M3i Zero Review, M3i zero Saukra for DSi Review

Posted by ishopvideogame in October 29th 2009

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The long awaited M3i Zero has landed. A card that has been hugely anticipated amongst the homebrew scene due to its feature set. Not only is the hardware completed upgradeable from the kernel,boot flash and firmware, but the OS supports the much trumpeted M3 Sakura. Once only available to the Japanese.

Last December when I was reviewing the M3 Real, I commented on the power of the hacked triple loader OS. This gave the end user many options, enough to suit the various needs of any DS homebrew enthusiast. I’m please to see these comments have been taken on board by Team M3. The M3i is the first available retail card that supports a Dual Boot system as standard. You can switch between TouchPod and Sakura by simply pressing down the A button on boot.

Anyway, enough with the blarney. Let’s see what’s under the hood of the new M3i Zero.

What’s Inside the Box.

The M3i Zero comes in a glossy dark blue retail box emblazoned with the M3 logo and url. The back of the box describes the feature set of the card and also includes a pictorial representation of the contents of the Box. The packaging size, shape and overall finish, is exactly like the previous M3 Real.

The contents of the package are contained in the normal clear plastic tray. These are as follows:- The M3i Zero card, which is housed in a plastic case with space for your MicroSD card. This is very much like the cases you get with memory cards such as Kingston/Sandisk, a tiny black/blue “Sandisk-esk” USB 2.o reader, emblazoned with a white M3 logo. Unfortunately the USB reader only shares the looks of the Sandisk reader and not the build quality. Its serviceable, but I would always recommend buying a decent “branded” reader if you want to steer clear of the dastardly blight, known as data corruption.

The final item in the box is the all important firmware power supply cable. This is an intriguing piece of kit. Unlike the Supercard DSONEi

solution. The M3 team have gone for a completely different form factor in regards to powering the flash card via USB. Rather than the whole card sitting in a slot 1 adapter. They have gone for a much sleeker yet fragile design. At one end of the power cable is a rigid ribbon cable, much like the kind that connects the DS touchscreen to the motherboard. This inserts into the side of the M3i Zero card. Powering the card during the flash process.

Build quality.

The M3i Zero comes in a black shell. The grade of plastic feels on par with the Acekard 2.1. Its not quite on par with the previous M3 Real construction, which felt solid and hefty. The two parts of the shell are held together by a clip design and not the usual sealed/mini screws. There is a noticeable IC bulge on the label side of the card. The label itself is a glossy blue/white design with a yellow/white M3 Zero logo. The label had been placed squarely on the card.

The card’s “copper teeth” are not protected by the usual raised fins. The PCB is green. The microSD slot is situated on the side of card. The spring has a fairly positive action and click. The populated card slot is flush with the top of the shell. Inserting the card into my DSi was no trouble. The IC bulge didn’t cause any problems by scraping the sides of my well worn slot 1.

On the whole, I was happy with the general construction of the card. It’s certainly not built like a tank but it’s not crap R4 clone territory.