DS Diva

Nintendo DS is the first handheld game console in the DS family, released by Nintendo in November 2004. The DS stands for dual screen. The bottom (lower) LCD screen is touch-sensitive and is usually operated with a stylus that stores in a convenient slot on the console itself. The DS is also set up for wifi and has a microphone as another interactive feature. You can play games with someone else nearby who also has a DS, and in many (but not all) cases you don’t have to have two copies of the same game. Chatting software called PictoChat is included, so people can use the stylus to draw pictures and send messages to nearby friends who also have a DS. Oh, and it has an alarm clock.

In June 2006, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS Lite in the United States. The DS Lite is thinner and weighs less than the original DS. Like the original DS, the DS Lite is compatible with Game Boy Advance games, but on the DS Lite, which includes a dust cover for the GBA slot, the games stick out from the slot a bit. (There are two separate slots; the smaller one is for DS games, which are just a little bigger that an SD memory card such as is used with digital cameras.) Both the DS and DS Lite are rechargeable, and the charger is included. (Car chargers are sold separately.) A charge lasts from five to 10 hours, depending on screen brightness and other factors.

The DSi was announced in October 2008 and subsequently released in Japan, where Nintendo is based. The screens are bigger and it has two cameras, along with music playback and an SD card slot. Games and other content (including some free stuff) will be available via wifi as well as traditional methods. There’s even a built-in Web browser. The DSi will not be compatible with Game Boy Advance games. It also won’t work with Guitar Hero for DS, because the guitar grip uses the GBA slot. The DSi so far costs about $50 more than the DS Lite.