Review: G6 Flash G6DS Real SLOT-1 (1GB)

G6 Flash G6DS Real SLOT-1 (1GB)
Manufacturer: G6
Site: Buy from Divineo China / Buy from Console Source / Buy from DealExtreme (2GB)
Price: $64.95

Overview : Designed to backup and play anything you can throw at it the G6DS Real is the latest Nintendo DS backup unit offered by the G6 Flash Team.

The G6DS Real does not use SD memory cards, instead it comes with a built in 8Gb (1GB) of NAND memory and offers a simple drag and drop interface via its USB linker with high speed USB 2.0 write speeds. In addition the G6DS Real introduces a new operating system called "TouchPod" which breaks from the many lackluster GUIs and Moonshell systems seen in comparable products.

Features :

The real NDS Clean dump rom compatibilty & support.
Boot clean dump images without the need for any patching.
Same size as an ordinary DS flash cart.
Extreme simple to use: just drag and drop files to the G6 Cart.
Exclusive super "Cheat Code" function.
Software reset function.
No drivers & any software required.
Work as U disk with USB 2.0 ultra fast burning speed .Standard FAT system support.
Built-in 8G bit (1GB) or 16G bit (2GB) NAND Flash memory. No need to use the SD card & worry about the ejection problem of SD card slot.
Perfect preformance. (Runs games without any lag or slow down. You don't need to worry about the compatibility & speed of SD card.)
Auto detect the save type and automatically generate save file. No need to operate manual by yourself.
Upgradeable Firmware (OS/Bios/Kernel)
Includes a fully touch screen & button control operating system/GUI Menu.
Perfect download Play compatibilty. (Single card multiplayer works)
Compatible with DS Rumble Pak, RAM Pack, DS browser.
Compatibile with Wi-Fi Connection.
NDS-GBA Linkage works fine.
Built in PassMe (NO need for any boot cart/passcard etc.)
Homebrew support.
Robust & skinnable GUI.
Ability to boot slot 2 flash carts for GBA/NDS support, with the G6 cart as a passme in slot 1.
Built in Multi-media player.(MP3, OGG music & DPG /DSM/GBM movies). Boots MP3’s and video files via of our media player or Moonshell.
Super E-book function, support Word/TXT file directly.
Super picture viewer function, support *.BMP, *.JPG, *.GIF, *.PNG directly.
Built in PDA (Worldwide Time, Memo, Note, Phone book, Calculator.)
Supports DS sleep mode.
Brightness adjustment within GUI.

Quality/Usability : The G6 Flash Team has finally released their G6DS Real after announcing the product over 4 months ago. The G6DS Real comes in a box with a plastic holder. Item was shipped in a regular envelope so the packaging got squashed during transit. Hopefully, resellers will package the item in a box to prevent damage during transit. In the box are the following items you would get:

G6DS Real 8Gb Flash Cartridge
G6DS Real card reader / writer
USB cable
Mini-CD Software disc
Blue rubber protective case

As listed above, it is suppose to include a mini-cd with G6 Real software but I never received one. It was probably left out during packaging. Its OK though because you dont really need it as you can download it from their site (link further down in review).

The G6DS Real comes in only one color, grey. Like all other Slot-1 flash carts, it is exactly the same size of that of the Nintendo DS cartridges. Only difference is that the bottom back of the cart where it shows the chipset, it doesnt have plastic pin separators like the Nintendo DS cartridges. The plastic pin separators help guide the connections.

Considering the G6DS Real uses NAND memory and does not use any external memory cards, to transfer data to and from the PC, a USB linker is included. One end is the male USB connector and the other end is the female DS slot. On the top of the linker is a blue LED. This will let you know when data is being transferred. Do not remove the DS cart when the light is flashing/on. Since the linker is fairly big, the G6 team has included a USB extension cable for those tight spots where the linker wont be able to fit.

To get the G6DS Real running, like all other flash carts, you'll need the necessary files to run the SLOT-1 card. You can download the latest files from G6 Flash or from linfox. Connect the USB linker which is now black, not blue as pictured, to your PC and insert the G6DS Real. Your computer will now recognize it as a REMOVABLE STORAGE. Once the computer has recognized the G6, extract the latest files to the root of the G6DS (example X:\SYSTEM). This is pretty much the same process for the M3 Simply, R4DS, SuperCard DS One and any other flash carts. Copying of files is a simple drag and drop process. To place your NDS games, they will need to be placed in a folder called "NDS".

Once everything is placed onto the G6DS Real and you boot it up, you are given the TouchPod menu and features. The TouchPod is very responsive and accurate when selecting games and menus. The G6DS Real allows you to have up to five (5) skins. The skins are stored in the "SYSTEM" folder and consists of 22 .BMP images. The skins are selectable under the "SETTINGS" menu.

In the TouchPod, you are given a "NDS Game" tab. This menu tab contains the following

NDS Game – Boot your .NDS games and configure soft-reset and Action Replay cheat options (only files in the “NDS” folder in the root directory).
My Card – Browse files on G6DS Real and boot .NDS files without extra features.
pdaDS – Starts the PDA application, which is the same software from the previous M3/G6 slot 2 devices.
MediaPlay - Extend - A modified version of Moonshell for multimedia playback such as MP3s, videos, read TXT and see images.
Boot – Lets you to boot slot 2 devices in either DS or GBA modes. Can be used to boot older slot 2 flashcarts or play GBA games.
Settings – (2 options available) Allows you to change G6DS Real loader settings such as boot mode (bypass the DS menu) and skin selection (choose from 5 skins).

Every game we loaded onto the G6DS Real and tested it, worked without a problem or any slowdowns. As for homebrew, the G6DS Real has no "official" DLDI driver at the moment. the G6 team has stated that it is being worked on. The G6 team has emailed me and released the G6/M3 DS Real FAT Lib v1.0, which allows homebrew developers to create a DLDI driver for homebrew games and applications. Since there are no DLDI drivers available at the moment, the only homebrew games or applications I was able to run where the ones that did not require FAT access.

Conclusion : Overall, the G6 Flash G6DS Real SLOT-1 (1GB) is a well designed product but has some flaws. With the lack of homebrew support for the moment, this may turn some customers away. Although majority of the games I tested worked great, the claim of "100% Download Play" comes up short. I was unable to get a couple of games to work such as Clubhouse Games, Mario Kart DS and a few others.

Since the G6DS Real does not allow expandable memory such as microSD cards and being limited to only 1GB may not be OK with some customers, while others are fine with it. The G6DS Real also comes in 16Gb (2GB) as well for those who want bigger storage.

If the G6 team can improve on the compatibility of some games and get the DLDI driver for homebrew games and applications, this would definitely be at the top of the list as a MUST get product.

Please note that none of the "upgrade" products listed in this site are endorsed by Nintendo, Sony and/or Microsoft. DCEmu Reviews and DCEmu Network does not condone piracy. The primary functions of a "modchip" and/or "flashcart" are to allow you to play imported games and homebrew software that you legally own or simply just for experimenting with hardware. We in no way endorse piracy, and encourage all users to do the right thing and support the developers/manufacturers that support them. We do not take any responsibilities for any use outside of these parameters or where the use of such a device is illegal.

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