**The Nintendo DSi: A Decent but Not Revolutionary Device**

When it comes to handheld gaming, few devices have been as beloved as the Nintendo DS. And with the release of the DSi, Nintendo looked to update their existing formula and bring some new features to the table. However, in this author's opinion, the DSi is a bit of a disappointment.

One of the most notable aspects of the DSi is its ability to display video content over Wi-Fi. While this feature may seem exciting at first glance, it actually results in a less-than-stellar viewing experience when Wi-Fi is off. The screen brightness and quality take precedence, leaving the user with a somewhat subpar visual experience. It's worth noting that the DSi does manage to crank up the brightness adequately, but overall, this feature feels like a compromise rather than an upgrade.

In terms of build quality, the DSi is perhaps one of Nintendo's most inconsistent designs in recent years. The Top Line model features noticeable gaps along its sides, which can be jarring at times. However, it's worth noting that these gaps do not affect gameplay, and the device feels sturdy enough to withstand normal use. While this author wouldn't necessarily call the DSi's build quality exceptional, it's also not something that should keep you up at night.

The graphics on the DSi are, in a word, unremarkable. They're identical to those found on earlier models like the standard DS and the DS Lite, which means that games don't look significantly different even with this new hardware. The screen resolution is indeed slightly higher on the DSi, but overall, it's not enough to make up for the lack of visual flair.

That being said, there are some notable exceptions to this rule. Certain games, such as Pokémon Soul Silver, showcase decent 3D effects that are worth checking out. This author was particularly impressed with the game's graphics, which demonstrate a level of polish and attention to detail that's hard to ignore.

In terms of value for money, it's difficult to recommend the DSi wholeheartedly. While there are some minor perks like improved camera capabilities and internet browsing, these features are not enough to justify the device's existence in anyone's eyes. The main reason to upgrade from an earlier DS model is largely due to the impending arrival of the Nintendo 3DS, which promises to bring a host of new features and improvements.

One of the most significant advantages of the 3DS is its ability to play games in full 3D, a feature that's been sorely lacking on previous models. The device is also backwards compatible with all DS games, making it a no-brainer for those who've invested heavily in the Nintendo library. In fact, this author can't help but think of the 3DS as essentially an Xbox, given its impressive lineup of launch titles and backwards compatibility.

If you're considering purchasing a DSi on the cheap or simply want to collect one like the author does, it's certainly not a bad idea. However, for anyone who wants to future-proof their gaming experience or simply upgrade from an older model, there's no reason to settle for the DSi when the 3DS is just around the corner.

