Official Website: http://www.r4i-sdhc.com

Note (April 2011): The review below is valid for the R4i SDHC card, which is the same as the R4i 3DS card. The card was renamed "R4i 3DS" after the R4i team upgraded the card to work with the 3DS console. Please note that old R4i SDHC cards won't work with the 3DS console, only the new "3DS" branded cards will - all new R4i 3DS cards these days are updatable via WiFi - but make sure to update the R4i card before you update your console if you want your R4i to continue to work post-update!

Much is written about these products on the official website and other sources - NDS-Gear are here to give a plain, short, simple review in layman's terms! Of course, the original feature list can still be found below our own review.

The R4i is the first DSi card released for the R4 brand. It was created by the R4 SDHC Upgrade Team for the Nintendo DSi but is also backwards compatible with the Ninteno DS and Nintendo DS Lite. The first R4i cards were only working with the Japanese DSi but after many firmware updates, it became compatible with more versions of the console.

The R4i SDHC team made a mistake in producing the architecture of the card the first time around. As a result, the first generation R4i SDHC card does NOT work with the Nintendo DSi under the 1.4 firmware. NDS-Gear does NOT sell the first generation card, so don't worry. All R4i SDHC cards bought through NDS-Gear work on the 1.4 Nintendo firmware (but not yet the latest 1.4.1 version).

Contrary to popular belief, the R4i SDHC card is NOT produced by the same people who produced the original R4 SDHC card. The DS/DS Lite card that you see on the official website is the "R4v3" card, which is not the original. However, this group DID produce the original R4i card. Slightly confusing, we know - but hopefully it makes sense! Feel free to e-mail us to clarify if required.

R4i SDHC Menu Screen

The R4i includes many new functions, such as the ability to recognise and display SD type, capacity and format, power saving features such as the sleeping mode function, Multi-language setting, simple and easy-operated interface, supports up to 32GB of storage capacity with SDHC cards with enhanced performance even on slower card, a capable R4i team commit themselves to the website maintenance and kernel updates, R4i-SDHC cards are compatible to all NDS games, R4i-SDHC supports cheatcode and soft-reset setting on a per-game basis, avoiding possible conflicts, the new UI cheatcode designed to be easy to use, ensuring smooth gaming experience even for new users, the latest Moonshell 2.0 built in the card, R4i-SDHC delivers a better multimedia experience with higher decoding performance and better picture quality, The improved manufacturing process of R4i-SDHC ensures a minimal error in size and shape. The card thickness and area of gold-finger is specifically controlled with a error range of less than 0.1mm compared to an original NDS game card which increases the compatibility between the R4i and the Nintendo console.

The R4i can accept up to 32GB Micro-SDHC cards, and is compatible with the DS, DS Lite, and DSi consoles that have not undergone the 1.4 firmware update or newer.

Official R4i Technical Features List

• Able to memorize and restore to the previously selected game or application after restarting machine and soft reset.
• Sleep mode function, for power saving and longer standby time.
• Multi-languages are optional, they are Simplified Chinese, complicated Chinese, English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Spainish and Dutch.
• Friendly interface, easy to operate.
• Realtime smart help windows.
• Integrated the latest Moonshell 2.0 Beta version.
• Game compatibility: 100%.
• No need to flash. Built-in launch Slot-2 (gba) function.
• Support SDHC micro sd cards (4GB?8GB?16GB?32GB).
• Support DMA read and no lag while using any microSD card.
• Support FAT16 and FAT32. Files can be transferred with PC, PDA, Cellphone and Camera.
• Support clean rom and drag-drop to play. Fast loading.
• Support NDS and iDS games. DS games can run on any DS versions.
• Files are to be saved directly to TF card, copy or restoration is not required.
• Automatically recognise saved new game types, no need to update the database.
• Support moonshell and home brew.
• Power saving design. Enter optimized mode automatically.
• Double screen UI, abbreviated picture and game title display, button and touch operations.
• Easy to use, setting or adjustment is not required.
• Support Wi-Fi, rumble pack and browser expansion.
• UI background can be changed.
• 4-level brightness adjustment.
• Support soft reset.
• Support AR cheat code.
• Support soft-reset of moonshell 2.0 (back to main menu of R4 NDSI by pressing START button).
• DLDI auto-patching.
• Support Download play.