How would you redesign the Nintendo DS?

1) Smaller would be much better so it can actually be a fully portable system (sliding +twisting top screen for protection AND portability?) Thinner.

2) Glossy black is a terrible idea. Anyone who has owned a PSP and has played it for more then 1 hour knows that you have to clean the damn thing everyday because of the unbelievable smudges that show up. And every little dust particle can be seen. I would go for Mat black or of course glossy white.

3) The reason the clamshell design is so imnportant is because it makes the system portable by keeping the screens protected. Unlike PSP that you can't just throw in your bag or pocket without using some sort of protection for the screen (or entire system for that matter)

4)Moving the screens closer together would be nice, although some games use the space inbetween the screens as actual blank game space that you can't see.

5) No GBA port might be a possibility if this new model is trying to attract different types of gamers or executive types who have no need for it. It would make the whole thing slimmer and would be one less component to have inside the system. Plus we know the end of the GBA line will come eventually.

I'd just like to point out again, before anyone else suggests it again, that Nintendo will -not- change the specs in any major way. I don't think they'll add any extra slots, as they already make money from the Play-Yan add-on, and I given the recent release of the DS Rumble Pak I don't see them dropping the GBA slot unless they can get the new design down to the size of two Micros.

That said, there are the obvious redesigns: one, the same thing but slimmer and a touch smaller, and two, something like two GBA Micros taped together. The design I'm hoping for, though, is very close to an SP, size allowing for the extra CPU and game slot. The touchscreen would be directly above the controls, as the SP's single screen is, and the second screen would be directly behind it - to reveal and use it, you rotate it 180 degrees about its attachment point, top center on the backside of the touchscreen. Not exactly a likely design, but then, I sketched a folding Game Boy in fifth grade and thought "Nah... they'd never get it small enough." =)

I'm a rightie, but I like the idea of a left-handed DS.

I should note that I own a GB, GBC (kiwi!), GBA, and GBA SP, but I absolutely refuse to buy a DS until Nintendo gets its stuff together and adds a GB/C emulator. The ARM7 on the GBA is enough to do it (yes, I know it still has Z80 silicon), and the DS has an ARM7 -and- ARM9... all that's preventing me from playing Alleyway is software, and I don't appreciate that.

Only a few must-have's for this system I love so very much :-)

1) Inset the buttons. Playing a GBA game like FF is a strain, you have to play using the buttons on the edge of the unit, while holding it. They need to be inset ala GBA SP so you are holding with the palm and playing with the fingers.

2) Bring the screens so they are more closely connected. A must. Would really help games that use both screens as one.

3) Longer battery power.

First of all, in response to mjp I think the DS is mostly already left-handed... perhaps even more so than it is right handed. If you play Mario 64 DS with the stylus as the stick the lefties get to use the button while the righties have to use the d-pad as the buttons. The only thing is that some of the games seem right handed in what you see but we're used to it. Oh wait... the little thumb cover should either be made longer or allowed to be attached on either side of the system... that's really the only bias inherent in the design.

I don't think they ought to remove the GBA port but I do think they ought to start using it more for DS games, apparently some game is getting an expansion pack in the form of a GBA cartridge. I can also see it working as a central hub for centralized data on the Nintendo WiFi thing... have one list of friends and such.

Is it just me or are the screens not that bright on DS?

I could care less about anything physical about the DS but when Im watching my friend play from the side all I see is a bright light from backlight coming from the corners of the screens.
The whole screen should lite up like that. (obviously need more battery power for that)
Kinda like the new revamped SP.

I think it should look somewhat like the t-mobile sidekick and be able to play gba when closed

Nintendo always creates "ugly" versions first. Technology is expensive, and they use slightly outdated chips to lower costs. I am not saying that is wrong, I own the original Game Boy and the original Nintendo DS. With time, they polish their consoles. It is either that (which gives them 0-day earnings) or launch a powerful and good looking console that is just too expensive, like the PSP.

Who knows, if in a couple of years it is possible to use flexible plastic, it may be possible to have a single vertical screen, physically joined, where the developers may choose the "virtual" size of each screen.

Face plate on the front, like Micro. White as standard. Smaller, lighter and cheaper.

i just realized what nintendo did by adding that freaking gba port.

it's a n64dd

god where is the software?

Pornboy:
"but I absolutely refuse to buy a DS until Nintendo gets its stuff together and adds a GB/C emulator."

THere is already a gbc emulator written its called goomba, all you need is a flashcard or gba movieplayer, also available for use with such are nes (pocketnes), sega master system (smsadvance), and a few other emus, so there you go. just visit http://boards.pocketheaven.com/index.php?sid=7c91a2ef36613419885acce7eea40ccd and look under handheld emulation, in the different topics you will find download links for the emus and directions