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There are several stories of the new DSi being a big competition for the iPod Touch. Its music playback function and dual cameras are assumed to be a threat for the mobile phones as well. But before this speculation could go more complex, Satoru Iwata, the Nintendo CEO decided to express a positive opinion. The Nintendo DSi page of the company in which the “Iwata Asks” post communicated that these notions are ridiculous. He added that Nintendo has not designed DSi to kill the iPod Touch or any other existing products. This issue has been exaggerated by the mass media and created an impression that Nintendo DSi wants to compete with iPod or mobile phones. He said that the advanced features like music players and cameras are there to improve the product and not to pose any threat to the existing products.

Iwata further clarified that “I hope those who have such an impression will take an interest in what Nintendo can make when it dedicates itself to pleasing as many people as possible who pick up as DS, and I hope they’ll actually pick one up themselves.”

However, if we scrutinize the situation, we won’t find it difficult to agree with Iwata because a camera of 0.3 mega pixel and a music player are that outstanding features that can actually outshine the Apple iPod. So if you are looking forward to buy a DSi, its better to have balanced expectations from it. Don’t expect it to replace the Apple iPod touch 32 GB and just welcome it as a gaming device , which as per Nintendo is ‘the next generation of handheld gaming’. Get it for what it is!

The latest buzz to originate from the rumour factory was the coming of a unique device called PSP Phone. However this was not a rumour completely because the Ericsson did try to develop such as device but didn’t succeed because its partner Sony Computer Entertainment refused to issue the license for making any such gadget. On the one hand, the integrity of the PSP brand has been maintained, but on the other hand millions of fans and mobile gamers have been very annoyed and disheartened at Sony’s short-sighted decision.

The PSP Phone was a great idea. After seeing Apple promoting its iPod and iPhone as a potential mobile gaming console, Ericsson also wanted to combine its mobile phone technologies with the capabilities of Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Current Sony-Ericsson phones, like the Sony-Ericsson Xperia X1 slider smartphone, obviously are fairly deficient when it comes to mobile gaming. The company believed adding a substantial gaming element to its phones would bring a new revolution in the mobile gaming domain and the PSP Phone will be crowned as the most versatile handheld. But Sony Entertainment didn’t find it fruitful to license PSP branding to Sony Ericsson. Sony is known for its collaboration with other electronic device manufacturers but in case of PSP it seems that the company is not sure whether the PSP Phone will adhere to the current PSP standards or not.

According to a Sony Ericsson’s spokesperson, “In the past, we have been keen that our product proposition lives up to brand promise, and we feel at the moment the technical specs are not high enough to put such a prestigious brand on a phone.” So as of now the PSP Phone is not getting materialised but it may make its debut after sometime.

Do you remember any video games that you tried to play during your childhood but didn’t succeed in killing the final boss? Well, I remember one, i.e. Super Contra and I am sure that most of the video game enthusiasts have one or more such games that they wish to replay over and over again. But the problem is the new era is filled with loads of high definition games and advanced gaming consoles. This is good but the major drawback is that none of the modern day’s sophisticated handheld consoles support old legendary games.

But you can still step in to the gaming world of the 90’s if you have the SEGA Megadrive Handheld gaming console. Developed by SEGA, the Megadrive Handheld offers the old time gaming pros all those legacy video games that still resides in their minds. You can revisit the old time gaming environment right on your fingertips, anytime you want. The Megadrive Handheld is the portable version of the original SEGA Mega Drive, the classic gaming console that was very much popular in its time (nearly as popular as Wii consoles are today). You can play games like Alex Kidd, Arrow Flash, Crack down, Ecco, Mean Bean Machine, Golden Axe, Jewel Master and much more on this console. A large number of games are available for Sega Megadrive Handheld.

The overall looks of the console are good. It sports a game pad and functional keys. The screen size is medium sized. Don’t expect the same level of quality the Sony PlayStation Portable offers. The SEGA Megadrive Handheld is optimised for old time game play and it may not offer the pixels and shading effects as the new generation consoles do. You can connect the Megadrive Handled to your TV for getting a large and better display.

Tags for this article: arcade, classic, gaming, handheld, megadrive, sega

Almost every gamer is aware of the Nintendo DS Lite. It is the most preferred handheld gaming device to date. The DS Lite is the successor of Nintendo’s DS gaming console. It was developed to offer mobile gamers a new sleek and powerful gaming console. DS Lite is much enhanced as compared to original DS and it’s the biggest competitor is Sony’s PlayStation Portable, popularly known as the PSP.

