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There's a new Nintendo gaming device on store shelves today, and it's called the DSi. The latest version of the immensely popular Nintendo DS ("dual-screen") portable gaming system, the DSi features a camera for snapping photos, a completely revamped menu system that mimics the Wii's easy-to-use interface, and a "DSiWare" shop where you can buy and download games and applications directly to the DSi via wireless Internet. Check out Gamezebo's hands-on first impressions of the device behind the cut.
Look and feel
The DSi is the third version of the Nintendo DS. The original Nintendo DS model was released in 2004, and the DS Lite, a much sleeker upgrade, came out in April, 2006. The DSi is similar to the DS Lite in look and feel, with a few subtle – and a couple of not-so-subtle - changes.
Let's start with the subtle changes. The body is slightly thinner, but also about half an inch longer to accommodate a slightly larger-sized screen. The buttons feel great, and don't stick up quite as much as those in previous models did. Several buttons are now in different places. The Power button has migrated over to the lower left of the bottom screen, and is actually a button now instead of a slider. The volume, also now buttons instead of a slider, has relocated to the left side of the device.
In terms of major changes, the DSi is the first Nintendo handheld to sport an SD card slot, which greatly expands the device's storage capacity. Although exciting, this comes at the sacrifice of direct backwards compatibility with Game Boy Advance games. The DSi is missing the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot that the DS Lite and original DS had, which allowed you to play older games on the system. Presumably, leaving out this slot is to pave the way for older Game Boy titles to start being sold on the DSi Shop (more on this later), so Nintendo can start charging you all over again for games you already own. I can't say that I play my Game Boy Advance games too much anymore, but for people who do, it's a shame.
Menus and parental controls
The DSi's menu system has been completely revamped to look much similar to that of the Wii (Nintendo's video game console), where settings and applications are grouped into different boxes that you can quickly slide though using the stylus. Unlike the previous DS models, you can insert a game cartridge when the device is already on and it will instantly appear in the menu ready to be played (whereas with older systems, you'd have to restart the system first.)
As well, the DSi's beefed up parental controls will be of interest to people who are considering buying the device for younger children. Parents can apply a filter to specify the highest ESRB rating that the device will be allowed to play on it, from "M" for mature all the way down to "EC" (early childhood education). For example, if you set the parental rating to "T" for Teen, then all games rated "T" and below would be playable, while Mature-rated games would be locked out.
Parental controls can also be used to restrict the use of PictoChat (the feature that allows players to draw pictures and send them to each other wirelessly), the ability to send and receive software and play games with other people, and exchange photo data, and can also limit the ability to use the DSi's Web browser and purchase DSi Points and items from the DSi Shop.
DSi Shop till you drop
The DSi Shop is clearly an answer to the success of both WiiWare and the iPhone's Apple Apps Store. Accessed through the DSi's main menu, it allows devices that are connected to the Internet to browse "DSiWare" applications and games, which can be downloaded straight to the DSi. Some applications, like the DSi Web browser, are free, but most cost points, which can be purchased directly through the DSi by credit card, or by buying points cards at retail. To buy 1,000 points costs $10 U.S., and applications range from 200 to 800 points, although it looks like some will cost more than 800 points in the future.
At launch there were five apps in the store, including WarioWare: Snapped! (500 points) – a mini-game collection that incorporates the camera, a match-three puzzler called Art Style: Aquia, and Brain Age: Express Math. The shop allows you to view screenshots, read a game preview, and view the game's ESRB rating before purchase, although there are no try-before-you-buy demos.
Say cheese! Exploring the DSi's camera
The DSi sports two tiny built-in cameras, one for taking self-portraits, and another on the outside for taking photos by using the inner screen as a viewfinder.
Taking a picture is as simple as centering the subject in the viewfinder and pressing L, R or A, or tapping the "capture" button with the stylus. You can select whether you want to save the photos to the DSi's system memory (which has a capacity for around 400 photos if empty), or to save the photos directly onto an inserted SD card. You can easily copy photos from internal memory to an SD card if you want to transfer them off of the device, or exchange photos between two DSi devices.
At first I thought the camera was going to be a gimmick and nothing more – after all, the image resolution is only 0.3 megapixels (by comparison, the standard for average cell phone cameras these days is 1.3 - 2 megapixels). But the camera is easy to use and surprisingly fun. I can see kids especially getting a kick out of the self-portrait mode, nine fun filters like "distortion," where you can stretch and pull a face by dragging the stylus over it, and the fact that you can set a picture as your "wallpaper" which appears in the top menu screen at all times.
DSi Sound is another fun little application that lets you record a sound with the DSi's built-in microphone, then mess around with the sound clip by making it higher, lower, slower or faster by dragging the stylus indifferent directions, play it backwards, adjust the volume, and apply more than a dozen filters, like ones that make your voice sound like a parakeet, or like it's talking through a fan, or that it sounds like a trumpet.
Summing it all up
The good: The DSi adds the ability to surf the Internet (via the free download DSi Browser); save content onto an SD card; browse and download applications via DSiWare; and take photos, edit them and share them with friends.
The bad: The camera doesn't take great quality photos, and is outclassed by even older cell phone cameras. As well, the device can no longer play older Game Boy Advance games.
The DSi sells for $169.99 and comes in two colors: black and turquoise. Click here for more information on how to purchase the DSi.
