In the last decade the gaming industry has progressed in leaps. Today it is possible to carry a handheld console and play wherever you are, whenever you want. Nintendo is considered the leader in the field of handheld gaming consoles. Its latest model the 3DS supports 3D gaming! It also has cameras for capturing images, internet browsing, movie and music playing functions and more. However to properly use a modern gadget like the Nintendo 3DS, you need the right accessories. For a nintendo handheld gaming device, the most important thing is a R4 card. The R4 cards work as a storage device by connecting a microSD memory card with the console.
Reason for using the R4 range of cards
The nintendo handheld gaming consoles, including the latest 3DS have very little capacity of storage. You need to use a microSD memory card to expand its capacity of storing items. But you cannot insert a memory card directly into the gaming console. You need a R4 device. The original R4 card used a spring for inserting the memory card. But soon it was discovered that the spring mechanism is malfunctioning in a large number of the cards. As a result it was replaced and a slot was created where the memory card can be fitted. The memory card holds the game files, firmware and other multimedia items. The R4 is then inserted in the DS console like a cartridge and you are ready to use.
![By Shuichi Aizawa (http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuichi/4718914563/) [CC-BY-2.0 or CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.techsurprise.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/1024px-Nintendo_3DS_E3.jpg)
Things to watch out for
The R4 card became popular because of its functionality and dependable performance. Soon the market was flooded by copies created by other manufactures. Some of them were good while others were not up to the mark. Still these copies are available in the market along with the original R4 cards. So before you buy, make sure you are buying the right thing. Otherwise you may not get the desired performance. It is always safer to buy from reputed dealers and trusted online stores which sell only genuine products.
Advantages/features
Once you buy r4 3ds and fit it into your Nintendo 3DS, your gaming console will turn into a fully fledged multimedia gadget. Apart from playing cool games in 3D (both official nintendo games and homebrew ones) you can store movies, songs, photos, e-books. If you get bored with gaming, watch your favorite movies or listen to the music of your choice. If your memory card is of a very high capacity then you will be able to store many games, multiple movies, large number of songs and photos etc. if you buy r4 3ds, you will be able to fully utilize the potential of the nintendo 3DS.
Another good thing about the latest R4 3DS card is that it works with the even the older models of the nintendo DS. This is known as backward compatibility. However the 3DS model console will only support the R4 3DS card. So whenever you buy a Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming console, also buy r4 3ds.
