At a press conference in Japan tonight, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed the latest version of the DS: the Nintendo DS-i.

The DS-i is basically a thinner DS Lite with two cameras and no GameBoy Advance slot. The screens are slightly larger at 3.25-inches instead of 3-inches and two digital cameras have been added. The outer camera has a 3-megapixel resolution and pictures can be stored on an SD Card for transfer to the Wii or a computer. The other camera has a 0.3 megapixel resolution (640x480).

Screens: The DSi screens are 3.25 inches diagonal width. That's bigger than the 3-inch panels on the DS Lite. Both are color TFT (thin-film transistor) LCDs (liquid crystal displays) with 260,000 pixels resolution. Size: The DSi measures 137 millimeters by 74.9mm by 18.9mm making it a little longer, deeper and thinner than the DS Lite, which measures 133mm by 73.9mm by 21.5mm. Weight: The DSi weighs in at 214 grams. That's a touch lighter than the 218-gram DS Lite but close enough that you're unlikely to notice. Battery life: Depending on the screen brightness gamers can expect anywhere between 3 hours and 14 hours on the DSi versus 5 hours to 19 hours on the DS Lite. Battery recharge time: Good news for gamers is that the DSi takes 2 hours and 30 minutes to recharge -- 30 minutes faster than the DS Lite. Compatibility: The DSi can play software developed for the DS and DSi but lacks the compatibility for GameBoy Advance software that's present on the DS Lite. Any DSi-specific software won't play on the DS Lite. Inputs: The DSi features a DS and SD Card slot. On the DS Lite you can find a DS Card slot and GameBoy Advance cartridge slot but no SD Card compatibility. Both have connectors for power and a stereo headphone and microphone. Source: PC World

DS-i will launch in Japan on November 1st and will cost ¥18,900 (US$179). That's slighty more expensive than the current DS Lite, which costs ¥16,800. Launch plans outside of Japan haven't been announced yet, but there is a Nintendo conference in San Fransisco this week. It is unknown at the present if any future Pokemon games will take advantage of the DS-i's new features.

The official Nintendo DS-i website has also launched and the url is: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/dsi.html

I can\'t wait until they announce a release date here in the States!^_^

Finally the new model of DS.