How to Turn My Nintendo DS into an IPod

Even though gamers may spend more time playing Scribblenauts and Animal Crossing, they may also be asking how to turn my Nintendo DS into an iPod. It can be a hassle carrying around multiple gadgets, so having one device to handle all your portable needs can be a lot more convenient.

From the Apple side of the equation, the iPod touch has started to infiltrate the portable gaming marketing occupied by the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The concept of having several dedicated devices is starting to get thrown out the window in favor of unified "convergence" devices. The iPod touch can play games, surf the web, and display pictures, for example.

While full functionality isn't being offered by Nintendo directly, it is possible to extract more value out of the Nintendo DS. For instance, it is possible to download books to the DS Lite, as well as fun games and more.

By the same accord, it is possible to turn a Nintendo DS into an iPod with similar music and video-playing capabilities. In between hardcore gaming sessions, you may want to lounge around with some Coldplay or Jason Mraz.

More and more, you may be wondering how to turn my Nintendo DS into an iPod. This way, you'll be able to enjoy a wide range of MP3 music files right from your favorite portable gaming machine. There are several ways to do this, both official and unofficial, but here are three of the more popular directions to take.

One of the most powerful multimedia players for the Nintendo DS and DS Lite is a program called Moonshell. Several updated versions of this software have been released and they are all available as a free download.

In order to use MoonShell, you will need to invest in a homebrew solution for the Nintendo DS or DS Lite. Homebrew solutions come in two main forms for the DS: one is a cartridge that goes in the primary DS slot and the other is a cartridge that goes in the secondary GBA slot. Both of these allow you to run homebrew software, including media players, messaging tools, and independent games.

Some people also use these homebrew solutions to run pirated video game ROMs, but this can run into all kinds of legal problems. For this reason, it is highly recommended to only use these cartridges for freeware and other legal programs.

MoonShell is a full-featured multimedia player, including DPG video files (a file conversion program is needed), audio files (MP3/NSF), picture files (JPG/BMP/PNG) and TXT text files.

A company called DS-Xtreme created a homebrew solution like the one described in the above section, but the company is now defunct. The DS-X, as it was called, was a terrific homebrew cartridge because it came with some features not found in competitors.

The DS-X is the same size and shape as a regular Nintendo DS cartridge, so it loads as if it were a conventional DS game. From the main menu, one of the primary options is to load a program. A secondary option is to launch the built-in media player.

The built-in media player on the DS-Xtreme is capable of playing a wide range of music files, using the hardware buttons on the DS Lite to control playback. It is not quite as robust as an Apple iPod, but it gets the job done.

The Nintendo DSi is a significant upgrade over the Nintendo DS for many reasons. Among these is the inclusion of a built-in multimedia player and an SD memory card slot. When asking how to turn my Nintendo DS into an iPod, this combination makes for the easiest solution of them all.

Media files can be loaded onto a regular SD card and then they can be played through the Nintendo DSi Sound audio player feature on the DSi. It accepts AAC audio, as well as MP4, M4A, and 3GP files. Since it cannot play MP3 files, however, you will need to use a MP3-to-AAC conversion program first if your music is in this popular format.

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