I’ve been doing research for this article. Lots and lots of research. So much research, in fact, that it’s been hard to actually sit down and start to write. The research I’ve been working on is on the new Nintendo DSi, the latest update on the popular DS console that the big N has been churning out in various incarnations since 2004. And so by research, I mean playing the thing voraciously. I’ve owned a DS before, but it met its end in a tragic Tetris accident (wish I was joking). When Nintendo announced its update to the DS by adding a lower case “i” to the end, I decided it was time to rejoin the world of handhelds.

The big hardware update to the DSi is the dual cameras that both face you and out towards the world. These prove to be almost completely useless unless you have ever thought, “I wish I could clutter up my Facebook with even more Photobooth style pictures.” Other than that, the hardware is mostly the same. Same dual screens, same touch screen, same pain of  “where the hell did I leave the stylus,” but a different “this looks like a very tiny MacBook” look (which doesn’t change the fact it still looks like a very tiny MacBook).

The big news here is the addition of the new DSi store, where you can download new titles each week from a WiFi store on the console. It’s already worked wonders for the iPhone; Nintendo is claiming the store will be more tightly edited so the consumer can be sure that all of the titles available to download are quality, as opposed to the iPhone’s billions of mostly low quality apps. So far, however, the leak has been very slow, with only a few games/gadgets being released each week. It would be safe to assume that once developers jump on the boat, we could be seeing some very interesting releases from independent companies.

Nintendo also made the choice to plan for the future with the DSi store, rather than plan for the past with backwards compatibility. Gone is the Game Boy Advance slot, which means no more playing pre-2004 Gameboy games. This really doesn’t mean much, unless you really wanted to jump back into the magical world of Pokemon.

Oh, and also of note is the wireless browser, which I guarantee has already gotten some good use in a few lecture classes.

Right now, the DSi seems rather unspectacular. Only a few downloadable games, no backwards compatibility, and no real advantages over your old DS. However, I’m betting that by the end of the year, this thing will be well worth it. Besides the already spectacular line up of games for the DS, the DSi will have a great line up of downloadables in a few months, and probably some new games that utilize the camera in ways deserving of comparison to the Wii. Is most of this speculation? Yes. But that’s what being an early adopter is: taking a bet to be on the forefront of new technology. Here’s to hoping it pays off.

(Image via under Creative Commons)