Nintendo DS Lite Versus DSi comparison

6 October 2008

91 Comments

Posted by:Josh

Since the announcement of the DSi, people have been wondering what the differences between that system and the DS Lite are, so that they can make an informed decision as to whether or not they should purchase one by the time of release.

And since that time won’t be until “April 2009″ according to Nintendo of America President Reggie, you’ll have more than enough time to think about your possible decision to upgrade your DS system.

Let’s start you out with an official video from Nintendo that shows the new features of the DSi and improvements over the DS Lite. Watch it here:

Here is a list of all the differences between the DSi and DS Lite:

DIFFERENCES

Finish
* DSi – Has a less-glossy finish which should mean less fingerprints left behind.
* DS Lite – Has a more glossy finish

Screen Size
* DSi – 3.25 inches
* DS Lite: 3 inches

System Size
* DSi – Width 137mm, Length 74.9mm, Thickness 18.9mm (touch pen is approx. 92mm in length)
* DS Lite – Width 133mm, Length 73.9mm, Thickness 21.5mm (touch pen is approx. 87.5mm in length)

System Weight
* DSi – Approx. 214g (with touch pen)
* DS Lite – Approx. 218g (with touch pen, Game Boy Advance cover)

Power Button
* DSi – Has the power button located on the face of the system, much like on the original DS. Although it’s located on the bottom left instead of the upper right.
* DS Lite – For the DS Lite, Nintendo moved to the power button to the side of the unit and turned it into a slider instead of a button.

Battery Life (how long the system will last before it shuts off on you)
* DSi – The lowest brightness (9-14 hrs), low brightness (8-12 hours), medium brightness (6-9 hours), high brightness (4-6 hours), highest brightness(3-4 hours)
* DS Lite – The lowest brightness (15-19 hrs), low brightness (10-15 hours), high brightness (7-11 hours), highest brightness(5-8 hours)

Charging Time (how long it takes to charge once the system has shut off on you)
* DSi – Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes
* DS Lite – Approximately 3 hours

Power Supply – Both systems will use a different AC Adapter, so you will not be able to charge your DSi with your DS Lite adapter.

Software
* DSi – Plays all DS games and games made specifically for the DSi. Does not play Game Boy Advance games.
* DS Lite – Plays all DS games and Game Boy Advance games. Cannot play DSi-specific games.

Input-Output Ports
* DSi – Contains a: DS card slot, SD memory card slot, AC adaptor connection, stereo headphone/mic jack
* DS Lite – Contains a: DS card slot, Game Boy Advance cartridge slot, AC adaptor connection, stereo headphone/mic jack

SIMILARITIES

Screen Display
* DSi – 260,000 possible colors can be displayed
* DS Lite – 260,000 possible colors can be displayed

Button Layout
The layout of all the face buttons and shoulder buttons remains the same with both the DSi and DS Lite. The Start and Select buttons are also in the same place. Different is the placement of the power button which is now located on the bottom left of the DSi as opposed to a slider on the side as with the DS Lite. The D-Pad has also been changed.

ADDITIONS

Cameras
The DSi features two cameras. One of them is a 0.3 Megapixel and is located on the inside hinge of the system. This camera is presumably to take pictures or video of your face as you play games. The second camera is located on the backside of the system (the outside of the shell) and is reportedly a 3MP camera for taking normal pictures/video.

Online Store
The DSi will finally feature WiiWare-like downloadable games of it’s own, dubbed (what else?) DSiWare. These are sold at the “DSi Shop” and Downloadable Content (DLC) can be bought using Nintendo Points, which range in price from freely available to 200 points ($2.00), 500 points ($5.00) and “Premium” or 800 points ($8.00). Original titles will be on offer for download. No word yet though on whether or not we will see “Virtual Console”-like retro Game Boy games for sale via the DSi Shop.

Built-In Music Player
Music can be played off of SD Cards via a music player built-in to the system as long as the audio files are in AAC format (which was designed to be the successor to mp3. No word yet on mp3 support).

Built in Internet Browser
The DSi has a built-in Opera browser that will allow for web-surfing with your DSi via Wi-Fi. It’s unknown though how much compatibility the browser will allow. Let’s hope it’s not as limited as the Wii browser, which is only good for watching youtube videos if you ask me.

Internal Memory Upgrade
The system will include an upgrade in internal memory, presumably for all the downloading you will be doing via the DSi Shop.

Improved Internet Access Security
The DS Lite only accepts WEP security as a router setting, where the DSi accepts both WEP and WPA security for routers. Jonathan mentions: “I was trying to set it up to play others over the web but I don’t really want to change my router settings as I feel the WPA security is better. The DSi eliminates that problem.” — Thanks to our readers, Kotaku and Pushing Play for compiling the list.

Where to buy the new Nintendo DSi handheld:

Made up your mind? Buy a Nintendo DSi on Amazon in these different colors: Matte Black, Pink, White, and Matte Blue. Click on the images below to buy.