While the Nintendo DS has dominated the handheld games market, Nintendo is not resting on its dual-screened laurels. The DSi takes the functionality of the DS Lite and adds in a host of new features. But should you trade in your DS or DS Lite for this $170 upgrade?

Hardware

The DSi looks like a DS Lite on first glance, but as soon as you touch it, you'll notice a matte finish instead of glossy, which gives it a slightly less slippery feel but takes some getting used to. The i in DSi stands for "internet," and the additional wireless light by the power and charge lights show that off. Finally, the other obvious difference is a pair of camera lenses, one on the outside lid and one on the interior hinge. We also found that the power button serves as a reset button to quit a game and return to the DSi Menu (hold down to power off).

The device itself is just a hair longer than the Lite and slightly shorter, but the difference is negligible. Likewise, the screen on the DSi is slightly larger, if you compare the two, but you have to hold then next to each other to be sure.

Look closely, and you'll notice a few other changes: an SD card slot, a volume rocker instead of slide (I prefer an analog slide, which allows more control over volume, personally.), and its main "downgrade": no GBA slot, so no playing your old GBA games of other games that use the slot for games like Guitar Hero On Tour that use that slot for special controls.

The system also adds yet a third charger design, so you won't be able to swap chargers with your other DS systems.

Networking

If you like to play games online, this new feature will likely be very important to you. The DSi can now use WPA wireless encryption in addition to WEP. Since WEP is not secure and easily defeated, if you have a home wireless network, you should really be using WPA encryption. (If you want to get online with your other DS's, get an additional wireless router and "piggyback" it with an additional WEP network, thus keeping your main network secure.) We found the wireless reception to be reliable, almost as strong as that of our iPod Touch or laptops' ranges.

Compatibility

While the DSi cannot handle Game Boy Advance cartridges, it can run all DS games except those previously noted that require use of the GBA slot. If you have a lot of GBA games, you may want to consider whether you're ready to upgrade.

Cameras

The DSi includes a VGA camera with two lenses, one so the user can take self-portraits, and one to take photos of others. The lens is small like a mobile phone camera, so don't expect much in the way of quality, and the images have a resolution of 640x480 pixels, so you won't be printing these out for your scrapbook, but this camera is more about having fun than preserving memories.

The SD slot allows you to save these photos to view on your computer, post online, or share on your Wii, but you can't import photos from your computer. (We used the camera to take a snapshot of the computer screen as a workaround, but that's hardly ideal.)

Photos can be sorted by date taken or by assigning one of three "stickers" to them, then sorting by sticker, but note that photos stored in the system cannot be displayed at the same time as photos on the SD card.

But the fun comes in the edit menu by applying one of the "lenses" to the photo. (Note: editing can be done as the photos are taken instead of post-processing if you want immediate results.) Distortion warps and twists the photo. Graffiti applies shapes and free-painting with a handful of options, including a word balloon. Color sets the photo to grayscale, turning just one general color to colored for emphasis. Colorpad controls tint. Mirror applies various mirror effects. All of these effects can be found in many children's cameras.

But the real fun comes with the final four lenses, which use facial recognition technology. Mischief applies hearts over the eyes, glasses, a pig nose, mustache, and more to the correct places on a face, and it can do this in real time as the photo is taken. Emoter distorts a face to create happy, sad, and angry faces. Merge, my personal favorite, takes photos of two different people and combines them. (Example below: I combined Barack Obama and George W. Bush. The result looks to me like Dick Clark, oddly enough.) Finally, resemblance requires 2 faces in the same photo and examines them for similarity, guessing whether the people are related. (It said my wife and I are, but she and our daughter are not, so don't expect this one to hold up in court ("For entertainment purposes only"). So next time candidates say they're nothing like each other, let the DSi decide!

