Go Play AV: Portable Audio, Video, Media and Game Players

Nintendo says of the DS:

With impressive 3D rendered graphics, Nintendo DS delivers cutting-edge portable games for fans of any genre. Plus, you can play all your favorite Game Boy Advance games in a single-player mode.
With Nintendo DS, dual screens and touch-screen technology allow you to interact with games like never before. Wireless communication allows you to experience real-time multiplayer gameplay, while built-in PictoChat software gives you the power to draw, write and send messages wirelessly. Nintendo DS revolutionizes the way games are played.

Visit the Nintendo DS web page

Over at [H]Console, they’ve provided a detailed review of the differences between the DS and the DS Lite. Thanks guys. Champions.

Reviews:
cNet on DS
cNet on DS Lite
PC World on DS Lite
Digital Trends on DS Lite
TrustedReviews on DS Lite (9/10) - 19 June 2006
Pocket Lint on DS Lite- 14 July 2006

DS Technical Specifications

Reviews

CNET Review of DS Lite (8/10)

The good: The Nintendo DS Lite is slightly slimmed down, as well as a lot sleeker and more attractive without sacrificing the many features of the original Nintendo DS. The device employs innovative dual-screen and microphone-enabled gameplay without load times on a higher-resolution display than Game Boy Advance SP while remaining backward compatible with older GBA games. The inclusion of Wi-Fi multiplayer capabilities and a touch screen allows for a growing list of original and fun games that you can’t play on any other system.

The bad: Third-party support for the system hasn’t matched the originality and ingenuity of Nintendo’s games. The darker models are just as susceptible to scratches and smudges as the Sony PSP and the iPod, and its multimedia potential remains exclusive to Japan.

The bottom line: With a slick new design, brighter screens, and a growing library of fun and innovative games, the Nintendo DS Lite is an impressive improvement over the original DS.

CNET Review of DS (7.3/10)

The good: The Nintendo DS employs innovative dual-screen and microphone-enabled gameplay without load times on a higher-resolution display than Game Boy Advance SP while remaining backward compatible with older GBA games. The inclusion of Wi-Fi multiplayer capabilities and a touch screen allows for a growing list of original and fun games that you can’t play on any other system.

The bad: Third-party support for the system hasn’t matched the originality and ingenuity of Nintendo’s games, and multimedia potential remains exclusive to Japan. The system is quite bulky. The much more stylish and comfortable DS Lite will be available for $130 in June.

The bottom line: While it lacks the multimedia and graphical finesse of the Sony PSP, the feature-packed Nintendo DS is a worthy successor to the Game Boy Advance–but you may want to wait for the new and improved DS Lite.

PC World review of DS Lite (4.5/5)

The Nintendo DS Lite, announced in January, has finally arrived in the U.S. It’s not so much a revolutionary device as it is a better version of the Nintendo DS (for dual screen), which was a pretty terrific portable game device already.
Bottom Line:
The new, improved Nintendo DS Lite is worth the cost of the upgrade for fans of the original DS portable gaming device. It retains all the qualities that made the DS so much fun, and the bright new screens make a significant difference in the look of the games.

Pros:
Bright screens. Lighter and slimmer than original DS.

Cons:
Inserted Game Boy Advance cartridges stick out at the top slightly

Digital Trendsreview of DS Lite

Highs:
Enhanced portability; Brighter screen; Revamped button layout; Slimmer weight

Lows:
Case prone to smudging; GBA games stick out; Where’s the light switch?

Introduction
Everyone’s trying to slim down in time for summer – Nintendo included. Witness the newly debuted DS Lite ($129.99), a smaller, sleeker and generally better designed model of the popular DS handheld, which improves upon its predecessor in almost every conceivable way.

From tangible weight and size reductions to a new button layout, sharper visual performance and repositioned stylus holder, it’s a welcome addition to the Japanese giant’s celebrated family of portable consoles. So if you haven’t gotten hip to the dual-screened diversion’s charms – i.e. touch-sensitive titles experienced through top- and bottom-mounted visual displays using a stylus or d-pad- and button-based front-end – now’s the perfect chance.

On the downside, the machine’s enhancements are more cosmetic than anything else, simply offering gamers a less cumbersome, more stylish way of getting their New Super Mario Bros. or Magnetica on. But when that’s the harshest criticism current admirers can level at the unit, which will surely continue to spark sales of the deservedly acclaimed DS platform (17 million of the devices have already been snapped up worldwide), hey… Be thankful. It’s not like we’re looking at another N-Gage QD.

TrustedReviewsreview of DS Lite 9/10

This is exactly what the original DS should have been – if Nintendo had produced a machine like this a year and a half ago, Sony would have had a much tougher time convincing buyers to cough up £180. The DS Lite looks stunning, feels great in the hand and has a catalogue of great, if sometimes surreal games. If you’ve been putting off buying a Nintendo DS because you thought it was ugly, you don’t have that excuse anymore, and at £99 you’ll be getting a bargain.

Pocket-lint reviews the DS Lite

WHAT IS IT?:
Slimmed down version of handheld console
THE GOOD:
Slimmer, brighter screen, shiny case, better looks all round
THE BAD:
Still not as powerful or multimedia focused as the PSP
WE SAY:
The handheld console hasn’t just lost weight, its gained some style too

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