14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo has been moving really fast in relation to the rumored DSi LL handheld, set to have a 4.2-inch screen, bigger than any version of the device released until now and near the size currently offered by other platforms like the PlayStation Portable from Sony and the iPhone from Apple.
Just a few days after Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei outed the existence of the DSi LL, the company officially unveiled it, with a release date for Japan set for November 21, and now it has also said that it plans to offer it in North America and in Europe in spring 2010, almost one year after the DSi was launched.
Nintendo has also clarified that the LL version of the handheld will be renamed the XL to make sure that potential Western customers understand that the main selling point is the bigger screen. The LL should also offer a bigger stylus and some DSi Ware applications pre-installed, in the form of two brain training titles and a dictionary. It's not clear whether the software will be offered when the device launches outside of Japan.
On November 21, Nintendo plans to deliver the DSi LL for the price of 20,000 Yen, about 220 dollars, and three colors will initially be on offer, Wine Red, Natural White and Dark Brown.
The LL/XL Nintendo is not aiming to replace the DS Lite or the DSi, which are now available all over the world, but to provide a version of the handheld usable by those with less than perfect vision and those who would like to look closer at details in games. One trade off could be that some of the graphics on the Nintendo DSi LL might actually look a bit worse because of the bigger screen coupled with the same graphical power.