Nintendo has unveiled a new DS handheld console featuring twin digital cameras, music playback, bigger screens and a built-in web browser.

The screens on the Nintendo DSi are 3.25-inches - 17 per cent bigger than the current DS Lite - and the new unit is also slightly thinner than its predecessor.

Nintendo has added a SD memory card slot so users can store photos (taken at 640 x 480 resolution) and download games, with a new DSiWare service to offer both free game demos and games to purchase like the Wii console's online Wii Shop.

The DSi features software for listening to digital music and manipulating your photos, and your images can be transferred to Wii for viewing on television.

A second digital camera can be found on the inside hinge of the unit, which presumably will be utilised for gaming functions.

The new model's audio capabilities have also been improved, but the cartridge slot for playing Game Boy Advance titles has been removed to make the machine more compact.

The Nintendo DS has been an extraordinarily successful product for the Japanese giant, selling over 80 million units around the world, including 1.4 million in Australia.

The DS has regularly sold over 10,000 units a week in Australia this year, and in one extraordinary week in July Nintendo sold an astonishing 49,000 units in just seven days, a new Australian console sales record.

The DS has continued Nintendo's domination of the handheld market, which it has owned since the original Game Boy was introduced in 1989.

Over 200 million Game Boy consoles were sold before the DS made its debut in 2004 despite many companies such as Sega, Atari, SNK (Neo Geo), Bandai and Nokia trying to grab a share of the market.

The most significant challenger to Nintendo's dominance of the handheld business has been Sony's PSP, first released in late 2004.

While it is not a trend seen in other parts of the world, DS sales in Japan have recently slowed while Sony's PSP has gained significant momentum, largely thanks to the success of Capcom's Monster Hunter series.

Sony has sold over 35 million PSP consoles worldwide, including 460,000 in Australia, but it has not enjoyed the same software support from third-party publishers as the rampant DS.

A revised PSP called the PSP-3000 with an improved LCD screen and built-in microphone will be released later this month.

The DSi will make its Japanese debut on November 1, priced at 18,900 Yen ($230), with black and white models available.

It is expected to be released in Australia around Easter 2009 but no price has yet been revealed.

New DS games announced include Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Mario and Luigi RPG 3 and Rhythm Heaven.

For photographs of the new model and an interactive comparison between the DSi and the DS Lite, Screen Play readers can visit Nintendo Japan's site at www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/dsi.html.

Nintendo has also revealed some new Wii games in development, including the first Punch-Out game in 15 years, plus new Another Code, Dynasty Warriors and Sin and Punishment games. Classic GameCube titles like Pikmin and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat will also be re-released on Wii.

Nintendo is also working on letting users save WiiWare and Virtual Console games directly to SD memory card, a long-awaited acknowledgment that many users are finding the Wii's 512MB of flash memory insufficient storage for their downloading needs.