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Nintendo’s Iwata talks 3DS e-reader functionality

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Nintendo’s Iwata talks 3DS e-reader functionality
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One of the most surprising features of the 3DS is that it acts as a surreptitious internet stealing gadget, just sitting in your pocket and hunting out wi-fi hotspots it can connect to.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told Japanese publication Nikkei, “As you carry it with you while out and about, it will seek out and automatically connect with wireless LAN spots, and download information."

But what information will it download? Presumably not computer MAC addresses and bank details. Actually, Iwata hopes the device will be going out and grabbing the latest news for you. "We're thinking about functionality where it will automatically acquire newspaper and magazine articles."

While it sounds like Nintendo is encroaching on Apple’s turf, Iwata assures us in an interview with Venture Beat that he “never thought of [Apple’s products] when we were designing the 3DS.” The Nintendo chief does reveal he uses iPhones and iPods, but he isn’t in the business of directly competing with other companies.

“We should not narrowly define our competition as Apple, Sony or Microsoft. We have to think of what kinds of experiences we can create that only Nintendo can create.”

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer