB Micro-SD cards.

Avoiding Fake R4 Adapters

Always buy your R4 DS from a trusted, reliable retailer. Try out NDS-Gear, especially if you're in the U.K. (but don't worry, they ship worldwide)!

R4 Adapter Loading Screen Problem

R4 DS Loading... Screen??

The R4 Adapter "Loading..." Crash

One of the most common problems with the R4 adapter, regardless of whether you are using the R4v2, R4 SDHC, R4v3, or anything else, is the "Loading..." error. The majority of people assume that this is because their R4 DS is broken, and immediately panic or send their card back.

THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. YOUR R4 ADAPTER IS NOT NECESSARILY BROKEN. READ ON...

The most common problem is that you have the wrong software for your R4 DS. Visit the NDS-Gear R4 Adapter Software Download page for help recognising what kind of card you have, and links to software downloads.

Steps to Solve the R4 Adapter "Loading" Problem

1) Make sure you have downloaded the correct and latest software for your R4 DS. For help with this, please visit our Downloads page here.

2) Make sure the software is position in the root directory - the 'base' or first directory of your Micro-SD card. What your Micro-SD card's files should look like, can be seen below:

3) Give your Micro SD a good clean (a good blow, since the card contacts can be sensitive to dirt).

4) Make sure that the micro SD is not overloaded. The remainder of your Micro-SD card's memory is needed to keep your card running in tip top shape. As a guide, we recommend filling your Micro-SD card no more than 60% full. That means that for a 1GB card, we only recommend filling it 600MB full of games on your R4 adapter. For a 2GB card, we recommend only filling it up to 1.2GB full for your R4 DS, and so on.

5) Make sure the micro SD is pushed down completely into the DS Card (ensure good contact between Micro SD and R4 card). In a very small minority of cases, the micro SD has to be pull up a bit if the 'click' between the micro SD and the R4 adapter causes them to misalign.

6) Reformat your micro SD (FAT16/32) for optimal performance with your R4 DS.

7) Use only Micro SD/ SDHC 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32GB. Untested for micro SD above 32GB and problems reported for 6GB micro SD. *(For R4 v2 adapter, only use 2GB micro SD or below)

History of R4 Adapters

The Original R4 Adapter for DS

The original R4 adapter, produced by the self-titled "Team R4", came into existence in early 2007. The original R4 adapter looked much the same as the current R4 Card, but there was a noticable difference.

The top of the original R4 DS had a small groove to push-lock a Micro-SD card inside. This made use of a spring mechanism so that a Micro-SD card would lock into place when pushed. A simple second push would allow it to come back out of the R4 DS.

The R4 adapter in its original guise was produced for just under one year. Team R4 DS realised that the spring mechanism in the R4 adapter had problems, affecting up to 5% of the card's production. Problems with the spring could cause the mechanism to break.

This meant that Micro-SD cards would no longer go into the R4 DS properly. Obviously, this was a big problem. Therefore, Team R4 set out to create a newer version of the R4 adapter, fixing the problem and helping reliability. They called this card the "R4v2 Adapter".

R4v2 Adapter

The new version of the R4 adapter, titled the "R4v2 adapter" (predictably!), was released in late 2007. This new version removed the need for a spring mechanism to insert a Micro-SD card. Instead, it simply had a slot in the back where a user could manually slot a Micro-SD card in.

This eliminated the problems of the original R4 DS Card where the spring mechanism could go wrong

A new problem could be that the Micro-SD card accidentally becomes dislodged from the R4 adapter during play. However, we found during tests that this is fine. Unless you put a fingernail underneath the Micro-SD card and pry it out, it is hard for it to simply shake out, even on a moving train. The London Underground provided a good basis for this test!

Other Adapters similar to the R4 Adapter

Various other cards similar to the R4 adapter have been produced since the success of the original R4 DS adapter.

To buy your R4 DS / R4 adapter today, check out NDS-Gear!