DSDatabase + DS Browser Test

The Nintendo DS browser,  is, well, obviously, a web browser for the Nintendo DS.  The browser got discontinued after release; Nintendo never announced why. I happen to still have a copy I picked up from Fry’s a long time ago.

In a nutshell: The DS browser renders well for a mobile browser, but renders real slow. It takes usually about a minute to fully render a page. There’s no flash, no java, no ajax… but I can render html-heavy websites with ease.

When it comes to the DS browser, there are two types of rendering. Overview mode, in which the chosen screen will render just like the desktop, but real small. There’s a little blue box in which you can drag around, that magnifies the part in which you highlight in real time on the opposite screen. SSR mode, or Small Screen Rendering, is just like a phone browser. Only certain parts are rendered, and the page is shoved down to the width of the screen. SSR usually renders faster than Overview.

So how does DSDatabase’ Forums stack up with the DS browser? I ran some speed tests to find out.

The first type of rendering tested was SSR with no images. Disabling images usually gives a nice boost in rendering time.

DSDatabase rendered in 19.21 seconds.

I turn images on.

DSDatabase rendered in 46.32 seconds, which means images obviously stack up with rendering time.

Next, I tried no image overview mode.

DSDatabase rendered out in 25.39 sdconds. It’s impressive for overview mode, but the forums sure look ugly. The background is real bleak, and looks terrible.

I turn on images, still using overview.

DSDatabase renders in… 44.08 seconds? That’s faster than SSR! DSDatabase comes out almost identical to what you would see on a normal desktop browser.

In essence, DSDatabase doesn’t take too long to render, nor is it image-heavy.  I was quite suprised that Overview came out faster than SSR.

That’s all for now!