Spring Break
The Nintendo DS and i
The DSi is here. It's got a camera. Should you care?
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Focus
The Nintendo DSi marks the third iteration of Nintendo's popular handheld since its original release in 2004. Seeing as over 100 million units of the Gameboy's dual-screened little brother have been shipped worldwide, chances are you already have one. Is it worth it to shell out $169.99 for the upgrade or is the DSi merely another way Nintendo will further line its pockets? It's a little of both, but know one thing - it's more than just a DS with a camera.
Hardware
At first glance, it's immediately apparent that the DSi is sleeker, thinner and all around sexier than the two previous versions, the DS and DS Lite. The DSi measures in at a 2.95 inches wide by 5.39 inches long by .74 inches thick, and weighs in at about 4 grams less than the DS Lite (for a total weight of 214 grams with the stylus). By comparison, the DS Lite was 2.91 inches wide, 5.24 inches long and .85 inches thick. The DSi is a little longer, but not by much, and it's definitely worth it to accommodate the larger 3.25 inch LCDs - the DS Lite's screen was only 3 inches across. Both the DSi and its predecessors are capable of displaying 260,000 colors. These may seem like minor differences but they do matter, especially when straining your eyes over a tiny handheld screen. The changes are a huge plus for the DSi.
You may've noticed I haven't been making comparisons to the original DS - because, let's face it, the original DS was a monster. Unless you're really going to miss the Game Boy Advance slot, upgrading should be a no-brainer.
Speaking of which, the removal of the GBA slot is probably the biggest deterrent for purchasing a DSi. Without the GBA lot, the DS "Guitar Hero" series is unplayable and the console no longer supports the DS Rumble Pak - both the required the additional slot. Also, most people probably got rid of (or lost) their GBAs once they got a DS. Well, your games are now useless.
But while the GBA port is gone, Nintendo found space to include an SD Memory Card slot, a useful addition that can serve many purposes. With the DSi's built-in camera, you can save pictures onto a SD card and transfer them to your computer or Wii. You can also save DSi Shop games and game save files to the card, but filling the 256 MB of internal memory with saves and games alone would be hard.
Hardware
At first glance, it's immediately apparent that the DSi is sleeker, thinner and all around sexier than the two previous versions, the DS and DS Lite. The DSi measures in at a 2.95 inches wide by 5.39 inches long by .74 inches thick, and weighs in at about 4 grams less than the DS Lite (for a total weight of 214 grams with the stylus). By comparison, the DS Lite was 2.91 inches wide, 5.24 inches long and .85 inches thick. The DSi is a little longer, but not by much, and it's definitely worth it to accommodate the larger 3.25 inch LCDs - the DS Lite's screen was only 3 inches across. Both the DSi and its predecessors are capable of displaying 260,000 colors. These may seem like minor differences but they do matter, especially when straining your eyes over a tiny handheld screen. The changes are a huge plus for the DSi.
You may've noticed I haven't been making comparisons to the original DS - because, let's face it, the original DS was a monster. Unless you're really going to miss the Game Boy Advance slot, upgrading should be a no-brainer.
Speaking of which, the removal of the GBA slot is probably the biggest deterrent for purchasing a DSi. Without the GBA lot, the DS "Guitar Hero" series is unplayable and the console no longer supports the DS Rumble Pak - both the required the additional slot. Also, most people probably got rid of (or lost) their GBAs once they got a DS. Well, your games are now useless.
But while the GBA port is gone, Nintendo found space to include an SD Memory Card slot, a useful addition that can serve many purposes. With the DSi's built-in camera, you can save pictures onto a SD card and transfer them to your computer or Wii. You can also save DSi Shop games and game save files to the card, but filling the 256 MB of internal memory with saves and games alone would be hard.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
J C
posted 4/29/09 @ 7:14 PM EST
Apparently, this person knows nothing about Nintenod portable hand held systems. The Game Boy dual screen doesn't exist. There's the Game Boy series which feature Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light (only in Japan), Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance Sp, and Game Boy Micro. (Continued…)
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