Nintendo has yet to face a serious competitor in the handheld field—the best Sony's PSP could do was carve out a respectable niche far below the sales of the DS. The new DS is finally coming to American shores to cement that lead: the Nintendo DSi is coming to North America on April 5, for $169.99.

The DSi is much more of a portable entertainment device than the previous iterations of the hardware. The system features two digital cameras, along with the ability to manipulate the pictures you take. There is also software to listen to, and fiddle with, music on the system via the built-in SD card slot. The built-in microphone allows you to record your voice or ambient sounds.

The aspect of the system with the most promise for gamers is the app store. Gamers will be able to download new games and applications from WiFi hotspots... for a price. Applications start at 200 points, or $2, and will go up from there. In a blow to importers, the DSiWare service is regionally encoded, which means you won't be able to enjoy Japanese applications, and ours will remain on our North American machines.

The DSi was designed to be a supplement to the DS line of hardware, and not a replacement for the hardware that's already out there. Since the new hardware removes the GBA slot, gamers may want to hold on to their existing systems if they hope to play their older games, or the Guitar Hero: On Tour series.

The system will launch in two colors: black, and the new blue color pictured here.