I previously posted a rumor about the possibility of a new Nintendo DS Lite but Nintendo have now officially confirmed it. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, speaking last night at Nintendo’s autumn press conference in Tokyo,  announced an updated version of the DS Lite called the Nintendo DSi. While it has the small ‘i’ in there - like any modern gadget that wishes to be cool must have- it also sports a range of other new additions. There’s now two cameras (they’re a disappointing 0.3 megapixels though)  and SD slot to save those photos on. There’s also the digital music player I mentioned the other day, which is part of the reason Nintendo are improving audio in allowing you to adjust pitch and playback.

The DSi removes the GBA slot (which I’m not too fussed about as I’ve never used it) but in return makes the screens 17%  bigger (3.25 inches) than the original DS Lite and it also makes the handheld thinner than its older brother. There’s now an in-built browser (so you don’t have to buy one anymore) which will allow you to download games and keep them on your DSi. This will come along with the new DSi shop, which will allow you to use points to purchase games; 1000 of which customers will get for free until March 2010. Speaking of downloads they’ll also be improved wireless capabilities, but I’m not too sure what that means.

Sounds fancy, right? I don’t really see all that much to get excited about myself. A 0.3 megapixel camera is not going to get you a decent enough picture that you’ll be proud to have in your collection, and a digital music player seems pointless when your mobile phone can do the same thing (or you could just get one of the many mp3 players out there that do the same thing but much better).  Iwata says that it’s a “third platform”, meaning that it’s not meant to replace the DS Lite but complement it. I guess that means I’ll stick with the original Lite for now.

The DSi is coming to Japan from November 1st but won’t be available until Spring 2009 over here in the UK.

Hit this link to see the DSi in action, or this link for a comparison between the old and new.