Soo its kinda funny how the new DSi has been constantly under fire by critics since its spec's were announced, and it was nowhere near being released. Well now that its April release date looms ever closer, I thought I'd take a look at some of the finer points of Nintendo's newest handheld.
The screen: The new DSi screen is 3.25 inches, compared to the original DS' 3 inches. That's right, 8 percent more real estate. Thats even more room to stare at those hot pixelated Final Fantasy white mages. Hubba Hubba!
Charging Time: The DSi clocks in at 2 hrs, 30mins to go from zero to sixty, compared to the original's 3 hours. That means you'll be playing Mario Kart DS 30 minutes sooner than your friends.
Battery Life: The bane of remote controls, children's Christmas presents, and ...uh..*cough* other items. The new DSi has a 4-6 hr shorter battery life than its predecessor. This is the chief complaint by many naysayers. But hang on, what if this is a great move by Nintendo to reduce the global percentage of handheld related muggings. Think about it, say you just get home from work, after a long day, having indulged in a bit of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia at lunch, and on the ride home (you do take public transportation, right?), you play a bit of Phantom Hourglass, and you might stop at the local Starbucks, for a cafe latte. While there, you manage to school a couple of 8 year olds in Pokemon Pearl, while mentioning the fact that they're far too young to drink coffee. You finally get home, and as you are unlocking your door, some thug comes out of nowhere and grabs your shiny new DSi. Well the joke's on him, cause once he gets back to his hideout and powers it on, chances are its probably dead. (I mean, you know, he'll probably take your wallet/purse too, and could very well leave you a bloody mess on your front porch). But the fact that your DSi is dead when he wants to play it, makes his victory less than total and ultimately shallow. Can you say epic win?
No GBA Slot: This one hurts. You probably dont need to play Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald again, but its nice to have the slot there for games like Fire Emblem and Golden Sun. But they did give you something to play with:
The DSi Camera: Thats right, a feature common on cell phones everywhere, now you get a nifty little camera! Its kind of neat, in that you can snap pictures of yourself while playing the DSi, or someone else who's watching you play the DSi, on the other side of the room. I know, it hardly sounds practical. But in a different context, the DSi camera could capture that cheating lover from around the corner, most of the inevitable murder and your eventual trial and incarceration. Your DSi could be your best friend behind bars (especially since your cellmate Bubba isnt much of a talker). Epic win? I think so.
Sorry, I'm getting off topic again. Actually I just wanted to get you guys/gals opinions, cause I'm thinking of preordering one, if I scrounge up some cash, and I'm not sure whether to go with the black, or that baby blue one. I'm leaning towards black, because black is slimming, it goes with any outfit and the dark background makes the screen stand out more I think. But that blue is kinda nice looking too, its almost periwinkle! (thats the gateway color to indigo and violet, you know!)