Doing the math on DS lite
by Christopher Grant 
{ Jan 27th 2006 at 1:30AM }
The dimensions of the full-sized Nintendo DS are: 5.85x3.33x1.13 inches, giving us a volume of 22.01 cubic inches.
The dimensions of the diminutive Nintendo DS lite are: 5.24x2.91x0.85 inches, giving us a volume of 12.96 cubic inches.
While it might not look much smaller than the full-sized DS, the DS lite is in fact over 40% smaller by volume. To give you some context, we'll list the volume of some other devices you might be familiar with:
- Game Boy micro: 5.6 cubic inches
- Game Boy Advance: 17.64 cubic inches
- Game Boy Advance SP: 9.81 cubic inches
- Sony PSP: 17.52 cubic inches
- Atari Lynx: 68.53 cubic inches
- Xbox 360 power supply: 51.96 cubic
feetinches
(Update: To sate curiosity, the above dimension for the Atari Lynx comes from the original design. More interesting is that the redesigned Lynx II is actually larger by volume. Original Lynx dimensions: 10.75x4.25x1.5 inches, versus the redesigned Lynx II: 9.25x4.25x2 inches. The volumes of the two units are 68.53 cubic inches and 78.62 cubic inches, respectively. Who'da thunk?)
[Image borrowed from 4cr]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gamer1 @ Jan 27th 2006 1:54AM
Sweet! The weight should make it feel like a solid, quality product. Not that it shouldn't be already, but I love that! I can't wait to get one!
portnoy @ Jan 27th 2006 1:56AM
Wahhh! I wish you would stop making jokes about the 360 power supply already!!!! Waaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I hate you joystiq!!!!
/baby bitching
MA666UT @ Jan 27th 2006 2:01AM
ye ai wasnt a big fan of the DS but now that its much smaller i think it looks pretty cool i want a black or blue one! if nto ill just custom paint it ! :)
The ZeroCorpse @ Jan 27th 2006 2:21AM
Damn. I just bought a DS. Now they're making a smaller one. What should I do with my new red Mario DS?
Feeble @ Jan 27th 2006 2:41AM
lol thx for putting the atari lynx.
i loved that thing, but it chewed through batteries.
rip @ Jan 27th 2006 2:56AM
zerocorpse:
play games on it. The new ds isn't coming out for a few months.
I'm kinda bummed too since the new ds pretty much addresses most of the problems I have with the ds. I'll probably suck it up and buy a new one in the summer or something. And then donate my old ds to a needy psp owner ;)
Sloopydrew @ Jan 27th 2006 2:56AM
It's always frustrating when they improve on a product you bought less than a year prior, but I love the DS that I own, and when it finally breaks, maybe an ever better one will be available to replace it. That's looking on the bright side, right?
My XBOX 360 broke yesterday (the red ring of death). Sloopydrew's 360 January 7th, 2006 - January 26th, 2006. Aged 19 days. XBOX Live Arcade Gauntlet and Geometry Wars: $10.00. 3 mediocre games: $180.00. XBOX Live Gold subscription: $50.00. A broken 360? Worthless.
Trilancer @ Jan 27th 2006 3:26AM
I made a comparison of the two DS's (Diss's) at my site:
http://trilancer.blogspot.com
In addition to an illustration of my own redesign.
I really hoped Nintendo would have added the LED lighted buttons. Maybe next redesign.
kuroshi @ Jan 27th 2006 3:34AM
1800-4my-xbox. Call them they will overnight you a new one. You can re-download you xbox live arcade games as long as it's the same account. As far as the games go it's probably just you. I seen many console releases and I think the 360 is #2 only to the dreamcast. Unless of course you are a huge fan of fantavision.
Jago @ Jan 27th 2006 3:39AM
Ehh...I rebought my DS in October but when this new version comes out in the US, I'll just give my old DS to my g/f. I know she'll like it b/c she can take care of her dog in Nintendogs and we can compete in Mario Kart too.
kuroshi @ Jan 27th 2006 3:46AM
The new DS is sweet. Gotta have one. Hope they make them in colors though. It's probably gonna be real hard to get the case off so I can paint it. Kinda matches my 360, but still hate the color. The mario kart ds was nice, but this new size is just killer.
anon @ Jan 27th 2006 4:14AM
someone please do a graphical size comparison to a zelda game & watch ;)
strider_mt2k @ Jan 27th 2006 7:06AM
I won't go as far as ordering people to post comparison pics for me, (honestly) but I will say this:
The smaller, better looking unit means alot of folks that were put off by how clunky the original DS is will be getting on board with this one.
