I'm confused. The "well into 2009" comment is cryptic and ultimately, useless. What the hell does that mean anyway? Most news sites have pegged it as late 2009, but Nintendo's description is completely subjective. I would argue that as early as May can be considered "well into 2009."
I don't know why Nintendo is waiting so long to launch this thing worldwide. For the record, I consider anything after January, two months after Japan gets DSi, too long to wait. What the hell is the delay? They've convinced tons of people, myself included, to hold out on getting DS because something much better is on the horizon. Oh please, don't take my money! Drop the price of DS Lite and launch DSi as soon as possible everywhere. That way, there's incentive to buy either. I, personally, don't think I can pass up the possibility of new games exclusive to the DSi. This has Mario Artist written all over it. If the camera(s) can record video, this is the ultimate handheld gaming device. And on top of that, this revision encourages more Wii/DS interaction. Nintendo reps can run their mouths about this being for the family and whatnot, but there is too much potential for this thing on its own and as a new toy for the Wii.