Miniature power hits on the Internet


Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Danny Bradbury
Sun

There was a time when the most exciting gaming experience you could in your pocket was a bagful of marbles.

Thanks to miniaturization and increased computing power, today’s hand-held gaming systems can deliver stunning, Internet-connected experiences.

Here are some of the gaming systems you can pick up today.

PSP

PlayStation, shmaystation. Sony’s PS3 console might be great for your family room, but it isn’t very practical to take one on the bus. The company launched the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2004, and has since created several upgrades, culminating in the PSP-3000.

PSP Go

At just $50 less than the PSP-3000, the PSP Go is smaller and has a set of slide-out controls instead of the 3000s wider, permanently exposed buttons. There’s a trade-off, though, as this unit loses the removable battery and UMD slot. Games for this device must be downloaded from the PlayStation

This is why the Go features 16 gigabytes of internal memory.

Nintendo DSi

When one screen isn’t enough, you can pack two displays in a clamshell format with the Nintendo DSi. This unit, which evolved from the still-current DS Lite, also features two cameras — one facing the user, and the other pointing outward for pictures of friends. In addition to a variety of fun picture manipulation features, it has audio sampling capabilities and can function as an MP3 player.

Nintendo DSi XL

This latest unit is the DSi’s larger brother. With two 4.2-inch displays, it offers 93 per cent more real estate than the DSi. The sound is also considerably better than on the DSi.

iPhone/iPod Touch

Thanks to the huge number of games in Apple’s apps store, you can download everything from puzzle and board games to first-person shooters and role playing sagas.

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fit Store.

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