Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has hinted in major newspapers that the new Nintendo 3DS will utilize the WI-FI aspect of the device to pull in Magazine and News Paper Articles, and maybe even eBooks.
The game slot will come with a 2GB with a cartridge to be able to save your data too, and rumor has it is reverse compatible with DSI game cards.
Speaking to Japanese paper Nikkei this week, Iwata mentioned that the 3DS ”will seek out and automatically connect with wireless LAN spots, and download information” He went further on to elaborate that it will be able to seek and sync with news sources.
Although having the 3DS as an e-reader would bridge the gap between a portable gaming device and allows you to also read. The Apple iPad has similar useage, as many people use the iPad as an e-reader, a game device and a multi-media platform.
Although Nintendos core focus has always been games, it is struggling to keep up with content distribution that has seen massive success for the XBOX 360, Play Station and iTunes.
It remains to be seen if this murmur of e-reader and magazine subscriptions can be done with the 3D, it certainly will open the doors to some enterprising citizens to create the service, if Nintendo does not do it soon. At the very least you can use your 3DS to connect to free wireless hotspots.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
