Putting an end to intense speculation, president and CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata announced Nintendo's plans to launch a new improved version of the Nintendo DS gaming handheld.

Among various new hardware, new games and new services, the Japanese game maker also revealed a new version of Nintendo DS, called the DSi, during a Tokyo press conference on Thursday.

The new product, slightly slimmer and lighter, will keep the trademark double-screen, only enhanced to 3.5 inches, a 17 percent increase in size, while the device shrank by 12 percent, or about 2.6mm.

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. Additionally, DSiWare games can be bought by users through points. Titles on the store will be either free or will cost 200 points up to 800 points. As a promotion, Nintendo will be granting 1000 Nintendo points to new DSi owners until 2010.

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.

The company plans to put the third version of the DS on sale in Japan in the holiday season, beginning November 1 for $179 or 18,900 Yen, which is an increase from the 16,800 Yen Nintendo charges for the current model, but still undersells Sony's PSP. The company hasn't said when it plans to bring the DSi to overseas markets, but it likely won't be until 2009.

With one in six Japanese already owning a DS, according to Kyoto-based Nintendo, domestic sales of the devices in the fiscal first quarter ended June stood at 580,000 units, down sharply from 2.08 million a year earlier. However, Iwata said the company's purpose is to make the DS a must-have for every Japanese. Nintendo already sold nearly 23 million DS players, accounting for one-fifth of Japan's population, as of June 30 since their launch in 2004.