The 3DS is here: Nintendo takes handheld gaming to a new dimension

Announced last March, Nintendo's 3DS has been highly anticipated by gamers the world over. Any new Nintendo handheld is big news; the company has dominated the category since the release of the original Game Boy in 1989. While competitors from Sega to Sony have tried to make a dent in Nintendo's market share, all have failed. The 3DS, which is the successor to the most lucrative game system in history in the DS, is Nintendo's hope for staying on top of the handheld mountain.

The Hardware

Priced at $249.99, the 3DS costs $100 more than the DS when it launched in 2004. With such a hefty price tag, you'd expect a unit with a more premium look and feel than the ugly, cheap looking original DS hardware. For the most part, we are impressed with the unit. It's comparable to the build quality and size of the DS Lite, the much-improved second iteration of the original DS. The unit comes in two colors: Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black. The finish is high quality, similar to that of the DS Lite or the original PS3, and features a gradient effect, gradually shifting from a dark black or blue to a lighter tone on the back of the unit. Overall, it feels well made and durable, a hallmark of past Nintendo devices.

The unit has a physical power button along with the traditional d-pad, face buttons, and left and right shoulders. The select, start, and home buttons are placed under the bottom screen. It also adds an analog pad, similar to that of the PSP's. However, it feels much better; the concave pad has a rubberized finish, making it more comfortable than the PSP's analog nub. Volume, wireless, and 3D functions are assigned to sliders on the side of the unit. The cartridge slot is located in the same location as it was on the DS Lite. It accommodates both 3DS and DS cartridges.

The top screen, which is used for 3D display, is a wider aspect ratio than that of the DS, measuring at 3.53 inches wide by 1.81 inches high and featuring a resolution of 800 x 240 pixels. The lower touchscreen sports a much lower 320 x 240 resolution at the same dimensions as the DS's screen (though the resolution is slightly higher than the older system's 256 x 192 frame). As before, the touch functionality is accurate and responsive.

The unit also comes with a charging cradle, which lets you set it on your desktop to charge through a plastic wedge base. This also comes in handy if you want to play at a table or desk, allowing you to keep a steady viewing angle.

Like the DS, the unit has stereo speakers and a headphone jack. The audio quality is surprisingly clear; these tiny speakers perform admirably for their size. We wish the volume went a bit higher; you'll need headphones in a noisy environment. The microphone, which I used for both recording my voice and for commands in "Nintendogs," worked well, though the recordings had the tinny, thin sound I associate with early USB computer microphones.

The 3DS includes back- and forward-facing cameras. The back-facing array is actually two stereoscopic cameras, which allow you to take 3D pictures and save them to the included 2GB Toshiba SD memory card (which fits into a slot on the side of the unit). With a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels and no flash, the 2D images aren't on par with most cell phone cameras, let alone dedicated digital cameras. By comparison, the iPhone 4's highest resolution photos are 2048 x 1536.