Strange New World: Tech Picks of the Week

April 10, 2009— -- Has the iPhone met its match?

Well ... maybe not. But only in the strange new world of technology could a kids' toy even get into a conversation about taking down the Web's fiercest dragon.

Nintendo rolled out its new portable player, the DSi ($169), this week. And while it is far from the networking powerhouse that is the iPhone, this is one remarkable digital thingamabob.

Equally remarkable, Dan and I have both noticed that prices for consumer electronics here in the gadget-o-sphere have -- get ready for it -- firmed up over the past few weeks. Retailers are hardly living large. But gone is the firesale discounting that marked the early part of the year, at least at the major retailers we looked at last week.

And finally, Yahoo it taking another stab at music. Though it faces a tough slog against Apple, the company's search-oriented approach to music deserves some street cred.

Here are our picks for the top tech stories of the week:

Ya gottta give it up to Nintendo. Just a few years ago, this company was selling discount game systems to low-end gamers and their loser friends. No more. With Wii and now this new portable device, the Nintendo DSi, the company has become a major gaming heavy hitter.

Tech followers would be foolish to dismiss this DSi as mere child's play. It comes with bigger 3.25-inch screens, two .3 megapixel cameras, and -- most importantly -- improved Wi-Fi support. The effect is a faster, more robust gaming system that is interactive and Web savvy.

While it is nothing close to the Sony PSP or the iPhone in terms of hard performance, there is a quirky cool factor about this thing. Doing Super Mario on this box is pure fun.

Get one. Stick a mustache on yourself and you'll see. Factor in the developer community for this baby and, come summer, the DSi could be running some of the best games in mobile gaming. It's that good.

Leave it to the nerds to stick their necks out. But the fact is, if we weren't being told every three seconds that financial armageddon was at hand, we would be betting this recession has just about reached bottom. Why?