Official Review

Features

The SuperCard DSONEi Mini is a slot-1 flashcard. It is compatible with all firmwares of all DS models (including DSi 1.4.3 and 3DS 2.1.0-4) (by using the latest update). It comes in a nice little box, with only the DSONEi Mini itself and a tiny manual included. The box and the DSONEi Mini share the same design, which looks pretty cool.

Features listed on the box:

• Plug'n Play - NO extra software needed.
  
• 100% game compatibility,supports clean Rom's and works on any OS.
  
• Uses microSD card, both FAT16 and FAT32 supported.
  
• Supports the SDHC specification,allowing for high capacity memory cards.
  
• Compatible with ALL speed flash memory card.
  
• Hardware save,multi-save support.
  
• Save directly to MicroSD rather than onboard flash.
  
• Support RESET, RealTime Cheat Code and RealTime Game Guide.
  
• Micro firmware designed. Upgradable Operation System with powerful function and friendly GUI.
  
• Support MP3,Movie,TXT and view PIC directly.

This list may be a little deceiving, as the last feature mentioned is no longer available in the new operating system (Evolution Operating System, from here on mentioned as EOS). It is, however, still possible to do this using homebrew applications such as MoonShell. The list also does not mention anything about RealTime Save and SlowMotion, even though these are actually available.

If you want to see what the EOS is like, take a look here. It's slightly outdated, but it still shows off some of the basic features quite nicely. Otherwise, have a look at the Images section further down.

Hardware

The DSONEi Mini is completely white (except for the sticker, of course), like many flashcards nowadays. The card feels light, yet sturdy. It has rounded edges, which really make the card look a lot smaller than it actually is. The chips in the card bulge out slightly from under the sticker, but the card still fits smoothly in any DS model.

There is an indent on the right side of the card, which makes it more comfortable to hold with two fingers.

The microSD slot is on the top and is spring loaded. However, the microSD card can be inserted/removed by gently sliding it into the DSONEi Mini, without having to push down the spring.

The DSONEi Mini has no 'teeth' (once again, this makes the card feel smaller). If you have no idea what teeth on a DS game cartridge are: they're the tiny strips of plastic that cover up the contacts so they don't get dirty.

Software

The SuperCard DSONEi Mini shows up on all DS models (after using the latest update) as Spongebob's Atlantis Squarepantis. The image to the right is from the 3DS menu.

The main menu of the EOS is a grid which shows the icons of games/folders. You can switch to a text-only list and back by pressing Select. On top are three options, namely Setup, Saver and Cheat. You can access these by either tapping on them, or by using Start and the L/R buttons to cycle through these options. Cheat allows you to enable/disable cheats for all games. Saver allows you to select how large the save file for all games should be (4K, 64K, 512K, 2M/4M). Setup gives you access to the following options:

• SD Speed (1X - 8X, Fast)
  
• Run mode (Clean, Patch)
  
• Language (English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Français, Italiano, Deutsch, Español)
  
• Brightness (Level 1 - 4)
  
• Multi-Saver (Save 0 - 3)
  
• Theme
  
• Hotkey
  
• GBA Extend (NULL, Link, Rumble)

SD Speed allows you to set which class your microSD card is. This is default set to 3x Speed, but there is no reason to change it unless you are really experiencing speed problems (and even then, simply formatting with the SDFormatter should do the trick).
Clean mode will, contrary to Patch mode, not allow you to use any of the EOS's extra features and will instead run the game as if it were a real game.
Multi-Saver allows you to change which save slot you would like to use for your games. This is an extremely useful feature if you want to let someone else play, but make sure they don't mess with your saves. You can also use this if the game you're playing has too few save slots to your liking.
Theme gives you the possibility to choose between a variety of themes. There are only 4 themes already available, but adding your own is easy. The only problem I have found with this feature is that it seems to be impossible to have more than 8 skins available at a time, but then again, who's ever really going to use more than one skin at a time?
With Hotkey, you can change the key combo you need to press to call up the in-game menu.
GBA Extend allows you to make use of a rumble pak inserted into slot-2 (of course, this is only useful when you have a DS Phat or a DS Lite).

ROM Compatibility

I have tested quite a bit of games, and even games known to cause trouble on other flashcards worked just fine. This is really nice if you don't want to spend too much time patching your ROMs, even though that can easily be done with the DS-Scene Rom Tool. Click the spoiler below to see the list of games I tested.

Homebrew Compatibility

All homebrew games/apps I tested worked fine. Below is a list of what I tested.

Images

Conclusion

The SuperCard DSONEi Mini is a great flashcard with top-notch commercial ROM and homebrew compatibility, a vast array of features such as RealTime Save/Cheat/Guide, quick updates, etc. If you're looking for a flashcard that can play all the latest games, this is definitely one you should keep in mind.

Final Score: 95%

DS-Scene would like to thank MyGamingMart for sending us a review sample of the DSONEi Mini. Please keep them in mind when making your next purchase.


This post has been edited by Nathan, Wed, September 21st, 2011 at 21:39

Reason: Hardware section somehow disappeared.