HoustonChronicle.com - Review: Dual-screen system from Nintendo: "'Touching is good' is the catchphrase of Nintendo's provocative $40 million advertising campaign.

On Sunday, the video-game giant will introduce its latest innovation, the Nintendo DS, or dual screen, which gaming fanatics around the globe have been dying to get their hands on. Surprisingly, Japanese gamers will have to wait their turn as the DS will become the company's first system to make its sales debut outside of Japan.

Small enough to stash in your cargo pocket or backpack, the sleek DS console is roughly twice the width of its Game Boy SP brother and flips open like a laptop to reveal its double-pronged visual attack with two 3-inch, color liquid screens (one on the lid, one below). The lower screen is touch-sensitive.

Each screen can produce remarkable 3-D renderings that outshine images generated on the Nintendo 64. And the dual display provides a more refined gaming experience.

The DS system comes with its own wireless connection, good for 30 to 100 feet (9.1 to 30.5 metres). So you can use wireless to play with other DS owners, as long as they are close. More extensive wireless options are promised for the future.

Its rechargeable battery delivers six to 10 hours of play on a four-hour charge.
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