August 04, 2009, 8:02 AM — Nintendo released a system update for its Nintendo DSi handheld gaming system last night that adds limited Facebook integration to the device.
Once thought of as a straight-forward game console for kids (with lots of Mario and Pokemon titles available), the DS line has been catching on with grownups and non-gamers. You can supplement your game collection with titles that teach you how to speak another language, how to cook a healthy dinner, or that coach you through a yoga workout. The recent DSi model pushes this 'beyond gaming' concept forward with its camera feature as well as a custom version of Opera for the DSi that turns it into a tiny but reasonably functional web surfing device.
And now Facebook integration, though it is limited to uploading images from the DSi to your Facebook wall. In order to accomplish this, you enter the DSi Camera menu, then browse albums until you find a picture you'd like to upload. With that image selected (and assuming you have a WiFi connection), hit the familiar Facebook "f" icon, fill in your email address and Facebook password (you only have to do this once if you choose to save the settings) and hit OK.
It works, but it is pretty barebones. There's no way to add a comment or assign the images to a Facebook album or anything like that. But then, generally shots you snap with the DSi camera won't be timeless classics you want to keep forever. In the image below, I had to access Facebook via a web browser to add the comment below the images. And sadly the DSi browser isn't quite up to the job of loading the heavy Facebook site. (It renders very slowly and I got an out-of-memory error before it was completely loaded, though I could see most of my Facebook page.).
Still, you can't beat the price of the update (free) and it's a quick and easy way to share photos you take with the DSi. It's hard to knock a company adding new features to existing hardware at no cost to device owners.
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