What reviewers say
Launch reviewers welcome the slimmer matte body, larger screens and playful camera and sound tools. The higher price and shorter battery life weaken the upgrade from a DS Lite. Ars Technica finds the media features too basic, while Pocket Gamer likes the improved controls; all see the download service as promising before its library grows.
From arstechnica.com, techradar.com and pocketgamer.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specPerformance
- Type
- Handheld
- CPU
- Nintendo custom ARM CPU
- GPU
- Nintendo TWL integrated graphics
- Storage
- 256 MB
- Disc drive
- No
- CPU
- Nintendo's custom ARM CPU and GPU, marked TWL in iFixit's exact DSi teardown; Nintendo's public specification does not identify clock speeds
- GPU
- Integrated in the TWL chip (iFixit)
- Storage detail
- 256 MB of Samsung MoviNAND flash memory with an integrated MMC controller (iFixit); downloaded software runs from internal storage, with SD/SDHC cards used for backups rather than direct game launching (Ars Technica)
- Storage expansion
- SD and SDHC card slot
Display and video
- Built-in screen
- 3.25″ LCD, 256 × 192
- Built-in screen
- Two 3.25-inch transmissive TFT colour LCDs, 256 × 192 each, approximately 260,000 colours; five brightness levels and a touch screen on the lower display
- Audio
- Built-in speakers and microphone; DSi Sound plays unprotected AAC files with .m4a, .mp4 or .3gp extensions, 16–320 kbps and 32–48 kHz, and stores up to 18 recordings of up to 10 seconds each (Nintendo Japan)
Design and power
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- Up to 14 hours
- Weight
- 214 g
- Battery life detail
- TWL-003 user-replaceable battery pack; 840 mAh in iFixit's tested unit. Nintendo rates approximately 9–14 hours at lowest brightness, 8–12 at low, 6–9 at medium, 4–6 at high and 3–4 at highest; software, temperature, wireless and camera use affect runtime. Full charge approximately 2 hours 30 minutes
- Power use
- Approximately 2.8 W maximum while charging (Nintendo Japan manual)
- Size
- 137 × 74.9 × 18.9 mm when folded (width × depth × thickness); approximately 214 g includes battery and stylus
- In the box
- DSi, AC adapter, two styluses, quick start guide, instruction manuals and support booklet (Nintendo Japan)
Connections
- Ports
- Nintendo DS card slot, SD card slot, AC adapter connector and stereo headphone/microphone connector
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g (DSSS/OFDM), 2.4 GHz, nominal range approximately 10–30 m depending on surroundings (Nintendo's Japanese manual); WPA2 works for supported DSi functions, while older DS games retain their older wireless-security restrictions (Ars Technica)
- Controller
- Built-in D-pad, A/B/X/Y, L/R, Start and Select buttons, stylus and touch screen; two fixed-focus CMOS cameras, approximately 0.3 megapixels each (Nintendo Japan)
- Backward compatibility
- Nintendo DS and DSi games and installed DSiWare; no Game Boy Advance games or DS accessories requiring the GBA slot. DSi Shop purchases and free downloads ended on 31 March 2017 (Nintendo UK); launch-era reviews describe the service before closure
Pros and cons
Pros
- Two 3.25-inch screens with five brightness levels
- Two cameras and built-in photo and sound tools
- SD and SDHC support for photos, music and software backups
Cons
- No Game Boy Advance slot or compatibility with accessories that need it
- Nintendo rates battery life at 3–4 hours at highest brightness
- DSi Shop purchases and free software downloads ended on 31 March 2017
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Output | Memory | Storage | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handheld | – | 64 MB | – | 189 g | Oct 2008 | |
| Handheld | – | 64 MB | – | 189 g | Sept 2007 | |
| Handheld | – | 64 MB | 16 GB | 158 g | Oct 2009 |
Previous model: DS Lite.
Sources
- nintendo.co.jp/ds/series/dsi/spec/index.html
- nintendo.co.jp/ds/series/dsi/index.html
- nintendo.co.jp/ds/support/pdf/dsmanual_A.pdf
- nintendo.co.jp/ds/series/dsi/menu/sound/index.html
- nintendo.com/en-gb/Support/Legacy-system/Nintendo-DSi-Shop-Discontinuation-FAQ-…
- ifixit.com/News/383/nintendo-dsi-first-look
- arstechnica.com/gaming/2009/04/where-were-going-we-wont-need-stores-ars-reviews…
- Nintendo DSi in Black, closed exterior beside open front view and matching stylus; Japanese colour-page composition: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo DSi in Blue, closed exterior beside open front view and matching stylus; Japanese colour-page composition: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo DSi in Green, closed exterior beside open front view and matching stylus; Japanese colour-page composition: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo DSi in Pink, closed exterior beside open front view and matching stylus; Japanese colour-page composition: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo DSi in Red, closed exterior beside open front view and matching stylus; Japanese colour-page composition: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