Me included!
Sagan @ Jan 27th 2006 7:29AM
I had to laugh real hard at that mention of the Xbox 360 power supply.
dirtyone @ Jan 27th 2006 8:12AM
what about the screen sizes are they the same and if not i will pass.
i am an xbox fanboy and i think the 360 launch was horrible. xbox 1 launch was 10 times better, because it launched with halo and had just as many games 18 vs 19 for the 360. the xbox sold 1.4 million compared the 360's 600,000 units in the same amount of time, because of very bad descions by microsoft, like not building enough.
i still can't find one in my area and i call everyday and i read some where before the launch that ms had partnered with three company's to assemble the 360, but they are just now bringing the third factory online. i mean HELLO
as for the power brick, all the penis envy over a power supply. please go get some blue steel or surgery and drop it. damn
attacking a poor consoles power stick because it is. umm, more well endowed is just shamefull and telling
Stu L Tissimus @ Jan 27th 2006 8:18AM
I still don't care for the DS Lite. Why can't they make the unit more shaped like the original GBA? That'd really help ergonomics-wise.
Tom @ Jan 27th 2006 8:25AM
So since you mentioned the Lynx, please qualify if you are talking about the original Lynx, or the smaller Lynx 2. Also keep in mind that the Lynx's size was due to Atari listening to a focus group who wanted a larger device so that they felt like they were getting thier moneys worth, so much of the devices size is due to just empty space inside.
Damn the Lynx was killer though. Thank budda for the car lighter adapter though, that thing did eat through AA's!
Todd Ross @ Jan 27th 2006 9:03AM
It looks like they addressed my major grievance with the NDS. The touch screen is slightly recessed on the original, so I have problems using the stylus to hit the bottom (ie, the lowest level of blocks in Meteos). The new design looks like the top screen is recessed and the touch screen is raised. NICE!
jacob harvey @ Jan 27th 2006 9:43AM
This revamp does fix some of the problems with the DS I have. I just might get one. But I really hate the wireless WEP crap. Could they fix that already?
We have many things, including my dad's work laptop (I'm not gonna turn off security anyway, but that's a big reason to keep it on) that are all using WPA on the network. So my little brother got the USB dongle and it promptly broke a bunch of networking settings on the family PC. I never got it to work, and when I tried to uninstall it nothing worked. I can't even try a reinstall because the installer crashes now for some reason. Luckily I got it working on another machine so my brother can stop whining about it but it was a real pain in the ass, just because they decided to not support WPA...
OK, done with my rant. This is definitely a better looking machine. Thinking about a purchase... but it'd probably collect dust since I'm so busy all the time.
Kamalot @ Jan 27th 2006 9:52AM
One of people's major complaints about the DS is that it 'feels cheap and empty'. Having the new unit so dense should help it feel much more solid.
unreal mccoy @ Jan 27th 2006 10:17AM
pair a black DSlite with Play-Yan and finally, I'll no longer be embarrassed to use my DS on an airplane...
Josh @ Jan 27th 2006 10:26AM
Wow this journalism is absolutely impressive. You must be beating the recruiters from the New York Times away with a stick.
Dave @ Jan 27th 2006 11:53AM
Why do I care that you didn't get your Xbox 360 in a thread about the DS? Shut up. As I'm sure you've been told a million times on a million boards, shut up.
As for the new DS, I'm kinda dissapointed in the new design. It's smaller, sure... but it doesn't look much more ergonomic, does it? My thumb's still going to cramp up when I play Mario Kart, and I'm still gonna have to hold it a little funny to get my fingers on the triggers. It looks nice, yeah... but I dunno. It just looks less comfortable due to the size.
My favorite portable to hold is the Gameboy Micro, I think. Small, but great buttons with good placement.
DZ @ Jan 27th 2006 4:23PM
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/therealdz/dsliteipod.jpg
Guess_Who @ Jan 27th 2006 5:19PM
Here's a question: How will GBA play work? That looks a little too thin to house a GBA cart and the necessary hardware.
baR_n1 @ Jan 28th 2006 2:00AM
^^^
How do you know its too thin when the only official shots released are from face on? That angled mock-up does not look right to me at all. Wishful thinking i believe (its looks like its half the thickness when the numbers say its only 25% thinner). Also note the numbers given are only of overall dimensions. I expect the bottom half of the new ds to be thicker than the top to accomodate for the gba slot.