The Nintendo DS Lite is by far the best hand-held console available on the market. The variety of games available and touch screen function make it rate much higher on the hand- held console market than its competition from Sony – the PSP.

The launch of the Nintendo DS back in 2004 was a limited success with the release of the DS Lite in 2006 giving the console a new lease of life and driving the UK markets crazy in the run up to Christmas 2007.

The unit is now some 20% lighter than its predecessor and available in a variety of shiny colours including white, black, blue and available also in a limited edition Pink supported by the female artist of the same name. When inserted the games now protrude 1cm from the top of the unit, without the game inserted the unit looks sleek and smooth. Mothers carry them in their hand bags (mine does anyhow), kids in their school bags and the “Businessman” carries his in his breast pocket. Through the updated DS Lite version Nintendo have made it a sort out piece of kit by all walks of life.

The only grumble about the new DS Lite is that if you are unfortunate enough to drop it then the scratches really don’t look too great, if you are like me and drop everything then lots of scratches look really bad. One tip to anyone with a DS Lite that has got scratched – you can buy scratch saver fluid usually used for mobile phone displays. Simply add a little to the effected area and rub it in to the scratch. The effects aren’t 100% perfect but make them a lot less noticeable.

With DS games such as Brain Training and Sudoku available and with it’s unique interactivity using the touch screen and stylus – Nintendo have brought the hand held console back into the eye of the “adult” player. This hasn’t been seen since the arrival of Tetris on the Game boy. It has made the unit incredibly sought after and a family of 4 can happily challenge each other to their actual brain age.

Of course the usual Nintendo classics have also made a reappearance on the DS Lite such as Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong and even Sega’s Sonic has made an appearance. The range of accessories now available on the DS Lite is astounding, the latest to make a impact is the Guitar grip controller. It clips on the side of the unit and simulates the controls of the guitar, a plectrum and hand strap also come with it. The Guitar accessory accompanies the already available Camera (formally available on the Game Boy Advance), Headset, Browser and Rumble Pack.

To sum up I think that the Nintendo DS Lite is much better than its earlier predecessor the DS, it not only looks better but is technologically better. The display is crisper and the touch screen has been improved upon. The choice of games is impressive and the innovations appearing on the DS Lite seem endless.