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Nintendo DSi review: Nintendo DSi

Nintendo DSi

Jeff Bakalar Editor at Large
Jeff is CNET Editor at Large and a host for CNET video. He's regularly featured on CBS and CBSN. He founded the site's longest-running podcast, The 404 Show, which ran for 10 years. He's currently featured on Giant Bomb's Giant Beastcast podcast and has an unhealthy obsession with ice hockey and pinball.
Jeff Bakalar
9 min read

Just four and a half years after its initial release, the Nintendo DS has sold more than 100 million units worldwide, solidifying itself as the best-selling portable video game console of all time. Even the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP), which is widely regarded as a commercial success, has only reached around 50 million in sales.

7.7

Nintendo DSi

The Good

Adds two larger screens; two 0.3-megapixel cameras; a bit thinner than the DS Lite; exclusive access to the DSi Shop for downloadable games and applications.

The Bad

No longer supports Game Boy Advance games; lower battery life than its predecessor; Internet security settings are buried and confusing.

The Bottom Line

While not all previous DS owners should upgrade, the DSi is an ambitious and solidly designed portable gaming system.

The Nintendo DSi is the third iteration of the DS, which was originally released in November 2004. In June 2006, the company refreshed the system in the form of the DS Lite, which dramatically changed the device's overall design and vastly improved screen performance.

Rumors of a second redesign proved to be a reality when Nintendo announced the most recent, and what we believe to be the final rehash of the system, the Nintendo DSi. This upgrade adds two small-resolution cameras to the portable, slightly larger screens, and an SD card slot. The Game Boy Advance slot found in both previous versions has been removed.

While current DS Lite owners may want to think twice about upgrading, the DSi does offer plenty of innovative media features and online functionality that may warrant a purchase. Those who still have the original DS should definitely consider the step up as well--but if you've been holding out on a DS purchase up until now, the DSi is certainly the way go.

Design
If you own or have held a DS Lite, the first thing you'll notice about the DSi is its sturdiness. It definitely feels more robust than the DS Lite. That said, you'll find it isn't any heavier as both weigh just under half a pound. While the DS Lite is coated in a shinny plastic, the DSi is covered in a matte, almost rubberized outer layer. While we didn't scuff it up during our testing, it appears this covering will be more prone to such cosmetic scratches. Size wise, the DSi is only about 4 millimeters thinner than the Lite and just 5 millimeters wider.

Side by side, you won't notice much of a different in appearance. The two LED lights found on the right hinge of the Lite are gone, replaced by a set of three on the left hinge of the DSi. They're also labeled this time around, with symbols for power, charging, and Wi-Fi activity.

Every button on the system has been changed as Nintendo has opted for buttons that click more, as opposed to the softer experience had with the Lite. The X, A, B, and Y buttons aren't as deep, thus they require less of a pressing motion. The same can be said for the L and R rear buttons, too; they are now much more springy, and require much less of an effort to engage. Even the select and start buttons have gotten a similar treatment--we found them especially difficult to press with the DS Lite. Moving along to the D-pad, we experienced the same sort of click responsiveness. The DS Lite's D-pad, a carbon copy of the one found on a Wii remote, was a bit looser.

The power button has been moved to the bottom left of the lower touch screen. A long tap will power the device on and off, while a short tap (when the DSi is on) with give you a soft reset, something you could not do on any other DS.

Microphone placement remains the same, although the internal camera is now centered with the mic just to its right. The DSi's two screens are noticeably larger, especially when switching back and forth between systems. That said, we could not really detect huge improvements in overall brightness and color performance. The unit's two stereo speakers, located on either side of the top screen, seem to have been lowered about half an inch.

On the outside of the DSi you'll find a few more noticeable changes. First off, the Game Boy Advance slot has been removed, so fans of that handheld platform are out of luck. While we believe this omission helped shrink the device's thickness, we wish it had survived the update. We'd gladly give up the 4 millimeters to be able to play any Game Boy Advance game.

The headphone jack remains in the same spot, but the volume slider found on the Lite's front left edge has been moved and converted into a push-button format on the left side. We'll agree with the movement of the controls, but we definitely prefer a slider as opposed to buttons. It's much easier to mute the device by sliding your thumb compared with holding down a button for a few seconds. The device's SD card slot is located on the right edge.

As mentioned earlier, the DSi has two 0.3-megapixel cameras: one located on the inner hinge, the other on the outside front cover. A pink LED light glows when the outer camera is active. The outer casing also abandons the vertical square DS logo modeled in the plastic found on the DS Lite.

The included stylus is mounted in the same rear location as the DS Lite, and Nintendo supplies you with a spare. We liked the increased length of the DSi's stylus; it's bumped up another 4 millimeters.

Features
By far the most significant changes to the DSi, aside from the cameras, is the updated firmware and interface exclusive to the device. You won't be able to upgrade your original DS or DS Lite to the new DSi experience.

This new firmware includes various media and online applications that allow you to interact with photos and music. The new layout is very much in the vein of the Nintendo Wii experience, where different "channels" or applications can be scrolled through and moved around. There are plenty of blank spaces, too, that you'll undoubtedly fill with downloaded games and applications from the DSi Shop.

