The Nintendo DSi - A Summary of Technical Improvements Over the DS Lite

The Nintendo DSi is the third incarnation of theThe new unit features cameras for the first time
popular series of Nintendo handheld gamingon a Nintendo handheld device. The DSi
devices. The original Nintendo DS was lauchched inincorporates two, one on the hinge between the
2004 with its successor, the DS Lite, launching inscreens (facing the user) and one on the outside
2006. The DSi is, at the time of writing, onlyof the casing. New software on the DSi allows
available in Japan where it was launched inusers to manipulate photos in real time, although it
October 2008. It is expected to be released inis clear the cameras are included more as a fun
the US and Europe around May 2009. The DSiaccessory than for serious photography as they
introduces a number of technical improvementsare only of 0.3 mega pixel resolution.
over its predecessor the DS Lite. The purpose ofNintendo has also made a raft of improvements
this article is to summarise these improvementsunder the skin of the DSi. The main processor is
to enable the reader to decide whether the newstill an ARM9 model but now running at 133MHz,
Nintendo DSi fulfils their requirements.twice the speed of the 67MHz DS Lite unit. The
The first improvement to greet the user is theco-processor is still an ARM7 unit running at
DSi's thinner casing. It is 2.6mm or around 12%33MHz. The DSi now boasts 16MB of RAM
thinner than the DS Lite. This is in part achievedmemory (compared with 4MB in the Lite) and
by the removal of the GameBoy Advance256MB of internal storage memory. The 802.11
cartridge slot found on the DS Lite, thuswireless connectivity is carried over from the old
eliminating the new units backward compatibilityunit, albeit with speed improvements made when
with such games.used with DSi specific software bought from the
The second major visual improvement is theDSi shop (see below).
larger dual 3.25 inch LCD screens compared toA new feature brought to the DSi is the DSi
the 3 inch screens in the DS Lite. Despite theonline shop, similar to those used for full-sized
larger screens the DSi still retains the same caseconsoles such as the Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox
width and height of the DS Lite. Whilst the newand Nintendo's own Wii. Here users will be able to
screens represent a 17% greater visual area thedownload both free and purchased content for
downside is a reduction in battery life from aroundtheir device. One of the first downloads will be a
19 hours down to 14 hours at the lowest screenfree web browser to allow the DSi to access the
brightness setting. The new screens also haveinternet. Another first for the DSi will be the ability
five brightness levels of adjustment compared toto upgrade the firmware (or operating system) of
the previous four. The bottom screen is still athe device, something never previously possible
touch screen as per the previous generation unit.on a handheld Nintendo unit.
Sound is another area of improvement for theWe trust that the article has served to highlight
DSi. The unit boasts improved speakers over thethe technical improvements found in the Nintendo
DS Lite although until the units can be directlyDSi over the previous generation DS Lite. New
compared we cannot speculate on how big ausers looking for such a device would be well
difference to sound quality the improvementsplaced to wait for the unit to launch in their region.
make. The DSi now includes an MP3 music playerExisting users of the DS Lite should be able to
as standard using the new integrated SD card slotuse the information above in deciding whether to
as a source. The music must be in AAC formatupgrade their current unit.
to be recognised by the unit.