**The Verdict**

In conclusion, while the Nintendo DSi has its moments, it ultimately feels like a device that's trying to coast on its existing formula rather than pushing the boundaries of what handheld gaming can offer. With the impending arrival of the 3DS, there's little reason to recommend the DSi to anyone but those looking to snag one on a tight budget or simply wanting to complete their Nintendo collection. As for this author, they'll be eagerly awaiting the 3DS and all it promises to bring.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys so today I'm here with my full review of the Nintendo DSi um so guys a lot of people question should I buy a DSI right now obviously the DSi XL just came out a few months ago and of course the 3DS or whatever they're going to call it will be coming out probably the end of the year but guys I still think there is a decent market for the DSi so I'm going to go ahead and give you guys a full review of it and let you know what I think so the first thing is going to be the build quality and the size and all that so guys it is a pretty decent sized uh thing um if you ever had a DS light it is almost the exact same size I believe it's just very slightly uh longer and a bit thinner but let me go ahead and give you guys a walk through of the device so on the front zoom in just a little bit here so on the front you have your three power buttons um it's for Wi-Fi for charging and then your battery indicator you have your camera your. 3 megapixel I'll cover the cameras in a minute and there's a little light which lights up when this camera is active um on the back of the device you see that there's nothing there's no Game Boy advanced cartridge um which may or may not be a big deal and then you have your headphone and SL microphone on this side you have your SD card and you also have your stylus so you go ahead and just put your stylus right in there no big deal um and you go ahead and you can put in an SD card just like so um you flip it over on the back you'll find the lnr buttons um guys I like the buttons actually they're pretty clicky as you can see they do purr just a little bit but it's not a big deal you can go ahead and charge it and you can go ahead and put your games in and then you also have a place for a lanyard or something like that and coming over here is nothing except just the volume um guys I actually do like this volume it is like a rocker on a cell phone um it works pretty good okay guys so now go ahead and give you guys a brief tour of the software so in case you didn't know the DSi is a a lot different than the standard DS Light it's got a new menu system so you can see guys here we can go ahead and scroll through like this or it's really simply to go ahead and just scroll like this you just take the stylus there's a lot of different options and it works pretty well um on the top screen you can go ahead and take C pictures and you can go Ahad and have them display sort of like a wallpaper it's pretty good and then at any point while you're on the screen you hit the left or right triggers and it will go ahead and jump into the camera applications so if you want to jump into your DSI and take a picture of it works um guys so there are a few different things in the DS um there is but the two main things I'm going to be covering today are the camera and the photos app um guys the camera works pretty well you can go ahead and take pictures with either the inside or outside camera um they're pretty low resolution as you guys can see right here I mean they're okay if there's no other the camera around you know if this is what you got in your pocket you can take snap a couple decent pictures but in general it's not that great of a camera you can of course go ahead and do some editing some kind of cool editing effects you can pull and zoom and all kinds of stuff with pictures graffiti on them there's a lot of kind of neat stuff it's mostly a novelty now the second thing is going to be the sound app uh now guys the sound is well it's you know it's nothing amazing uh basically you can go ahead and record a clip and then you can go ahead and have you know somebody you know you say something and then it can you know speed it up slow it down raise the pitch some different things like that again it's a novelty but it's kind of something fun to mess with hey I'm here with a review hey guys what is up this is dck and today I'm here with a review hey guys what is up it's D and today I'm here now guys the DSi also does have the DSi wear shop as well as the DSi browser I won't get really too in depth into either of these the DSi wear is very similar to if you use the Wii wear shop on the Wii go ahead and pick up a few titles to be honest guys there's not a whole lot there there's a few things um and you know you can go ahead and buy it depending on how many points it is it's pretty decent and it also has a browser the browser is okay but I really don't like it just because it is very very slow and to be honest if you if you're not on a site with a mobile if you don't have a a website that has a mobile browser then forget it I mean the DSi is very very very slow when when you're loading um you can use the touchcreen to pan in Zoom which is kind of nice but the speed totally makes it useless in my opinion however guys there are a couple things I think I should mention one thing is that Wi-Fi is kind of a little bit odd it does not support High encryption networks um or at least it doesn't fully support them um now guys you can go ahead with the latest 1.4 update you can go ahead and do like web browsing over you know like normal encrypted networks but a lot of games don't support multiplayer over uh highly encrypted networks so guys that's a little bit of a hit and miss if you don't have your Wi-Fi encrypted which I hope you do but if you don't you'll be okay but that's definitely an annoying thing another thing guys is battery life battery life is not great on this um it's not as good as the DS Light which was excellent um you can go ahead and probably get 7 to eight hours of play you know on maybe like medium brightness and you know with Wi-Fi off um you know you crank up Wi-Fi and you know you turn up the screen brightness it'll knock probably a little bit of off that um I found it be to be decent just not fantastic now guys while we're still talking about the hardware and how the uh system works um I'm going to tell you guys straight up I am not 100% really