Latest Nintendo DSi

The brand new Nintendo DSi is the latest update to the hugely successful Nintendo DS. This new version of the popular handheld console was brought about to fix many of the flaws in the previous model, such as lag in games, accidental resets and an easy to damage exterior. The DSi is also much more portable now, with an amazing 13% depth taken from the device to ensure you can take it anywhere.

If the DSI's small size does not appeal to you, the Nintendo DSi XL hs just been released, which has a 93% bigger screen than the original DSi. Read more in this DSi XL Review.

To resolve these problems and turn the Nintendo DSi into an all around better machine Nintendo have made some significant changes to the Nintendo DS. These upgrades have turned the Nintendo DSi into a faster, thinner more durable handheld device compared to it's predecessor.

On top of fixing some of the problems in past versions the DSi goes the extra mile by introducing two digital cameras, one aiming outwards for taking digital photos on the go, the other pointing inwards to record or take photo's of yourself! This is leading to the possibility of using eth device for video conferencing with it's wireless capability.

One of the biggest updates for the Nintendo DSi, in my mind at least, is the under the hood upgrades. To begin with they have addressed the issue of jittery, lag filled games by quadrupling the memory in the device. It still only has a small amount in reality at 16MB, but this is more than enough to handle any handheld games currently available for the DSi. By giving the Nintendo DSi four times the memory of the DS they have made a significant improvement to one of the major complaints of the previous hand held console!

To compliment the increase in memory to the new Nintendo DSi handheld console this brilliant gadget now also sports an increased processor speed. This allows the DSi to fully utilise the increase in memory it's upgrade provides! The new DSi processor speed is a fantastic 133mhz giving the console a whole new level of gaming capability.

All this is finished off with a larger display size, another quarter inch to be precise, giving you a more in depth viewing experience when you use the Nintendo DSi. The larger screen size may seem a minor adjustment, but believe me after 10 minutes on the Nintendo DSi you will never want to go back to the old DS.

The Nintendo DSi really sets itself apart from it's predecessors with it's new wireless capability. This allows you to hook the handheld device up to your wireless network, allowing you to buy new games and applications for immediate download to your device! It also allows you to surf the net and share photos with ease, an amazing feature in my opinion!

The DSi also comes with 256mb of flash memory, this may be used to store downloaded games, or like me, us it to store music. Currently the Nintendo DSi only supports the AAC format and not MP3's a pretty big blow to music lovers out there!

One of the other small, but significant, changes to the Nintendo DSi is the power button. This has been changed from the old switch to an actual press down button. This allows you to do a full shut down or a soft reset, which takes you back to the main menu without restarting the entire device. This has removed one of the minor annoyances of an otherwise great device!

The final ting I feel I should point out is the sheer number of games and applications available for the device. Whether you want to lose weight or learn a new language there will be an application for you. The sheer number and range of games is also mind boggling, you will never run out of something new to play on this amazing handheld console!

There is unfortunately a downside to the stunning Nintendo DSi. To make the device slimmer and more rugged they have removed the old Gameboy Advance pop out slot. This not only removes backwards compatibility but also stops the new DSi from working with a lot of the old Nintendo DS accessories which require this slot, such as the DS Rumble Pack and Guitar Hero: On Tour.

The other major downside is Region locking on the device, this means that only Japanese downloads and games will work on the Japanese DSi, Same for Europeans and Americans. This means ordering the Nintendo DSi from overseas could unfortunately be one gigantic waste of money.

The final downside to the Nintendo DSi is that it does not accept flash cards from the DS, so all your old saved data will be lost. In my mind one of Nintendo's biggest mistakes was not making it possible to use a generic brand of flash card in the Nintendo DS or DSi.

All in all I think the Nintendo DSi is well worth a buy. It is cheap, well built and powerful. While it does have some minor downsides I think the Nintendo DSi's flexibility will ensure the device remains a staple part of your life, whatever you do, whether school, work or retirement. The number of games and applications mixed with the huge number of features and accessories make this the most flexible handheld console on the market.