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[Altor]

Note that this is the Ultra PASSKEY, not FLASHPASS.  It is a product with the same purpose as the Superkey from Romman.

Minionlinestore has been very slow getting the FlashPass out the door, but this is actually a manufacturer problem.  The PassKey, however, seems to be in stock and ready to ship, since I received mine very promptly. (shipped on 7th, arrived on 12th)  Shipping costs are extremely low, and this alone makes it a very attractive site for me, even though it's not in a location I could easily return a defective product to.

The PassKey works exactly as advertised, and performs the same function as a Superkey, only at less than half the price you'd normally pay if you factor in shipping costs.

You'd think that for such an inexpensive product, I'd be lucky if it was even assembled on arrival!  Admittedly, I have only been using it for less than 24 hours thus far, so maybe it'll break down on me and I'll have to see the error of my ways, but there's no indication of any problems yet.

Unlike the Max Media Launcher (aka MML), which costs roughly the same amount, the Ultra PassKey works with sleep mode!

It fits into the Slot 1 slot perfectly, looking identical to a real DS card and clicks in and out properly, with no indication that it might damage the system.  In terms of size, the UPK is identically wide, but is slightly less deep (this has not caused connection problems though) and *very* slightly longer.  See the pics for comparison.  I am using it on my DS Lite (white), but I've also included pics of it in my Silver Phat.

It does not show any kind of irritating boot screen like I have heard the MML does.  Just goes straight to the Supercard menu instantly, after a delay of what I'd estimate is less than a tenth of a second.

You can launch it through either the DS menu or by setting the DS to auto-boot.  I have not yet tested battery life, but I have no reason to believe that it will affect it any more than any other generation 3 pass device.

Test systems:
Nintendo DS Lite, US/Canada white version
Nintendo DS Phat, US/Canada silver version
Supercard CF w/ 1 gigabyte Sandisk Ultra II card

Pros:
- Low price
- Works like more expensive competing products
- No bootscreen
- Clicks in/out of system properly, causes no physical damage
- Works perfect in sleep mode

Cons:
- Only retailer is minionlinestore, which despite their great shipping costs is located in Hong Kong; this would make returns pointless since shipping costs alone would probably be more than the value of the unit in the first place
- Size not quite identical to a real cartridge
- Hot pink label which hurts your eyes to look at for too long (slight sarcasm)

Final score: 9/10

Images:

DS "Phat" with Mario Kart DS cartridge inserted


DS "Phat" with Ultra PassKey cartridge inserted


DS Lite with Mario Kart DS cartridge inserted


DS Lite with Ultra PassKey cartridge inserted


DS Lite menu with Ultra Passkey cartridge inserted


Direct size comparison between a Mario Kart DS and Ultra PassKey cartridge; as you can see, the UPK is approximately 0.25 to 0.5 mm longer than standard DS carts


Direct size comparison between a Mario Kart DS and Ultra PassKey cartridge; the UPK is towards the top of the picture and, as you can see, is very slightly thinner

July 16 update: product still works exactly as described, and has been used heavily

[darkunitzero]

Do you have a picture of just the cart? I haven't seen this one yet.

[Altor]

Posted a new pic, check the bottom.

edit: posted a second new pic, now there's a thickness comparison too.

[meangreenie]

Thanks for the review.

I wouldn't be suprised if the gubbins inside are made in exactly the same factory as the superkey and passcard3.

I have heard succes on this product rom a few other people too.

[darkunitzero]

Nice, thanks. Is that a hp dv4000 series I see.

[Altor]

dv5000

[darkunitzero]

Ahh I see. Do you have any overheating issues? Mine always seem to burn up =[.

[Altor]

My fan almost never turns on, even when playing 3D games.  Mine's an AMD Turion, they run cool... pretty sure 4xxx series is Intel, they run ridiculously hot if my prior experience with Intel laptops is any guide.  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

edit: oh, yeah.  One more point to add to the review, the Ultra PassKey works fine for flashing DS Lites.  Just did mine.  It's the first Lite I've ever laid my hands on, let alone flashed... sweating bullets the whole agonizing 15 seconds.

Looks like I used the wrong version though, I've only got 1 brightness option now :|

Hoping that this one will do the trick: http://scdev.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4507

Strange, I thought I didn't have to do the SL1 thing again.  But it's stopped at 0%... here goes the battery cover again :oops:

edit 2: that time it worked.  good thing, my heart cant take this kind of trauma so often  :cry:

[darkunitzero]

haha I know how you feel. When I flashed my lite those 15 seconds or so felt alotttt longer.

Yea, my laptop is Intel based... Shit, just a couple days ago it just shut down too. I better
go buy on of those cooling pads with the fans =[.

[Altor]

A little compressed air into the fan and exhaust areas can help a LOT.  My old Toshiba A30 needed one of those racks, and even then the fans would run constantly.  After I cleaned it out as best I could, the problem was helped somewhat so it could set on a regular desk without the rack anymore.  Fan still ran constantly :roll:  Oh, just be careful - you'll be doing this with the laptop turned off, so remember that the compressed air will be blowing through the fans and effectively turning them into a generator!  If you're unlucky and they don't have a fuse, you might burn out something important.  So just use the compressed air in short bursts, k?

(never heard of an A30?  It's because they cancelled it after selling a few thousand and deciding the overheating was too severe)

I hate to base my impression of an entire company on the performance of a single one of their products, but frankly in my opinion the entire A30 line should have been recalled.  They were a disaster.  A disaster with a $1300 CAD price tag.

Also, I think this is common knowledge, but resist the temptation to buy an extended warranty!  At most (all?) stores, you'll find that in the fine print there's a little clause that states: "In the event your product stops working due to mechanical failure, it will be replaced OR ITS VALUE REFUNDED TO  YOU."  Remember the golden rule on buying anything electronic: its value is halved when it's been removed from the box, halved again once you've turned it on, and halved again when you've used it for more than 3 months! :razz:

For instance, you buy an extended warranty on a laptop with a 1 year warranty.  Your warranty is now for 2/3/4/5/whatever years, peace of mind for the mere price of $100-300 - real bargain.  You come back 6 months later and they'll tell you that they can give you between $75 and $150 for the laptop.

After using this Turion laptop for a few weeks now, I can say I don't think I'll give any products from either Intel or Toshiba another chance for at least a few years.

But enough of that.  I wanted to request that if you guys see questions relating to this product, could you please refer them to this page?  It's the first, and probably still the ONLY real in-depth review of this SuperKey/SuperPass3/NoPass alternative.  It also proves that the "Ultra" line might be worth looking into (many people are currently waiting on reviews of their stuff, thinking that it might be a scam)...

Thanks

[darkunitzero]

Ill try that compressed air thing out and hope it works.

Um A30 I don't think I have heard of that...

As for the ultra card, I think people will know since we keep bumping this back up hahha.