Say hello to the Nintendo DS's hot younger sibling. Lighter, sleeker, brighter and longer-lasting, the DS Lite is an almost universal improvement over the original Nintendo DS model, released in October 2004.
It would be understandable if Nintendo upped the price of the system, but the company made a wise move by staying with $129.99, the same cost as the DS. It's worth a pickup for those who missed out on the initial DS run. Even those who already have the system, who may be bitter at the prospect for paying twice for the same technology, will probably want to pick up the redesign out of sheer jealousy once they see others walking around with the system.
Although the DS is a fine product, and a significant innovation for its two-screen display and touch-screen, microphone and wireless functionality, it's plagued with some irritating shortcomings. For one, the DS is too large to fit comfortably in your pocket and too heavy to hold upright for hours on end. What's more, the DS simply doesn't look sexy.
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The DS Lite addresses these concerns with a flourish. The system is 20 percent lighter and two-thirds the size of the DS and fits as snugly in your pocket as a wallet. Included is a larger stylus that's much easier to wield than the previous model. The system as a whole has a softer plastic-coated feel.
Another major problem with the initial DS was its dull lighting, which worked fine in the dark but lost its luster in a well-lighted area, making play during a car ride somewhat difficult. The DS Lite includes four brightness settings, each of which seems brighter than that of the original DS. The top setting is a revelation in color and clarity and makes you want to replay each of your games just to see the way they were truly meant to look.
Battery life also has been improved. On the lowest brightness setting, you can play the system for up to 19 hours in between charges. On the highest setting, gameplay is reduced to five to eight hours.
The one drawback to the DS Lite as compared to the DS is its slot for backward compatible Game Boy Advance games. Because of the reduced size, GBA games now jut out of the bottom of the system, in much the same way as GameBoy cartridges stick out of the GameBoy Advance.
The advantages of the new system far outweigh any quibbles. Those working on the redesign definitely saw the Lite.
