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>> [Brian Tong:] What's up, prize-fight fans? You know what time it is. I'm Brian Tong and with Apple's latest push, touting the iPod Touch as a gaming device, we wanted to put it to the test. In this week's prize fight, it's a first-time face off between the Nintendo DSI and the iPod Touch. Our judges for this fight are CNET Reviews Senior Editor John Falcone, Assistant Editor Jeff Bakalar, and you know who. Now we'll take all three judges' scores and average them out to the nearest tenth each round. The final prize fight score will be an average of all rounds using the same decimal system. It's a five-round throw down. First round is design. [bell] The DSI brings its familiar dual screen with a matte finish and a clamshell design to protect its screens. It's not the hottest, but you know it can take a little beating. Now the iPod Touch is slim, sleek and arguably one of the sexiest gadgets of all time, but there's no screen protection even if it has a durable glass surface. The judges give the Touch [bell] a 4.7, and the DSI gets a 4. Next round [bell] is navigation and interface. The DSI is a rare blend combining a stylish touch screen interface with a D-pad and six physical buttons. It really gives you the best of both worlds for unique game play with the stylus or classic controls. Now the iPod Touch is used with just your fingers. Navigating the device and menus are a breeze, and its accelerometer offers a one-of-a-kind game play experience, but no physical controls whatsoever limits the type of games you can play on it. The DSI takes this round [bell] with a perfect 5 [cheering], and the Touch gets a 3.7. After averaging two rounds, Nintendo leads by three tenths of a point. Next round [bell] is features. The DSI is loaded with WIFI for multi-player gaming, and you'll have access to the DSI shop to download a few titles. Its web browser is very limited. There's a slot to add more memory. And two cameras are nice, but at .3 megapixels, you won't be using them too much. And yes, the iPod Touch. What doesn't this thing have? It has WIFI and Bluetooth, but this is really a pocket computer with the best mobile web browser, email, a stellar music and video player, plus access to the App Store, which opens up the flood gates to more functionality. Apple fires back [bell] with a perfect 5 of its own [cheering], and the DSI gets a 3.3. Next round is game library and performance. The DSI won't win the graphics battle. Games still look good, and even with a smaller library, the overall production quality is higher with flagship titles that are must-buys. Battery performance on the device is also so good, it's ridiculous. The Touch has the edge in graphics, and the game and entertainment library is over 20,000 deep even if you include the ten fart apps. But many of them you'll goof around with for just ten minutes, and extensive gaming kills your battery. The DSI takes [bell] this round with a 4.7 [cheering], and the Touch gets a 3. So after averaging four rounds, the DSI leads by just two tenths of a point, and it's still anyone's prize fight. The final round that decides it all is value. At 179, the DSI is a top-notch gaming device, but most titles start around 30 to 35 bucks, which can add up fast. Used games are more affordable, and the few titles on its DSI shop are around App Store prices. The entry-level Touch is 199 for 8 gigs of storage or 299 for the faster processor and 32 gigs. Many games are a buck or two, and the highest priced ones come in at ten dollars. But this is more like a pocket computer that just happens to play games. The iPod Touch just gets the edge with [bell] a 4.3, and the DSI gets a 4. So let's average out all five rounds, and in a battle where both sides scored perfect rounds, the iPod Touch took the final round, but it just wasn't enough, and the DSI squeezes out the win, 4.2 to 4.1. And the Nintento DSI is your [three bells] prize fight winner. [cheering] This was a great first-time showing for the iPod Touch, and both devices clearly showcase where their strengths lie. Until next time, I'm Brian Tong. Thanks for watching, and we'll catch you guys next time on another prize fight. [kung fu sound]
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