One of the great things about VoIP is its flexibility. The IP protocol is so ubiquitous, that any system which connects to the Internet can potentially be used to communicate with others. And if a microphone and speaker system is included, that’s all we need to make VoIP calls. The Nintendo DS is one such system and though the creators never intended it to be used for VoIP, creative individuals have found several ways to use it for making calls over the Internet.

The basis of VoIP calls on the Nintendo DS is something called “homebrew software.” This is software that is created by third parties not authorized by Nintendo. They’re usually games, but games are just applications after all and using the inbuilt APIs, we can configure them to place calls. Running these programs requires users to use specialized techniques involving what we call “booting tools” where the DS is forced to run instructions from the GBA slot (also called SLOT-2). “Flash Me” is an example of a popular booting tool.

Newer cards make it even easier with SLOT-1 tools eliminating the need for a booting tool.

These techniques allow us to download third party software from the Internet onto our memory cards and run the VoIP programs from there. There are many programs available. One example is svsip which is remarkably flexible and uses the SIP protocol to make calls.

Initially, VoIP calls on the Nintendo DS could only be made to those running the same software – something like Skype where each user has to have Skype installed. Slowly SIP based devices have emerged allowing anyone to place calls to an SIP user – a tremendous testament to SIP’s power and standardization.

Tantalizingly, Nintendo at one point intended to make this a regular feature of the DS where users on wi fi could talk to each other. It even demonstrated a Nintendo DS VoIP headset. Nintendo’s “Wi-Fi connection” service is an online multiplayer service that also allows communication. A step in the right direction, but a far cry from what we need to place full fledged VoIP calls. For this reason, users have to turn to third party programs to make full use of their hardware.

These are just a few ways in which people all over the world are using existing hardware to place VoIP calls. This is made possible because of the flexibility and convenience of being able to talk to absolutely anyone over the Internet with nothing but an Internet connection and a microphone+speaker.

Bhagwad is an expert consultant on IP Business VoIP Systems. He also specializes in Hosted PBX Voice Services.