DS Lite is 21 percent lighter and 42 percent slimmer than the DS. It has got a better display with good brightness and colour levels. Like DS, DS Lite also sports dual displays out of which one supports touchscreen and the other responds to the game pad and built-in functional keys. This is the main feature that earns loads of extra points for Nintendo DS Lite over PSP and any other console. Performance wise the DS Lite is a must have gadget. It possesses great capabilities and is powered via top notch processing units. Be it graphics, fluid videos or astonishing acoustics, the DS Lite can offer all of them to the gamers. Since its launch, the DS Lite has attained great success in the mobile gaming market. It has always set new sales records over the years. Recently, the Nintendo has sold over 3 million DS Lite consoles in the U.S. in December 2008 only. This is the first time that any gaming console has touched such a huge sales figure in a single month.

DS Lite is the favourite of loads of mobile gamers all over the world. Now the Nintendo has released an upgraded version of DS Lite called DSi. It is the third gaming handheld in the DS family.

Tags for this article: console, ds lite, handheld, mobile, nintendo

The Sony PSP remains popular among is the most faithful fans, despite falling behind the Nintendo DS in terms of sales. In addition to providing a superb gaming experience, the PSP offers users also high resolution movies and good quality music to enjoy as well. The new PSP 3000 enhances the overall quality and performance further which is bolstering the handheld’s sales.

But Sony is regularly combating with the problems of piracy and homebrew applications. The company has found that most of the PSP owners prefer pirated content instead of buying original UMDs. The one and only reason for this is that the UMDs are very costly, which in turn makes the games made on UMDs, such as NBA Live 2009, even more expensive. Initially, it was more costly than a standard DVD and due to the poor customer response many studios discontinued the manufacturing and licensing of the game UMD for PSP. This further forced more users to go for the pirated content. But now the Sony entertainment has decided to resolve this issue and cut down the price of the original UMDs t again motivate the users to buy the original content. The company will now take care of licensing, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of movie UMDs itself. The new UMDs are £7 to £17 cheaper than the old ones. So, you don’t have to search for alternatives anymore.

Sony’s director of hardware marketing John Koller commented, “We want to provide a legal offering from the studios, … and it’s an easier conversation to have with them now. There is a lot of positive momentum with the PSP. The biggest issue with UMD was the lack of creating for a targeted demo. When we first launched, it was a difficult sale. I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say that a 16-year-old doesn’t have a lot of discretionary income. … We were offering UMDs that were more expensive than DVDs at the time. And we want content that is in line with what the demo is asking for, action and comedy … not romantic dramas.””

Recently Nintendo has added a new member to its DS family called the Nintendo DSi. This is an upgrade to the DS Lite console, or you can consider it as the third version of the DS handheld gaming console. Equipped with loads of new features and enhancements, the DSi promises to offer an unprecedented gaming experience. The DS and DS Lite have already attained great success in Japan, America and Europe. Naturally, the much enhanced DSi looks to appeal to an equally wide audience.

The new DSi is 12 percent thinner than the DS Lite. Appearance wise, it stands between the PSP and iPhone. Just like the old DS versions, the Nintendo DSi also packs dual screens but this time with a better contrast ratio, brightness and bigger viewable area. The speakers are improved as well. The overall screen size of both the DSi screens is 8 percent bigger than the DS Lite displays. The bottom one supports the touch screen operations and the upper screen responds to the game buttons and key pad. Unlike the DS and DS Lite the DSi has five levels of brightness. However this makes the DSi a little bit power hungry and offers less battery run time on a single charge as compared to its predecessors. The new features provided in DSi include two VGA cameras and a SD card slot. One of the cameras is placed at the internal hinge and the other one resides on the outer shell. The new SD card slot can be used to store digital media such as pictures, songs, downloaded software etc. An audio player is also installed in the new handheld. So you can use it for listening to your favorite tracks too, besides hi-fi gaming.

The downloadable applications for the DSi will be available at DSi shop. Some of them will be provided free of cost but some will cost 200, 500 or 800 Nintendo Points. The Japanese customers of DSi will get 1000 Nintendo points as a gift from the company if they purchase the DSi by March 2010.