The Nintendo DSi is so awesome because of....

8. New games

New games are a given of course. But not only new games but new innovation in games. Think of what the camera can do in a game (discussed later). Even without new features, there were a few launch titles announced for the DSi. The biggest being Mario & Luigi RPG 3.

7. Onboard memory

The flash memory is probably going to be used mostly for the DSWare games (again discussed later), but it might also be utilized in some games, you never know.

6. Better speakers

...Mean better sound quality. 'Nuff said.

5. SD card slot

Probably will be used for saving data once the onboard memory is full. Also to send photos over to computer and Wii (wait a camera? what? ...discussed later).

4. Bigger screens

The DSi will have 3.25 inch screens versus the DS's 3 inch screens. It's supposed to have a little bit better resolution too.

3. The web browser

The original internet browser you could buy for the DS. I've never used it before and heard it kind of sucked. Plus it was discontinued in the U.S. But the new DSi has a built in web browser that uses the same internet browser, Opera, as the Wii's one. The Wii's Internet Channel works pretty good in my opinion (could use some tabs) so hopefully this will turn out good too.

2. DSWare/Apps store

Similar to WiiWare, DSWare will allow smaller games and more indie titles to reach the audiences. The prices range from free, 200, 400, and 800 points. A lot of the apps could be like the iPhone's (MySpace, weather, etc.), but I also hope Nintendo releases Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and GBA games for downloads, especially seeing that there's no GBA slot.

1. Build-in camera

The single biggest change of the DSi is the camera. Some sites claim its a 3 megapixel, while most others say it's a 0.3 megapixel. If it's the latter then that's not that high of quality. Even so, the possibilities the DSi opens up with a camera are pretty big. You'll be able to directly send the photos you snap over to your Wii's Photo Channel. There's also a built in editor on the DSi similar to the Wii's (in the Photo Channel).

All in all, the DSi brought quite a few changes. Though some may complain about the lack of GBA backward compatibility, the newer innovations, particularly the camera, DSWare, and the bigger screen and speakers, make it worth it. Plus having a new seperate Wifi-specific switch will make online DS gaming seemless! I will be be preordering it as soon as an EU release date is announced!

Roo