Hot Hot Handheld: Nintendo DSi

Yeah, yeah, we know – the DSi has been out in Japan for a while now, so the details of this little device aren’t anything new. But how many of you have actually gotten to play with one? Exactly. In addition to having some fresh-off-the-presses info, which was announced today at the Nintendo, I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these puppies – and I have to admit, the thing is sweet. Here’s a quick run-down of what it has to offer:

Armed with two cameras, the DSi comes with DSi Photo, which allows you to manipulate the photos you take in a ton of different ways, like adding graphics and image distorition, so you can make your friends look like the dumbasses they really are. The camera will also have in-game applications on some titles, like WarioWare Snapped.

Next up is DSi Sound, which allows you to record your own audio or import songs (in AAC file format) and speed up or slow down the sound, and even make your own mash-ups, with a touch of the stylus.

In addition to these two main features, the DSi comes with a mere 256MB of internal memorty, but is excellently augmented by a newly added SD card slot, allowing you to store as many pics, music, sounds and games as can fit on whatever size card you pop in. This also allows the DSi to fold-up and double as a music player.

Nintendo’s DSiWare download store will have games available for free, 200, 500 or 800 DSi points, which act exactly like Wii points, with 100 points = $1. The DSi will be released April 5th in the US, available in blue and black, so if you’re looking to upgrade your handheld gaming, this is definitely the way to go.