First 45: DSi

I know it's a day late, and in the world of the interwebs it's a sin to put up your impressions AFTER a system is already out, but here goes. I have spent minimal time with the system so my opinions could always change in the future.
The Nintendo DS is my favorite handheld of all time.Period. I never really liked handheld games until I got the the original DS.Then the DS lite came out and it made me fall in love with the system all over again.I haven't played my DS lite in a while and the DSi definitely gave me an excuse to jump back into handheld heaven. This is by far the best upgrade to any system I have ever played.

The first notable thing about the system, besides the cameras is the larger screens.Even my wife noticed. I can't wait to play some Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles on this bad boy. The speakers seem to be louder and higher quality as well. There are some slight changes to power/volume buttons and an SD card slot sits quietly on the side. I'm sure everyone already knows this but the GBA slot is gone, allowing the system to be slightly thinner. I could honestly care less about no GBA slot, but I know there are some rabid GBA fans that really hate the removal.How else is Nintendo gonna charge you again to download the same games ? I kid I kid.

When you boot it up it goes through the standard questionnaire DS owners should be familiar with. Then you follow the onscreen instructions to use the various picture applications.I love the cameras! The quality is really good, albeit not as good as today's digital cameras. You can manipulate the photos with all kinds of silly effects and you can record and change your voice songs that are on the SD card. The bad things is no MP3 format.Bummer.

After mucking around with the photos I immediately took it online via the shop channel and Downloaded the free browser app, WarioWare: Snapped, and Art style AQUIA. I won't go into too much detail about the games because I want this First 45 to be system specific. The web browser is decent, but you won't be on it unless you can help or you are just too lazy to get off the couch. When you download games or apps through the shop channel the download screen is very funny, with Nintendo characters running back and forth filling up the Download bar.It definitely beats out the Wii for most creative DL screen.

I loved the DSlite.Throw in all these extra feautures and some solid menus, and calm background music and the DSi is one slick machine. I recommend it to anyone looking for a new handheld, even if you already own a DS. I gave my old one to my wife.Check back for my First 45 of Grand Theft Auto:Chinatown Wars.