Nikkei is a credible source is it?

I kid, I kid.

Mine already does mp3 playback, and movie playback. Not R4s ftw.

what's the chance that, if this is true, nintendo will make it so the only music playback possible is for AACs?

hmmm, I wouldn't mind this at all. means I wouldn't have to carry my ipod around anymore.

I may be a simple girl with simple tastes, but all I care about is whether or not there will still be interesting games for it. Also is this the next generation handheld or is this a minor upgrade like the DS Lite? If it's the same thing but with all the features that I don't use on my NOT R4, then there is no point.

Bloomberg and reuters just posted the same info.

The word "gameboy" has long been lost, but is waiting in the shadows, gaining strength, soon to emerge...

Hmm I could use a new ds I'm fairly rough on handhelds.

If the SD card allowed for VC games on the go, then I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Pretty sure the game was Boktai.

Anyways, I'd like a DS with slightly wider screens, and SD card support.

VC Games on the Go FTW.

Better yet, I'd like Nintendo to release servers for games that didn't previously have Online Support, but it would be amazing if they did, say, oh I don't know, MARIO KART DOUBLE DASH/64!?!?

I would like a DS with a hard drive if they are going to have music playback

I didn't care for it when the PSP shoehorned in a movie player (with a proprietary media format, no less). I didn't care for the news that they were shoehorning in a phone.

I don't know why we can't just make portable consoles. When you try to cram games into phones or (God forbid) mp3 players, you get crappy games. The same will happen in reverse unless you get large, capable companies for each medium working closely together. And then so many people are going to want a piece of the pie that it will make an XBox Elite at launch look cheap. And might still be crap. And I just started a third consecutive sentence with 'and'.

I'm interested to see the new form factor/design. SD card has me very intruiged, if only for VC/Wiiware purposes. Camera/music player I couldn't care less about.

Would love some updated Firmware, maybe channels? PDA functionality, more wireless, location based applications.

Maybe the camera can be used with Wii games, like facial mapping and what not?

Hopefully it is worthwhile and pretty!

I was skeptical about this until the mentioning of VC games on the DS, at which point my mind was blown.

Nintendo has always reigned supreme over the dandheld market. This move is proof that they have learned a lot from being at the top for so long. Nintendo got smarter over the years and it shows.
Remember Game Boy Micro? THAT was a dumb move. Released one year after the release of Nintendo DS, that little piece of hardware sold a million units. Nintendo's doing what they should have done back then.
Nintendo DS's market is not saturated yet. PSP is seeling more, that's a fact. But it's far from a real threat to Nintendo. By releasing this third and final version of their overachieved handheld, they'll be reaching all those that didn't buy Lite waiting for the next one, people who didn't buy either, portable-multimedia-freaks and those who'll buy anything that comes their way.
It won't be amazing. It will probably be sort of dumb, just like Micro. But they must be sure that they've milked every single one of potential DS owners. So that he way is paved for the true next Nintendo handheld, which will most likely integrate such features from DS 3 with all improvements that the feedback will allow.
By the way, DS is reaching its fifth anniversary. It would've been logical if Nintendo shows their new console at least until this date next year, but somehow I think they're expecting the first move from Sony and the turnout of iPhone's gaming capabilities.
Either way, I guess the handheld market is heading towards a very interesting way, and my bet lies on Nintendo, that's shown a pretty interesting sillouette of its upcoming strategy through this announcement. I expect music and video playback, camera, motion-control, precise microphone, touch screen and something new and exciting. Nintendo takes a while to get on the wagon, keeping it simple(as seen on their on-line strategy) while paying primary attention to the games. So, a multimedia handheld with a twist must be on its way. Here's my hoping for some sort of innovative force-feedback. Remember when the rumble pack was promising?
Fully analog stick and buttons would be nice too.

I was going to get an ipod and a DS Lite within the year. Now I'm going to have to hold off on both. The music playback will likely be rather limited (SD cards don't really get bigger than 10 gigs or so right?) but if they allow for more than I expect or if it's wicked awesome then maybe it'll work out nicely.