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The Nintendo 3DS will offer 3-D images without the need for special glasses, the familiar hallmark of 3-D devices. The handheld device will go on sale within the next 12 months and will offer support for older Nintendo DS and DSi titles.

A preview of the 3DS will be available at the E3 Expo video game show in Los Angeles in mid-June.
"We wanted to give the gaming industry a head's-up about what to expect from Nintendo at E3," Nintendo spokesman Ken Toyoda told the New York Times. "We'll invite people to play with the new device then."
The move taps the larger buzz around 3-D that has gained considerable momentum from the movie "Avatar." It could also be a sign that Nintendo is working harder to stay ahead of competition from Apple.
Consumer electronics giants Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and others have begun releasing 3-D high-definition TVs. But those all require pricey so-called active shutter glasses, tuned to see the alternating polarized images.
Nintendo's solution is expected to offer a form of 3-D achieved by overlaying a lens on the 3DS screen. A few companies, including Samsung, showed off prototypes of the technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Hitachi has also developed a cell phone that includes a 3-D display, using a lens array over the screen.
Van Baker, an analyst with Gartner Research, said the application of 3-D seems gimmicky and he questions how well it can be pulled off on the small 3DS screens.
"From what I've seen, it's not a very rewarding experience," Baker said of the technology. "Nintendo is trying to capitalize on the buzz around 3-D."
Much will depend on not only the execution of the technology but also the developer support, said Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with Game Changer Research.
"It's going to cost more and so it has to demo well and the software has to be special," Pidgeon said.
The Nintendo DS has been a runaway success since it launched in 2004. Nintendo has sold more than 125 million units over that span and is poised to launch a larger version called the DSi XL.
There are, however, signs that Nintendo's dominance in portable gaming is getting a challenge from Apple, whose iPhone and iPod Touch are becoming popular gaming devices.
According to a report from Flurry, a mobile analytics firm, the iPhone platform has taken 19 percent of the U.S. portable gaming market, up from 5 percent in 2008. That puts it ahead of the PlayStation Portable, which by Flurry's estimates represent 11 percent of the market, down from 20 percent in 2008.
Nintendo's share of the market has also decreased from 75 percent in 2008 to 70 percent last year.