R4iDSi.co.uk Recommendation for the Original R4 DS:

The Original R4 DS is basically a Slot-1 storage solution for homebrew programs on the Nintendo DS game console. You need not any other booting tool when running the R4 DS except for a Micro SD memory card. The previous generation of Slot-2 solutions utilized the GBA slot of the DS but at the same time required a booting tool such as a Flash Me in the Slot-1 to function.

The R4 cart size is identical to an original cartridge and the Micro SD card fits securely into the R4 with no parts sticking out. To add ROMs and homebrew to the R4, you only need to transfer over clean ROMs or homebrew to the Micro SD card. No patching is required, however you can trim ROMs with the tool provided by the R4i team if free space is an issue. The R4 OS is simple to use and is easily skinnable. The R4 automatically detects the ROMs save type so there is no need to constantly download an updated ROM list. If there is no save file associated with the ROM, the OS will automatically create a save file before booting into the ROM. R4 DS has very impressive results in the performance testing. Everything we've tried has worked perfectly, and with zero slowdowns. Something that is unmatched on the flash kit market. Even the infamous benchmark games like Castlevania DS and Rockman Exe 5 run at full speed, even on a fragmented card! The R4 reduces the battery life of the DS lite by more than 2.8 hours compared to an original cart. However the Ninjapass X9 only affected the battery life of the DS lite by a mere 1.4 hours. Homebrew works without any need of patching. However, any homebrew that requires FAT access on the microSD card will need to be patched in order to work. Unfortunately, some homebrew that’s been patched with the R4 DLDI still may not work. Still, the R4 is relatively new and hopefully this problem will be rectified soon. From our extensive testing, we can confirm that the R4 DS is 100% compatible and doesn't suffer any slowdowns in game. A very impressive result, isn’t it?

Advantages:

• Same size as original cartridges
• Games compatibility
• Wi-Fi compatibility
• USB MicroSD Card Reader
• Easy to setup and use
• DS cartridge holder keychain
• Save game converter tool
• Developers are constantly releasing updates

Drawback:

• Developer’s website is extremely slow
• Battery life