Feb 2009

Nintendo DSi is the newest and most advanced addition to the Nintendo DS. It's 12% thinner, with a screen that's 8% bigger than its predecessor, and includes a range of cool new features, including two integrated cameras, an SD Card slot, the ability to wirelessly download software via the DSi Shop, and much more.

As a consequence of the bigger screen, as well as the improvements in audio and visual quality, Nintendo have decided to remove the slot for GameBoy Advance software. However, an impressive range of new features, including a camera, SD Card slot and Wi-Fi advancements will more than make up for this.

Camera
Rather than including a top of the range camera lens for the DSi, Nintendo have taken the opposite approach and decided to only include a 0.3 megapixel one, but instead provide the handheld with software that includes 11 types of special camera lenses.

This means DSi can take pictures by utilizing a variety of special effects on a real-time basis. You can change the whole picture to black and white, colour the portions you touch or exchange the existing colour with a new one on the area you touch, make a composite picture using preinstalled frames or make the frames for yourselves, draw a variety of graffiti on the pictures, and perform many more nice little tricks.

Sound
Another new function, the DSi Sound audio player, is not meant to be an ordinary audio playback mechanism. Nintendo have designed it so that people can enjoy playing with sounds as well.

Some typical functions include the ability to change the pitch and the speed separately by using the Touch Screen. The ability to freely manipulate the audio pitch and the speed can expand how the audio player can be used in more practical ways as well.

You can fast-forward a Podcast to economize the time. When you use the repeat-run function with the stylus, it becomes easier to copy the music, to play a musical instrument or to practice foreign languages.

Also, since Nintendo DSi has a microphone, Nintendo have incorporated the DSi Sound function to make use of it. The Nintendo DSi can be viewed as a toy with music that also can be played with.

Make it your own
Thanks to a slot that allows an SD memory card to be inserted into DSi, you'll be able to store sound data and have pictures stored on a card as well – meaning any pictures you take on the go with your DSi can be viewed on your Wii by using the Wii Photo Channel.

To make it truly 'your own DS', you can download and store new software through DSi Shop. This is similar to the Wii Shop Channel mechanism. With these functionalities, DSi owners are able to download the software they would like to enjoy and carry around with them on their own DSi.

As well as this, Nintendo DSi has internal memory, just like the Wii. After storing the data there, you can choose to activate this data from the menu screen. The DSi Camera and the DSi Sound will be included in this internal memory of each DSi.

Wi-Fi
As the very first software title to be offered through DSi Shop, Nintendo will start distributing the DSi Browser free of charge simultaneously with the launch of DSi. The DSi Browser is an Internet browser, co-developed by Opera and Nintendo and comprehensively tuned exclusively for Nintendo DSi. This tuning has made the browser faster, and now that it can be incorporated into the device, the utility aspect has been significantly enhanced.

Furthermore, when Nintendo enabled faster communications for the DSi Browser and DSi Shop, they also achieved faster Wi-Fi communications for Nintendo DSi. When you use the Wi-Fi function of existing Nintendo DS software, the speed does not increase. However, for software specifically made for Nintendo DSi, it is possible to realise faster communications.