Review: Internet Channel (Wii)

Overall - 8.5/10

The trial version of the Internet Channel was very well done but it did lack a lot of features. The final version of it seems to have cleared up most of those problems rather nicely.

Ever since I got the trial version of the Internet channel I was very excited to see what could be done with the final version and if you can't already figure it out, I am very impressed. They managed to clear up one of my biggest problems with the trial version. The loading time. Starting up the channel took forever, a good two minutes sometimes. Now, it seems like it won't take longer than thirty seconds. Speaking of loading times, the pages also seem to load quicker, always a welcomed improvement to any web browser. The improved loading times appear to have helped Nintendo achieve their original goal of making the Internet Channel something that can be used "quickly during commercials to look up that actors name." In addition they also added parental controls making it more family friendly, stressing the whole family aspect that Nintendo is trying to achieve with the Wii.

Those aren't the only think that Nintendo/Opera has improved on. They have improved zooming and scrolling. The zooming still has set levels to zoom but rather than there only being to set levels there are multiple levels, allowing you to get nice and detailed. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be clear zoom feature. As for the scrolling, I never had a big problem, but lots of people apparently complained. Now I can see why people were complaining because the new style is much easier to use. Another thing is you can now store up to 48 favorites, and while I never hit the limit before, more is always welcome. Moving right along, next we have the built in search feature. It's nice but not 100% necessary, but I guess it does make searching faster. Next, we have new cursor animations and operation sounds. They both weren't needed but they do look/sound cool, so it's positive. In addition they have added the option to delete cookies (pervert) and also have added a built-in support manual (definitely helpful for some). Lastly, you can now enter an address from the toolbar. Before you had to go back to the home page to do this. Along with those improved features there are many other ones that I didn't mention.

My only true problem with the browser is it's lack of support for certain types of pages. There are plenty that it does support but there are some missing. The biggest one being the new Yahoo Mail (Beta). One of Nintendo's goals was to allow people to check there email from the living room. Sorry Nintendo, not working out so well for me. There are other pages that aren't supported, I just don't know the type. The only thing you need to know from reading this is that you should download this. Even after June when it costs 500 Wii Points ($5.) It is well worth it and hopeful will be even more worth it in the feature (Opera should be able to improve it via download-able updates .)

Pros: All improvements/changes seem to work well.
Cons: No clear zoom function, Certain types of sites lack support.

Review: Dan