happy with the build quality um if you guys look along this Top Line all along here you can see that it it's there's a lot more of a gap just activate there's a lot more of a gap on the left side than the uh than on the right side and this holds true get out that this holds true if you guys can tell right there as it goes it's okay it's okay all a sudden there's a little bit of a gap now guys to be honest this does not affect gameplay um and I don't really think I mean the DS does feel pretty sturdy you can go ahead and you know TW twist it and you know you know keep it in your pocket and stuff so I wouldn't really really worry about that but just little things like that just kind of annoy me a bit now guys the graphics on the DSi are basically identical to the standard DS if you've ever played DS or DS Light the games are not going to look any different the screen is the both screens are slightly bigger on the DSi and it is true that the DSi has four times the RAM and a much faster processor that that is not really translate to normal games that said though guys the DSi is pretty decent so let me go ahead and show you guys just a little bit here um as you can see here there's pretty decent effects this is Pokemon Soul Silver um let me go ahead and show you guys just a little short bit of gam playay this is a really fun game by the way so we can go ahead and you can see that the 3D effects are pretty decent so we can go ahead and go out here and I mean there are some definitely some pretty uh cool games see this is this is a pretty good uh thing and of course guys the DS is capable of much better graphics than this um for example you know there's a Call of Duty um you can get Call of Duty I believe there's a couple different Call of Duties on here so I mean it is full capable of full 3d but I think where the main part is is that it really does work well for the RPGs okay guys so it's time for the wrap up um to be honest guys I don't really recommend the DSi I mean it's there's a lot of really good things it's nice to have cameras although they are pretty low quality and you know there are a few nice things such as you know being able to browse the internet slightly not not really that well um you know download stuff in the DSi warhop but to be honest guys it's not um if you've never had a DS before this might be a decent choice but especially if you have an earlier DS there's really no reason to upgrade especially guys because the main reason is that the 3DS is coming now of course the there is the DSi XL of course which is 100% identical basically the only major difference is that it's just bigger doesn't have any new features um you know obviously the case is a little bit different but guys the main reason that I don't recommend the DSi is because the 3DS is coming um the 3DS should have 3D it it is confirmed that will be 100% backwards compat compatible with all your normal DS games so guys that alone I mean that'd be like buying an Xbox right before the Xbox 360 came out I mean sure the Xbox might have been nice but the Xbox 360 should play most of the games you know and in this case the 3DS will definitely play all of your D games so guys the the uh DSi maybe if you got it for cheap or you know you maybe just wanted to collect it like I do then that might be a pretty good deal but until then I highly recommend you guys go ahead and wait um within the next week or two the 3DS should be announced and it's going to look like it's going to be a pretty solid upgradehey guys so today I'm here with my full review of the Nintendo DSi um so guys a lot of people question should I buy a DSI right now obviously the DSi XL just came out a few months ago and of course the 3DS or whatever they're going to call it will be coming out probably the end of the year but guys I still think there is a decent market for the DSi so I'm going to go ahead and give you guys a full review of it and let you know what I think so the first thing is going to be the build quality and the size and all that so guys it is a pretty decent sized uh thing um if you ever had a DS light it is almost the exact same size I believe it's just very slightly uh longer and a bit thinner but let me go ahead and give you guys a walk through of the device so on the front zoom in just a little bit here so on the front you have your three power buttons um it's for Wi-Fi for charging and then your battery indicator you have your camera your. 3 megapixel I'll cover the cameras in a minute and there's a little light which lights up when this camera is active um on the back of the device you see that there's nothing there's no Game Boy advanced cartridge um which may or may not be a big deal and then you have your headphone and SL microphone on this side you have your SD card and you also have your stylus so you go ahead and just put your stylus right in there no big deal um and you go ahead and you can put in an SD card just like so um you flip it over on the back you'll find the lnr buttons um guys I like the buttons actually they're pretty clicky as you can see they do purr just a little bit but it's not a big deal you can go ahead and charge it and you can go ahead and put your games in and then you also have a place for a lanyard or something like that and coming over here is nothing except just the volume um guys I actually do like this volume it is like a rocker on a cell phone um it works pretty good okay guys so now go ahead and give you guys a brief tour of the software so in case you didn't know the DSi is a a lot different than the standard DS Light it's got a new menu system so you can see guys here we can go ahead and scroll through like this or it's really simply to go ahead and just scroll like this you just take the stylus there's a lot of different options and it works pretty well um on the top screen you can go ahead and take C pictures and you can go Ahad and have them display sort of like a wallpaper it's pretty good and then at any point while you're on the screen you hit the left or right triggers and it will go ahead and jump into the camera applications so if you want to jump into your DSI and take a picture of it works um guys so there are a few different things in the DS um there is but the two main things I'm going to be covering today are the camera and the photos app um guys the camera works pretty well you can go ahead and take pictures with either the inside or outside camera um they're pretty low resolution as