Ultra-portable options for pixelling on-the-go

[monteboyd]

I was thinking lately that if I owned an iPhone or iPod Touch I would possibly develop a pixelling application so I could pixel anywhere.
This got me wondering if there are any products out there at the moment which could be used like this. The main features would be:

• Small enough to be portable - wouldn't have to be as small as a iPhone, but a 13" laptop would be the max.
• Able to be connected to the network at home to transfer files to the home computer.
• Can run existing pixelling software or can run Java or Flash (so I could develop the software).
• Cheaper than buying a low-range laptop.

Anyone know of a product that could suit these needs?

[monteboyd]

Interesting, thanks for the tip. I was actually wondering about using a DS for it, if anyone has any advice on developing for one I'd be happy to hear it!

[Evan]

While it's, for the most part, 1 bit, you could get a graphing calculator. Note that I say mostly one-bit because I believe there are models that are color, but I've never seen one in real life.

A graphing calculator is somewhat cheap (I would reccomend the TI-83, as it's fairly standard, easy to find, and since almost everybody who used a calculator in high-school had one (at least around here) you could probably get one on ebay or amazon for pretty cheap.) You can also develop apps on it using a language somewhat similar to BASIC (it's not flash or java, but c'mon, you could develop an app in BASIC without trying.)

While it wouldn't offer the control or color-options that a DS would have, it's easy to use, you can develop pixel apps for it, and it would probably end up costing you a quarter of the price.

[L___E___T]

I had a pixelling app on my psp but it was cumbersome to use with a d-pad.

DS represents the best opportunity with some great programs already available, the best stylus interface around and a whole host of other apps that could be used in conjunction.  Plus it plays games for research reasons 

An iPhone or iPod Touch could be worth looking into, but the accuracy of the stylus isn't as spot on as the DS, however with itunes and the SDK avaiable it may represent an easier coding process and distribution.  Heck, you could even charge for it if it was good enough 

Finally, I have a touch screen phone (sonyE w990i or some other) which is great for java-based apps, but I think Java is the wrong route to go down because it's slow, lags, is generally annoying - but it's easy to code for and reaches a massive range of appliances.

I'd be tempted to suggest a flash-based app.  Can be run on pretty much anything (especially with flash light).   
Having said that I find Flash is great for vector based uses but pixels can be a different case, and on top of that it has a nasty cheap, tacky look to it which has always put me off spending any time learning it.


So, my choice would definitely be = DS 

[monteboyd]

Actually I can get hold of a DS (just need my family to post it over), so it seems to be the way to go! Just have to deal with the fact that it is my wife's DS and therefore is pink! 

[PypeBros]

if you can live with 16x16 tiles, i even already have a pixel edition tool for your DS. click the "SEDS" link on my signature ... most development on this platform uses C/C++ and a simple library. Wifi is not that complicated to support given that you've got experience with network programming in those languages already. No flash or java, though. The stylus is precise enough to allow edition as long as you keep a sufficient zoom level. I'd recommend you lite DS rather than phat DS for any graphic application as colours on the phat DS are somehow "washed off" by the poor backlit.

[monteboyd]

Thanks PypeBros, when I get my hands on my DS I'll definitely download your program and give it a try! 

[monteboyd]

My Nintendo DS has now arrived and I'll be getting my homebrew kit soon. I'll definitely give your application a go PypeBros. Would you like me to give you feedback on it once I've started using it?

[Conzeit]

I think there already are painting apps for DS (not sure wether they're for pixelart to be honest)I remember hearing about one called "color" you should look into that so you know what can be done with yours.

[monteboyd]

Yeah, I've seen a few but PypeBros one looks like the only one which allows per-pixel work. But I haven't actually tried any of them yet, just talking from screenshots and videos atm.