The DSi Camera application allows you to take pictures via either camera and store them on the unit's internal 256MB of storage or onto an SD card. The DSi will also support SDHC cards, which are those that exceed 2GB of storage. Aside from taking conventional photos, there are various lens options built into the application. These effects can not only be tweaked while taking photos, but also after you've already shot them. There is even facial recognition technology here that will stamp your face with a Wario mustache or give you a pig nose. There's plenty of fun to be had with the frame features as well; you can put your face on pretty much anything you can shoot.

The DSi Sound application gives you the ability to record and edit sounds by providing easy-to-use, yet powerful tools. You have the ability to increase and lower pitch and speed, even use a collection of preinstalled audio filters that will transform your recorded segments. These pieces can be saved internally or onto your SD card. The DSi Sound application also allows you to play your own music, even distort it as well. However, the device can only currently play AAC files. Unfortunately, MP3 and other audio file lovers won't be able to get in on the fun. Additionally, you won't be able to save your edited music.


The audio editing tools are easy to use, yet surprisingly powerful.

There are also a few familiar faces in the DSi's interface, as Pictochat (a way to chat and draw with local DS systems) and DS Download Play remain intact. You'll access Download Play to sync up games with local DS systems. A DSi system can still play with any version of the handheld.

Online/Wi-Fi
The DSi has the ability to connect to any 802.11b or g Wi-Fi router or hot spot. Strangely enough, we found it quite difficult to find settings that allowed us to connect to a security higher than WEP. Those settings are actually buried in the system, forcing you to choose "Advanced Settings" on the main "Internet Connection Settings" screen. We're not sure why this functionality is so hard to find, but using connections 1-3 won't allow anything higher than WEP. Once you access the advanced menu, you can manually set up a connection using higher encryption such as WPA and WPA2. You'll have the ability to scan for hot spots that support encryption above WEP, and then you'll just need to enter a security key. Alternately, if your router supports AOSS, the DSi can connect that way as well. You also have the option of using a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB connector (sold separately) that will allow for an easy Internet connection to the DSi.

The success of the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console and WiiWare platform has led to the handheld equivalent called the DSi Shop. Nintendo has explained that this will be the online hub for downloading DSi exclusive games and applications made by first- and third-party developers. Nintendo gave us some hands-on time with a variety of these titles, some that use the DSi's camera in-game. The pricing structure of these titles will range from free to upwards of 1,000 DSi Points (100 points = $1). As a bonus, any DSi owner who connects to the DSi Shop before October 5, 2009, will get 1,000 free points to spend. Also, a free Web browser will be available when the store launches April 5.

Once you've successfully connected to the DSi Shop, you'll be greeted with an interface very similar to the Wii Shopping Channel. Nintendo Points can even be used in both shops, though they can't be transferred. You can either add points with a credit card or a store-bought Nintendo Points card. There are various ways to browse the titles available, such as by title or by price.

Download speeds on the DSi Shop were very reasonable; things moved along quite swiftly. That said, we did notice that Internet activity definitely had the most impact on battery life--more than any other feature on the DSi.

One of the first free applications offered is an Opera-powered Web browser. It works well enough, though you won't be watching any video or seeing any flash functionality at all.

We should note that you cannot play downloaded applications and games straight off of an SD card. Any game or application you'd like to run must first be copied to the DSi's internal memory first.

Editors' note: This review contains updated information regarding playing and storing downloaded games and applications.

Performance
Under the hood, the DSi has also received some hardware improvements. Here, the main processor has doubled, from the 67MHz found inside the DS Lite, to 133MHz. Its RAM has quadrupled, going from 4MB to 16MB. Don't let these numbers fool you, though. We didn't notice much, if any, difference in performance between systems when we played the exact same game. We imagine this upgrade was just necessary to satisfy the hardware demands of the cameras. That said, Nintendo has hinted at DSi "enhanced" games. These titles will perform on any DS, but may provide extra features when played on the DSi.

Nintendo has admitted that the DSi's battery will not live up to the impressive performance of the Lite, which was able to provide close to 19 hours of play time on the lowest screen brightness setting. Instead, the DSi will hold a charge for around 9 to 14 hours depending on screen brightness and usage of power-hungry features, such as the cameras. During our testing, we never found ourselves disappointed with the battery life, but DS Lite users may notice a slight increase in charging frequency.

It's no secret that pirated software was a large problem for the DS Lite. Various hacked cartridges found their way onto Internet, allowing for a way to play illegally downloaded games. The DSi has, for the time being, found a way to thwart these devices, also benefiting from an updateable firmware.

Conclusion
Since the DSi is the third iteration of the DS system; it leaves the question, "Who should buy it?" Owners of the original DS should definitely consider the upgrade. The changes in design and improvements in screen size and brightness coupled with the access to the DSi Shop are more than enough reasons to take the plunge. That said, current owners of the DS Lite may want to reconsider. The DSi Shop will be the best reason to upgrade, so you'll need to decide if that's enough of an incentive. Of course, if you don't already own a version of the DS, this is certainly the one to get.

The DSi is priced at $170 and is available in either black or blue. It's $40 more expensive than the current DS Lite. The device is certainly a step in the direction of gadgets like the iPhone and iPod Touch that have access to exclusive stores for downloading games and applications. One thing is for sure: the Nintendo DSi is the company's most ambitious and solidly designed portable systems yet.

7.7

Nintendo DSi

Score Breakdown

Design 8Features 7Performance 8