Nintendo DSi, which was launched last November in Japan, will be released in the United States, on April 4, according to IGN.com

Also, the gaming site claims that the price of the new handheld will be around $179,99.

 

Nintendo DSi, which is slightly slimmer and lighter than Nintendo DS, keeps the trademark double-screen, only enhanced to 3.5 inches. However, the major changes fans will mostly be excited about are the two built-in cameras, one on the inside and one, which is VGA capable, of the outside, an SD card slot for storage, internal memory plus wireless capabilities.

 

Users can download games from what is being called the "DSi shop" and can surf the Web through a built-in browser. The DSi will also come with software allowing users to play with their images and to slow or speed up audio files.

 

Compatibility-wise, the new DS can run software specific to the DS Lite, but being unequipped with a GBA slot, the DSi will be unable to run games for the Gameboy Advanced. Also, the DS Lite will not be able to run software designed specifically for the DSi.

 

Last year, , Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said that the company will start shipping Nintendo DSi in overseas market by the summer of 2009. So far Nintendo DSi has sold over one million units in Japan, but apparently the sales are dropping because the market is saturated with the previous models, DS and DS Lite.