TechRadar has been playing with the Nintendo DSi - the latest version of the massively popular handheld (which launches in the UK this week) - ever since we managed to get our hands on a Japanese import machine late last year. Ninty's handheld has been ever-so-slightly improved in a number of ways, with the addition of a couple of new features such as two in-built low-res 0.3-megapixel digi-cameras and much improved music and audio recording and playback options. See our Nintendo DSi XL review While the DS Lite seemed in many ways an almost perfect handheld when we first saw it back at E3 2006, Nintendo's product designers have, impressively, managed to improve upon it by introducing a brighter screen, a fingerprint-friendly matte-finish and slimming down the form factor a tad. The DSi looks and feels fresh and modern and – interestingly – a little less like a games console than its predecessors. Good value for gamers? If you are a gamer then you probably want to know what would entice you to shell out another £150 on a new handheld, when the likelihood is that you already have a DS Lite that you are fairy happy with already. Is the addition of two low-res cameras and a few quirky new audio features really worth trading the old machine in for? Well, if that were all the DSi was offering the gamer, we would have to advise you to stick with the DS Lite (though if you are still gaming on an original grey first-gen DS 'phat' it really is time to upgrade!). Hardcore gamers may well initially pooh-pooh the latest offering from Nintendo, as there are no major AAA-games on the release schedule for 2009 that you really 'need' a DSi to play. And even though the recently announced Zelda (out later this year) is set to offer some camera-based features, Ninty has been quick to reassure gamers that these are not going to be essential to the gameplay.
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