What's a DSi?

You enjoyed it as the touchpad including, dual-screen wielding, microphone featured, wireless enabled successor to the Game Boy, as the Nintendo DS. You adored it in its multi-coloured, lighter, brighter and thinner version as the updated Nintendo DS Lite. Now, Nintendo believes you'll go absolutely crazy for it in its latest form, the Ninendo DSi, the third iteration of Nintendo's dual-screened handheld video game platform. The system is set to release in North America on April 5 ^th , with black and blue as the two colours available at launch.

The Nintendo DSi delivers everything the previous Nintendo DS systems delivered and more. The system now comes equipped with an SD card slot and an application called DSi Sound, so you can listen to your own music collection or use the DSi as a voice recorder. DSi Sound also includes audio filters which let you alter the pitch and speed of your recordings, or even your songs. And you'll be able to listen to your music while the DSi's screen is shut if you've got headphones connected to it.

Two new additions being introduced with the DSi are cameras. That's right, two – one internal, and one external. Nintendo says the DSi Camera is the first truly interactive digital camera in a video game system, saying “with 10 different interactive "lenses" that can manipulate your photos, the Nintendo DSi Camera offers an easy way to take and share your photos with family and friends”. (Save to SD card?)

Nintendo DSi will also include the ability to download games and applications through the DSiWare, think WiiWare. You'll now be able to buy Nintendo DSi Points, which will let you purchase games and applications for download directly to your DSi. Like WiiWare, DSiWare is being developed by a number of different studios, big and small, and will be available at various prices, the current lowest price being 200 DSi Points.

It wouldn't be much of a system without its regular games though, and the DSi can play the entire catalogue of previously released Nintendo DS titles and whatever future titles are being worked on. That library of games currently stands at 850 titles, so there's a lot to choose from. And the library is always growing. One particular game set to launch the same day as the DSi is Rhythm Heaven , a tapping music-rhythm game.

Nintendo says it will be announcing new features and DSi news as the April 5 ^th release approaches.