you guys can see right here I mean they're okay if there's no other the camera around you know if this is what you got in your pocket you can take snap a couple decent pictures but in general it's not that great of a camera you can of course go ahead and do some editing some kind of cool editing effects you can pull and zoom and all kinds of stuff with pictures graffiti on them there's a lot of kind of neat stuff it's mostly a novelty now the second thing is going to be the sound app uh now guys the sound is well it's you know it's nothing amazing uh basically you can go ahead and record a clip and then you can go ahead and have you know somebody you know you say something and then it can you know speed it up slow it down raise the pitch some different things like that again it's a novelty but it's kind of something fun to mess with hey I'm here with a review hey guys what is up this is dck and today I'm here with a review hey guys what is up it's D and today I'm here now guys the DSi also does have the DSi wear shop as well as the DSi browser I won't get really too in depth into either of these the DSi wear is very similar to if you use the Wii wear shop on the Wii go ahead and pick up a few titles to be honest guys there's not a whole lot there there's a few things um and you know you can go ahead and buy it depending on how many points it is it's pretty decent and it also has a browser the browser is okay but I really don't like it just because it is very very slow and to be honest if you if you're not on a site with a mobile if you don't have a a website that has a mobile browser then forget it I mean the DSi is very very very slow when when you're loading um you can use the touchcreen to pan in Zoom which is kind of nice but the speed totally makes it useless in my opinion however guys there are a couple things I think I should mention one thing is that Wi-Fi is kind of a little bit odd it does not support High encryption networks um or at least it doesn't fully support them um now guys you can go ahead with the latest 1.4 update you can go ahead and do like web browsing over you know like normal encrypted networks but a lot of games don't support multiplayer over uh highly encrypted networks so guys that's a little bit of a hit and miss if you don't have your Wi-Fi encrypted which I hope you do but if you don't you'll be okay but that's definitely an annoying thing another thing guys is battery life battery life is not great on this um it's not as good as the DS Light which was excellent um you can go ahead and probably get 7 to eight hours of play you know on maybe like medium brightness and you know with Wi-Fi off um you know you crank up Wi-Fi and you know you turn up the screen brightness it'll knock probably a little bit of off that um I found it be to be decent just not fantastic now guys while we're still talking about the hardware and how the uh system works um I'm going to tell you guys straight up I am not 100% really happy with the build quality um if you guys look along this Top Line all along here you can see that it it's there's a lot more of a gap just activate there's a lot more of a gap on the left side than the uh than on the right side and this holds true get out that this holds true if you guys can tell right there as it goes it's okay it's okay all a sudden there's a little bit of a gap now guys to be honest this does not affect gameplay um and I don't really think I mean the DS does feel pretty sturdy you can go ahead and you know TW twist it and you know you know keep it in your pocket and stuff so I wouldn't really really worry about that but just little things like that just kind of annoy me a bit now guys the graphics on the DSi are basically identical to the standard DS if you've ever played DS or DS Light the games are not going to look any different the screen is the both screens are slightly bigger on the DSi and it is true that the DSi has four times the RAM and a much faster processor that that is not really translate to normal games that said though guys the DSi is pretty decent so let me go ahead and show you guys just a little bit here um as you can see here there's pretty decent effects this is Pokemon Soul Silver um let me go ahead and show you guys just a little short bit of gam playay this is a really fun game by the way so we can go ahead and you can see that the 3D effects are pretty decent so we can go ahead and go out here and I mean there are some definitely some pretty uh cool games see this is this is a pretty good uh thing and of course guys the DS is capable of much better graphics than this um for example you know there's a Call of Duty um you can get Call of Duty I believe there's a couple different Call of Duties on here so I mean it is full capable of full 3d but I think where the main part is is that it really does work well for the RPGs okay guys so it's time for the wrap up um to be honest guys I don't really recommend the DSi I mean it's there's a lot of really good things it's nice to have cameras although they are pretty low quality and you know there are a few nice things such as you know being able to browse the internet slightly not not really that well um you know download stuff in the DSi warhop but to be honest guys it's not um if you've never had a DS before this might be a decent choice but especially if you have an earlier DS there's really no reason to upgrade especially guys because the main reason is that the 3DS is coming now of course the there is the DSi XL of course which is 100% identical basically the only major difference is that it's just bigger doesn't have any new features um you know obviously the case is a little bit different but guys the main reason that I don't recommend the DSi is because the 3DS is coming um the 3DS should have 3D it it is confirmed that will be 100% backwards compat compatible with all your normal DS games so guys that alone I mean that'd be like buying an Xbox right before the Xbox 360 came out I mean sure the Xbox might have been nice but the Xbox 360 should play most of the games you know and in this case the 3DS will definitely play all of your D games so guys the the uh DSi maybe if you got it for cheap or you know you maybe just wanted to collect it like I do then that might be a pretty good deal but until then I highly recommend you guys go ahead and wait um within the next week or two the 3DS should be announced and it's going to look like it's going to be a pretty solid upgrade