A mere two months ago, people all across the U.S. lined up to be the first to get their Nintendo DSi portable gaming consoles. The DSi is the third incarnation in the DS family, and on the surface appears very similar to its predecessors, the Nintendo DS and the DS Lite. In reality, however, the new features available in the Nintendo DSi make it a great improvement.

First of all, the DSi incorporates not just one, but two cameras into its comptact design. The first is located on the inside hinge, facing the gamer, and the second can be found in the console’s outer shell, facing away from the player. Although the inclusion of two separate cameras may seem redundant, in the future, it is anticipated that games will include motion detection and facial recognition as an expansion on gameplay, so at that point the cameras will be well-utilized. For now, gamers can utilize customized pictures in their character profiles, among many other uses.

Another new addition to the DSi is the hidden slot for an SD card. These cards can be used to store your photos, play AAC audio files, and store applications that you download from the DSi Shop.

Speaking of the DSi Shop…

… it is much like the Wii Shop Channel that you find on the Nintendo Wii game system. You purchase points (called Nintendo Points) which in turn can be used to buy and download applications. Go ahead and access the DSi Shop as soon as you can; any DSi system that connects to it before March of 2010 will receive 1,000 Nintendo Points free!

Physically, there are also some subtle changes found in the DSi. The console is a bit slimmer than the DS Lite, and it features noticeably improved speakers. The screens are also slightly larger, and boast improved brightness controls. Best of all, the power switch has been replaced by a power button, which can also be used to perform a soft reset of the system, eliminating the need to power down the console in order to return to the main menu.

One thing you may miss on the DSi is the GameBoy Advance game slot. This means that the DSi can not be used in a backward compatible manner to play games originally released for the GBA, or use accessories such as the Guitar Hero grip or the RumblePak. However, you can’t stop the wheels of progress, and time must march on. Even with the elimination of the GBA slot, I think you will find the new Nintendo DSi an outstanding upgrade.

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