Sound

Another built-in application does to sound what the camera does to photos. Record your own voice, or use a song from your music collection. (Note: This application cannot use mp3 files. You need unprotected AAC files. iTunes can convert them easily for you if you need, and iTunes Plus files work fine with this application, as do our Enhanced podcast files.) Then start playing with the sound. Alter the frequency/pitch to sound like you (or your favorite bands) have been sucking helium, are talking into a fan, or tunnel, or even convert your singing voice into a trumpet. It can also take your voice and produce decent harmonies with it. Use either presets or adjust manually. When listening to a music file, you can use the shoulder buttons to tap along with several different drums, cymbals, and other sounds, great for actively listening to a song. Plug in headphones, and you can listen (and tap along) even with the lid shut.

Like most other music players, the DSi includes a visualizer--possibly the best visualizer on the planet. Besides the usual LED-levels, it converts the music into breaking eggs with chicks, swirling colors, a snowball rolling down a hill (sound waves are the bumps on the hill), a beautiful flower blooming, and my personal favorite, ExciteBike cycles riding on the sound waves.

The lack of mp3 support is frustrating and confusing, and it can't display album art, but the toys in this app will tie you up for hours of fun.

Nintendo DSi Shop

Like the Wii Shop, the DSi supports downloadable applications that can be bought, like on the Wii, with DSi Points. Current applications range from 200 to 800 points ($2-8), and they initially include the following, with weekly additions expected:

• WarioWare™: Snapped! – Using the built-in Nintendo DSi camera, this outrageous title puts players right at the center of fast-paced mini-games, challenging them to race the clock and get a peek at Wario's photo album.

• Bird & Beans™ – Using an elastic tongue, players must scramble to collect falling beans. The harder a bean is to catch, the more points it's worth.

• Brain Age™ Express: Math – In this math-focused edition of the popular Brain Age series, players can enjoy a mix of new and familiar training exercises. A new Themes mode also lets Nintendo DSi users experiment with images and voice recordings in fun, unusual ways.

• Master of Illusion™ Express: Funny Face – This game uses your Nintendo DSi as a prop in a card trick. Draw a face on the touch screen and astound your audience as the face tells them which playing card they picked.

• Art Style™: AQUIA™ – The newest addition to the eye-popping Art Style series, this mesmerizing underwater puzzle game challenges players to help a scuba diver reach the ocean floor by matching a series of colored blocks.

Note that the "Express" games are really just demos of existing full games, but WarioWare: Snapped! takes full advantage of the DSi's capabilities. We're hoping that the missing GBA slot means we can expect "Virtual Console" versions of our favorite Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games along with the new DSiWare games.

Parental Controls

Parents concerned about their kids finding inappropriate content online will be happy to find a wealth of parental controls. Besides setting the maximum rating of any game played, the system can also limit access to the browser (although it has no content filter options, just all or nothing) and various wireless capabilities like pictochat and sending and receiving various kinds of data.

Browser

The downloadable DSi Browser uses Opera and will look familiar to Wii Browser users. The main difference is a choice between displaying a page in column view on both screens, or displaying the entire page on one screen and a magnified view on the other with only a portion selected. You wouldn't want to use this browser for any length of time, but if you're ever out somewhere and need to look something up, find a hotspot and get what you need. It supports JavaScript, but not a whole lot else, and don't expect to watch Flash, YouTube or QuickTime videos on it.

Final Verdict

This is a great upgrade with some classic Nintendo creativity. I estimate the value of the camera and accompanying application and the sound application alone to be worth about $80 were they available as add-ons for the DS Lite (but they're not, nor will they be). If you don't already have a DS and have been holding out, the DSi is worth the additional cost—easily—if only for the photo and sound applications. Many will buy it just for the WPA capabilities, but an extra wireless router would be cheaper if that's your only reason. If you're interested in the DSi Store, wait until a few must-have games come out for it to make sure they have what you want. If you want the better screen, it's not worth it for that difference. And if you have a large collection of GBA games or love Guitar Hero: On Tour, you'll want to pass. If you can afford the cost and like the sound of the above features, buy it--they're even better than they sound. If you're thinking about getting it for your kids, buy it--the photo and sound applications alone will keep them fascinated for days.