Documents and photos filed with the U.S. government answer many detailed questions about the Nintendo DS Lite.
Since the DS Lite was announced in January, Nintendo has been typically quiet about any details of the system, and no actual photos have been released (the announcement was accompanied only by rendered artwork). All that has changed in the past couple of days, since Nintendo's filing with the Federal Communications Commission was discovered. The public filing includes numerous external and internal photos of a DS Lite prototype, as well as the system's manual in various languages. You can see the external photos in our DS Lite hardware profile. Below is a summary of new information about the DS Lite, gathered from the photographs and manual.
- PictoChat appears to be exactly the same as in the original DS model, shooting down rumors of a new online version of the program...though such a product could still be released separately.
- Although the DS Lite's external port appears to be identical to that of the Game Boy Micro, the manual firmly states that the DS Lite AC adaptor is only compatible with the DS Lite. Presumably, this means that the system cannot be recharged with the Micro's adaptor. The manual says there is still no multiplayer compatibility in GBA mode, which had been speculated due to the Micro-like port.
- The GBA cartridge slot does indeed have a removable cover to keep out dust when a GBA cartridge or DS Option Pak is not inserted. The cover can be removed with your thumb.
- The shoulder buttons do not protrude from the system casing as much as on the original DS or the GBA SP. They cannot be seen when looking directly at the front of the system.
- The new brightness levels have a significant impact on battery life. At the brightest level, the DS Lite can be played for 5-8 hours, which is slightly less than with the original DS. (This setting may be brighter than the original DS, though.) On the lowest brightness level, the DS Lite can operate for 15-19 hours. There are two additional brightness levels between these two extremes.
- The DS firmware (system menus and settings) seems to be exactly the same, except that the backlight icon can be touched multiple times to scroll through the brightness settings, whereas the light could simply be turned on and off with the original model.
- The new power button appears to be a spring-loaded slider switch, not a button as on the original DS. You push it up to turn on the system, but it returns to the bottom position when you let go. To turn off the system, you push the switch up again and hold for a few seconds. The power switch is located on the right side of the system, above the stylus.
- The DS Lite includes a new stylus with a rounded back end, which makes it fit flush with the system casing when stored. Drawings in the manual indicate that the new stylus may be thicker and longer than the original version.
- The dual-screen logo on the outside of the system is not prominently raised, as seemed to be the case in Nintendo's concept art. The logo appears to be only very slightly raised, and it may in fact be slightly recessed.
- The wrist strap will now be sold separately instead of included with the system, according to the manual.