“Wallet” inspired DS redesign

I’ve had this idea stuck in my head for a while now and finally put it together over lunch. I thought that it would be cool to have something that was not just pocket sized, but also sort of shaped like something you might put in your pocket. I also wanted something that opened up like a blossoming flower (awh).

As you can see, it has the same size screen as the current DS, but when closed it’s around 30% the size, and when open it’s around 75% the size. I like the arrangement of the screens (more centered) better than the current DS, but it may be problematic for games that design their input system with the bottom screen position (relative to the buttons) in mind.

Ideally the outside case would be made of aluminium and the hinge mechanism may have to be made of a stronger metal (it would have to be fairly strong). I designed the edges to be covered with flexible rubber/plastic so that it looks alright. Then again, maybe it’s possible to create mostly in plastic; there are quite a few mobile phones with elaborate twist and flip mechanisms and I don’t think that they use much metal.

Technical issues aside, I think this one is possibly my favourite thus far!

4 thoughts on ““Wallet” inspired DS redesign”

  1. I concur this is the best of your designs so far. What would be really cool is if the booklike opening motion would pull the screens open and flip it all at once, rather than the user having to unfold the controls and then flip and unfold the screens.

  2. Also, i’m wondering how strong this design would be, all the flipping/rotating parts would still be kinda breakable, even if it had metal parts. Flip n twist mobile phones are mainly used by adults, but DS’s are used by a younger demographic and are more likely to get damaged. Sure, the current DS is a little clunky, but it’s strong.

    On another note, where do the games go? can u show us a view of the back of this new design when open?

  3. “What would be really cool is if the booklike opening motion would pull the screens open and flip it all at once, rather than the user having to unfold the controls and then flip and unfold the screens.”

    That’s what I meant by:

    Opening the “wallet” makes the screen rotate and flip open.

    I guess the diagram isn’t too clear. I just fudged it in the GIMP rather than modelling it in Blender.

    “On another note, where do the games go? can u show us a view of the back of this new design when open?”

    Eek! I don’t have time for that! 😛 Maybe at some point in time I’ll give modelling and animation in Blender a go.

  4. I did sort of assume that the black bits in the middle are just screens and that all the important electronics are in the silver side bits.

    I’d imagined that each side has a cartridge slot at the bottom (one side for GBA and one side for DS).

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