Nintendo DS - Too many choices...

My daughter says the DSi is a newer one and better.

i don't even know what it is ! lol

LOL, it's a handheld game system! Like the PSP or the Gameboy type thing!

I know nothing about games. My stepsons have a Xbox & a Nintendo 3(?) and tons of games, but they usually buy their own or their grandparents do.

Bridget, I have no idea on this one. I don't even know what they are either! Isn't that horrible?!!! ha ha ha

DSi is the newest. It has two cameras in it, with some silly, fun photo editing options, and the ability to surf the internet. It uses the Opera browser and functionality on websites can be limited, but you can browse pretty well. I have Gather bookmarked on mine and my two-year-old manages to wander onto Gather sometimes when we let him sit with us and draw on flipnote (a drawing program you can put on it, which he loves).

The original DS plays not only DS games, but also Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games, which gives you a LOT more choices (and some of them much more affordable, with little difference between the Game Boy Advance and DS version of the same game other than price). The DSi does not play Game Boy or Game Boy Advance games, and I'm not sure if the DSLite plays both Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games, or just Game Boy Advance, because I haven't owned one.

I think the point to the DSLite was that it is sleeker and lighter than the original, and they may have improved the screens (bigger?) - not that we ever had a problem with the screens on the original.

The DSi (the one with the camera) is the latest version and therefore you're best bet as far as technology goes.

My niece and nephew both got them last week and love them! I got a DS lite last Christmas myself and wish I had known the DSi was coming out!

My younger brother asked for one last year, and I am guessing he is going to ask again. We all talked about it and opted not to get that for him because we were all having a hard enough time getting him to put down the regular video games and get his homework and other stuff done.

The original DS is kind of bulky. The DS Lite is nice because it is slimmer and it still plays Game Boy Advance games, which there are still fun ones of and cheaper because they can only be found used for the most part these days. The DSi is the newest and supposedly greatest, but personally I do not like that it is not backwards compatible with the Game Boy Advance games. Then again if you do not have any of those games anyways then it does not make that much of a difference. It does have two cameras and capable of connecting to WiFi and getting downloaded games, but it has not convinced me that it is worth the extra price like the DS Lite over the original DS has.

Depends on how old your children are. If they aren't going to abuse them too much, I would opt for the DSi because it is so much better with the camera and such. They do not sell the old DS anymore, unless you purchase it used. DS Lite is still available, and does come in more colors. It also holds the longer battery life. The DSi's battery is not nearly as long so you will want to take that into consideration for long road trips. Hope this helps!

Glad you found those Target coupons!

Me too, that's a great deal! Thanks again!

Thanks for all your great advice! You guys ROCK!

On a side note: We limit our kids video game activity, so don't worry about them spending too much time playing games! :)

no one here uses one..

If I were to get one I would get the DSi. The fun picture editing makes it look so fun! I am not sure about the others but with that one you can get on the internet if a wireless connection is available. That could be good or bad, depending on the situation. If you were out and needed to look something up it could be helpful. It could be bad if they are getting on without supervision, which could easily happen since it isn't the computer where you would expect them to be online.
I have also heard of students using them to text back and forth to each other in classrooms. I suspect you are the type of parent who wouldn't even allow them to use one in school, but just so you know! I don't know if that is all of the DS systems or a certain one that has that ability.