The Japanese game company Nintendo released a new version of its portable DS video game console at the annual Nintendo Conference in Tokyo on October 2nd. Thus the rumors that have been circulating during the past few weeks were confirmed. It is said that Nintendo’s deed is actually a reply to newcomer to the gaming business: Apple.

The new unit, called the "DSi" will keep the trademark double-screen, but expand it to 3.5 inches; a 17 percent increase in size and it is 18.9 mm thick.

The device also comes with a few new features such as a camera, internal storage to store pictures and move content from the DSi to the Wii, a built-in browser and the ability to play music (the memory is fed by a new SD card slot, which replaces the GBA slot in the DS.) in order to still remain a strong competitor against Sony’s PlayStation and Apple’s iPod and iPhone. Unfortunately

The DSi Sound program will only support AAC format.

The DS and Wii console are a great success for Nintendo as they have radically increased the clients’ demands among women and the elderly as well. "We are finding ourselves in an unprecedented stage where one of every six people (in Japan) has the DS," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference on Thursday. It is a known fact that around 6.94 million units of the DS were sold worldwide between April and June this year. Meanwhile, Sony’s portable PSP only sold 3.72 million units. In Japan’s case however things are upside down, as the PSP outsold the DS by 20 percent.

It was also announced that the dual-screen DSi would be on store shelves in Japan at the beginning of next month for around $180 (that’s somewhat cheaper than the PSP). The package comes with DSi system, an AC adapter, two touch pens (extra length, as you can see in the spec sheet), a kind of guide, an instruction manual, and a support book. But Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said plans to sell the device overseas will be announced later.

The hardware will launch alongside the DSi Shop, where one can download DSi Ware, including both games and applications. The device will also come with software making it possible for one to play with images and to slow or speed up audio files.

As far as the camera is concerned, it has a screen resolution of 640 x 480 (very limited) and the picture quality does not quite match the quality of the first consumer digital cameras that offered the same resolution about 12 years ago. But it is full of entertaining features such as your capability to digitally manipulate the image of someone's face using the touch pen. It also lets you combine or mold different faces together and a lot more.