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Rumors of a new version of the popular Nintendo DS system have been confirmed. Nintendo's newest addition to the DS family, the DSi, is slated to hit Japanese markets in November and American markets in 2009.

Nintendo's DS was originally released to eager gamers in 2004. The hugely popular system introduced an intuitive touchscreen, a built-in microphone, and a wide range of titles for almost every genre. In 2006, Nintendo released the DS Lite, a sleeker repackaging of the original DS.

But is the DSi just another rehash of the DS Lite?

The answer is, thankfully, no. Although the DS Lite did present gamers with a fancy new case and packaging, the product itself did not do much, component-wise, to really stand apart from its predecessor. With the DSi, however, Nintendo has already solidified several key changes and additions that will certainly separate it from the previous DS systems.

Cosmetically, Nintendo has made some slight modifications. Like the DS Lite, the DSi will have some slight physical changes to the design, including bigger screens (3.25 inches) and matte colors for the casing (versus the glossy DS Lite).

The DSi will also be slimmer than the DS Lite (2.6mm thinner to be exact), but that reduction in size comes at a cost- no backwards compatibility. Unlike the DS and DS Lite, the DSi will not be able to play Game Boy Advance games.

Perhaps the biggest cosmetic addition to the system are the two built-in cameras. There will be an external camera and a VGA camera, which will be located in the hinge. Users will be able to edit the 640x480 pictures using the touchscreen capability.

The most exciting addition to the DSi is the addition of an SD-card slot, as well as on-board memory. DSi owners will be able to listen to music with full playback functionality (although only through AAC formatted files; MP3 files are not supported). This, along with the built-in camera, will expand the uses of the DSi as a multimedia device.

The DSi will include a Nintendo DS web browser, and the ability to download games using Nintendo points. Users will be able to purchase Points and use them to buy games offered through Nintendo's DS Wares.

The DSi is certainly chock full of new features and gadgets, making gamers and technophiles alike giddy in anticipation, myself included. Nintendo has done a terrific job garnering attention and excitement regarding the release of the new system, but will it surpass the DS Lite? I guess we'll have to wait to find out.