Within the past 20+ years we have seen Nintendo handhelds evolve in ways that I thought were amazing. From the original Game Boy to now the popular DSi, Nintendo handhelds have evolved in ways we could have only imagined 20 years ago. In just four and a half years after its initial release, the Nintendo DS has sold more than 100 million units worldwide, making it the best-selling handheld console of all time.

The newest model of these handhelds, still yet to grace the US market, the DS XL (or DSi LL if you’re in Japan) is already sold in Japan and is now going to the UK and Europe in March and is possibly coming to the U.S, hopefully in the first quarter of 2010. Remembering the original DS that came out in 2004 was a huge success considering it was just an easy and portable system that had two 3-inch LCD screens and was able to play all the of the original Nintendo classics. That definitely wasn’t going to be the end of the evolution of the DS, it just was the beginning of a long road of becoming the most loved and most sold handheld ever.

We have had the chance since the 2008 holiday season to receive the latest model DSi, which I have come to love and enjoy. It was a huge success considering both screens were touch screens and it also had 2 built in cameras. Now you were able to take pictures and edit them right then and there.

Like any gamer would say a 42” LCD will always be better than 32” LCD. So in the world of handhelds Nintendo has kindly obliged. The DSi has two 3.25” LCD’s but the DSi XL has gotten an upgrade.

DSi XL Specs:
2x 4.2″ screen, TFT color liquid crystal (260,000 colors) Width 161.0mm
Length 91.4mm
Thickness 21.2mm
Stylus length: 96.0mm
Large stylus length: 129.3mm
Weight: 314g
Battery life: 4-5 hours maximum brightness, 13-17 hours minimum brightness
Contains:
-DS card slot
-SD memory card slot
-AC adapter
-Stereo headphone/Microphone connected terminal