Nintendo DS gets VoIP

The Nintendo DS can do a lot of things these days -- like function as a MIDI controller, browse the web, and of course, print money. Well now you can chock up one more "score" for the Japanese juggernaut's handheld, because a clever hacker who goes by the name samuelv has given the DS an additional, exciting piece of functionality -- VoIP. That's right folks, thanks to a simple piece of software, you can be making phone calls directly from your DS (provided you have a SIP account). Apparently users are up and running already with the app, so there will probably be a rash of tweaks and improvements on the way. It's truly an exciting time to be the owner of a relatively cheap handheld game system.

[Via Digg]

[Josh L @ Sep 13th 2007 11:08PM]

Forget cellphones that play games. I'd much rather have a game deck that can be a phone!

[Justin @ Sep 14th 2007 12:02AM]

N-Gage says hi.

[Kevlar @ Sep 14th 2007 12:19AM]

/me throws tomatoes at the N-Gage

[mcbeanish @ Sep 14th 2007 3:48AM]

and then the ds and everyone else says to the n-gage: "who's the what now?"

[peternj @ Sep 13th 2007 11:11PM]

yeah suck on that iPod Touch:)

[Jean-Michel Decombe @ Sep 13th 2007 11:15PM]

Where is the speed dial button for Princess Peach?

[Mitch @ Sep 13th 2007 11:18PM]

move over iphone, homebrew is taking over from here

[Jay @ Sep 13th 2007 11:41PM]

and THAT's what happens when a programmer uses photoshop

[Kevlar @ Sep 14th 2007 12:21AM]

Wait... are you talking about the graphics in a positive or negative light?

[Jay @ Sep 14th 2007 12:23AM]

whoa! you can bevel stuff!!11

i love t3h teal!!

[Ellianth @ Sep 14th 2007 12:49AM]

Oh? And what happens when an elite artist such as yourself tries to write a program?

[Jay @ Sep 14th 2007 12:54AM]

Well, since I am neither a programmer or a designer, but a developer, I am quite good at both.

[mcbeanish @ Sep 14th 2007 3:42AM]

what i don't understand is, instead of wasting your energy putting down the man's design, why don't you use it to create a better looking one? who knows? maybe if you approach him with it, he'll even pay you for your work!

[John @ Sep 14th 2007 10:41AM]

Well, seeing as you're a complete stranger from the internet, we'll be sure to take your word for granted with regards to your prodigious skill.

[Jeff Foster @ Sep 14th 2007 11:41AM]

oh my god. You people are assholes.

Jay's not saying "i'm better than him" or claiming to be an "elite artist" for shit's sake. ..he's just pointing out how horrible that interface is. and he's absolutely right. That interface is disgusting - and there's nothing wrong with pointing that out.

i agree with you, Jay. it's hideous.

otherwise, it's a clever hack. I'm all about it.

[Jay @ Sep 14th 2007 11:45AM]

Thankyou.

[AndrewNeo @ Sep 13th 2007 11:44PM]

Awesome! And my Ralink card is already set up for WiFiMe. Here's to testing with my Asterisk server and FWD!

[Javi0084 @ Sep 13th 2007 11:54PM]

Is this even possible? I've never surfed the net on my DS but I have on my Nokia internet tablet and its very slow. Can the DS handle that much bandwidth?

[BrianP @ Sep 14th 2007 12:05AM]

There's already VoIP in Pokemon.

[dmitry kalika @ Sep 14th 2007 12:11AM]

Good stuff. I got it working on my R4. :D So cool!!

i live in the US btw so it works in the US.

[Fruition @ Sep 14th 2007 12:16AM]

While I was surprised to discover that "chock" is actually a word, I believe it is the wrong one in this context, considering the expression "chock up" means to fill to capacity:
http://www.answers.com/topic/chock-up

I think you want "chalk up":
http://esl.about.com/library/glossary/bldef_163.htm

[Fruition @ Sep 14th 2007 12:24AM]

Oh I'm stupid... Of course "chock" is a word, I completely forgot about the way I most commonly use it:

http://www.deadprogrammer.com/photos/chock-full-o-nuts.jpg

I guess it just kind of sounded weird in a different context.

[Gadget Mike @ Sep 14th 2007 1:15AM]

But for anyone who has tried to have a conversation over Skype, then you know have horrible it is to try to listen to the robot voice.

[Monkey @ Sep 14th 2007 2:11AM]

No its not, maybe you have a bad connection, but at work we use Skype to save on phone calls and it works a treat. Overseas and interstate calls

[Lita @ Sep 14th 2007 2:23AM]

Oh god, I just suffered with this last night. Terrible.

[Nex @ Sep 14th 2007 4:15AM]

.meh i don't use skype. but i have used it over seas.. i didnt like it because of the sattalite internet.. to laggy.. but interesting to see the ds being hacked into many useful device's good work keep it up

[Fizzl @ Sep 14th 2007 4:41AM]

More importantly what will it be called, im holding out for Wii + Skype = Wiype (mmm more toilet humor)

Assuming it uses the Wii as a base station of cause.

[David @ Sep 14th 2007 4:53AM]

All someone needs to do now is hack the DS for sidetalkin'!

[Justin Bernard @ Sep 14th 2007 8:39AM]

Sweeeetttt!!!

[Juan @ Sep 14th 2007 11:15AM]

"and of course, print money".
that made me laugh.

[gar3 @ Sep 14th 2007 12:21PM]

My wife in Pennsylvania talks to her sister in Japan via Pokemon in-game VoIP two or three days a week ;)

[cp12 @ Sep 14th 2007 3:56PM]

If you need an interface I can help.

[e-mail]

[celticchants @ Sep 16th 2007 1:34PM]

Skype is only as good as your connection. 100Mps is like talking on a regular phone. Beside Skype is cheap, cheap, cheap. Landlines are going by the wayside.