Anyone who's seen the new DSi handheld from Nintendo might have thought at one point that its features are oddly similar to Apple's iPhone and Sony's PSP. Camera: check. Music Playback: check. Online Capability: check. You may think it, but you're thinking wrong.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says clearly enough that it's not an iPhone/PSP wannabe, because it's not after these marketshares in the first place. According to him,

We wanted to have the device on them at all times. By downloading subway maps and other things, for instance, the DSi can be useful for applications other than playing games.

It's all about making it fit naturally into people's everyday lives. Apart from that, he also said that the online functionality available on the DSi will allow users to "customize" their experience with the handheld.

The DSi is coming to Japan first thing next month, November 1, and will also see a Western launch, though not till "well into 2009."

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• Nintendo DSi hardware specs, software details: bigger screen, shorter batt life, more
• Nintendo DSi won't arrive in North America until next year; more DS and Wii for holidays