iPOD touch or Nintendo DS?

darinjacobs

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Ok call me a bad dad, but it seems Im the lone parent holding out amongst my sons friends parents who either gave their kid an iPOD or a DS. So Santa is gonna bring him one.

If you had to pick one, which would it be and why?

btw, are there any mods for these units?

Much thanks in advance.

Darin
 
Well, the DS is easier to control the content your kids are exposed to if that's a concern.

It has some decent games, although it's an older system now and I don't think the software prices have dropped much.

I assume you're talking about the iPod Touch? Value wise it's the better deal. It supports most of the iPhone apps and there's lots of $1 games which kids seem to be quite happy with, plus you've got your mp3 and video playback, and wifi browsing.

The iPod is probably the more in demand gift, if I had to guess.

It pretty much comes down to whether or not you want to play Mario games.
 
We bought our kids DS's several years back and they had endless fun with them. Games have good depth to them and tend to be playable for a long time before getting old. If they have peers who have them they are particularly good since you can play games against each other.

This year they decided they really wanted an iPod Touch and started saving for one. I never thought they would get enough cash but then a cousin sold hers to them for what they had saved because she got an iPhone. So now they don't play the DS nearly as much as they used to.

The iPod Touch actually disappoints me because yeah, there's a ton of $1 games out there but they are most disposable type things that don't require much thought or dedication to play. Where they used to spend a lot of time trying to solve the complex puzzles on the DS, now they play something for a half hour and then move onto something else. It just seems lazy and...I don't know...something is lost. It's hard to explain.

But yes, and iPod Touch is veeeery difficult to control from a content standpoint. Think of what you were like when you were 12 or 13 and then imagine if you had unfettered access to adult content how that might have affected you. I think we are going to see a ton of sex addicts over the next 10 years. Anyway, I got around that by eliminating the browser and having it e-mail me every time they download an app so I can have a good sense of what they are looking at and it's been ok. Other than some minor incidents....

I'm a lot more conservative about that stuff than a lot of parents I guess.
 
iPod Touch 8GB ($199.99):

- Mobile Games & Apps
- Music
- Pictures
- Video (HD recording)
- Youtube
- iBooks
- Web Browsing
- Little parental control

3DS ($169.99):

- Plays 3DS/DS games
- There are flashcarts out there that play backup roms and homebrew. Specifically Acekard 2i and R4. Gbatemp.net is a great site for info/reviews. Realhotstuff.com is a great US-based retailer and they ship fast.
- Poor camera but does take "3D" photos that are only viewable on the 3DS
- Poor Web Browsing
- More parental control as far as content

iPod is a bit more expensive, but it does so much more. For a 9-year old kid who I'm assuming does not have a smartphone, it's a no brainer unless he really loves Nintendo games more than anything else. But if you think content will be an issue, then 3DS is your safe choice.
 
Another thing to consider is how long you will wait to get your kid a phone (if you haven't already). We waited until ours was in Middle School but our younger son uses it a lot. He's 10 and goes off riding his bike and it's just nice to have the reassurance that he can call home if there's trouble and we can contact him to make him come home when it's time. So if you are getting close to that decision then you can combine the two and get an iPhone....or Android device...
 
I'd go with the DS too. In general, DS games have a lot more depth and series like Professor Layton or Phoenix Wright can actually make kids think. There aren't many killer apps for 3DS yet, so you might want to save a little and go with a DSi. As long as it isn't a peer issue for having 'last year's model'.

There are several microSD adapter cards for the DSi/3DS. R4i, TTDS, etc. I'd recommend legit carts for favorites, esp if they're going to bring them around their friends. But the adapter cards only cost around $10 + a standard MicroSD card. Nice way to sample roms and emulators/homebrews.
 
I vote DS.

I've got a DS and an Android phone. While I love the functionality of my phone, and I do use it for games, the DS is better for gaming.

Jehuie pretty much nailed it with his post. I may play "Words" (pretty much scrabble) on my phone all the time, but I enjoy playing the New Super Mario Bros. and Zelda on my DS a whole lot more.

Although both the DS and the iPod can both browse the net, I think the iPod exposes more.

I played through Angry Birds on my phone, and the whole time I was getting ads for flirting with singles, and other stuff like that. I know of kids that play on their parent's phones, so I'm pretty sure they are seeing the same ads... I guess if you have the paid version, it may not be ad supported.
 
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I vote for the OG brick gameboy...

That thing is indestructible.

I once dropped mine in the toilet.
Another time we were on a road trip and I had it in a sock to keep it from getting scratched. My brother started shit so I bashed him over the head with it. The batteries came out but it was undamaged.
 
I vote for the OG brick gameboy...

That thing is indestructible.

I once dropped mine in the toilet.
Another time we were on a road trip and I had it in a sock to keep it from getting scratched. My brother started shit so I bashed him over the head with it. The batteries came out but it was undamaged.

I got to see this one while it was on display at NOA in Redmond, WA:

IMG_1564--article_image.jpg
 
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