A Unique Use for Your Nintendo DS
posted Sunday May 20, 2012 by Scott Ertz
It seems that the people of Japan really enjoy their Nintendo products. They like them so much that they are always coming up with new ways to use them. This one goes farther than the odd, inappropriate videogame, though, and enters the realm of odd, inappropriate integrations. Toyota has decided to add a feature to some of their car navigation systems to allow passengers to control the system with their Nintendo DS.
The system, called Kuruma de DS, will allow passengers to enter destinations and even see maps and points of interest on the handheld. You can even favorite places you've been or would like to go to. It is powered by a standard game cartridge that connects to the car via Bluetooth, built-in to the cartridge. The software is designed in standard Nintendo fashion, even including Miis and a very Nintendo-style speedometer. You can even use the car's speakers to play the DS sounds.
This is not going to be an inexpensive feature, though. If you want the ability to control parts of your car from your DS, it is going to cost you in the upwards of $2,500. That price is for the Smart Navi itself, and the control software will cost you another $100, assuming you already have a DS, which we all know you do. That is a very expensive toy.