Soon Nintendo"s DS won"t solely be a games platform, as upgrades due out in the summer include a web browser and TV tuner.
The two major upgrades, in the form of add-on cards, will include Opera"s web browser and the ability to receive TV programs broadcast for portable devices. The web-browser will cost around 3,800 yen (£19, $32 and €27) and will be available worldwide, but the TV card is currently only aimed at the Japanese market.
Nintendo are also developing software aimed at a wider audience, including a foreign language guide for visitors to Japan, a handwriting application and a DS cookbook. Suffice to say these extras will probably retain the usual quirky Nintendo style!
This doesn"t mean Nintendo are abandoning gamers though, especially with the planned release of a new DS version of Tetris and the DS Lite, a new slimmed down model of the handheld arriving in March.