[notsosilentbob]

Nintendo has announced a revamped version of the DS, the touchscreen games console that has so far sold more than 77 million units worldwide.

Called the Nintendo DSi, this redesigned handheld console follows on from the popular Nintendo DS Lite, the second version of the DS, launched in 2006. Nintendo unveiled the device at its annual autumn presentation in Japan.

The DSi looks similar to the DS Lite, but with its two screens enlarged to 3.25 inches (8.25 cm) each. The new console is also some 12% thinner than the DS Lite, partly due to the space saved by no longer including a slot to play cartridges from the old Game Boy Advance console.

For the first time, Nintendo’s handheld console features a digital camera – a three-megapixel external camera, as well as a lower-resolution front-facing camera.

The DSi also boasts a slot for SD memory cards, a built-in web browser application, improved audio and, like the previous model, wireless connectivity. This connectivity will allow users to download games from a new online DSi Shop.

Early word from Nintendo suggests that the DSi, available in a black or white finish, is intended to offer gamers an alternative to the DS Lite rather than supplant it altogether.

The DSi will launch in Japan on November 1, though UK gamers hoping to get hold of a DSi before Christmas will be disappointed – the European release is slated for the spring of 2009.



Source ~ MSN tech news