It's hard not to like Nintendo's new DSi XL despite its $20 premium over the regular DSi. The XL, after all, is identical to the pocket-friendly, bi-folding dual-screen dynamo that is the DSi in most respects, save for "eXtra Largeness".

With a form factor closer to a skimpy paperback than a fat wallet, The DSi XL is nearly twice the volume of the original DSi. The point, of course, is to appeal to them old folks by delivering the same old quirky gaming and interactive activities already celebrated as DSi wonder and joy, but offering the lot of it on bigger screens (with bigger text and images) housed within a more graspable chassis (again with the paperback-ish analogy). Add to that a slightly elongated toothpick stylus plus a second, yet bigger, more arthritis-friendly stylus that looks and feels like a nice ballpoint pen and you have that 60+ demographic all locked up.

Importantly, the two screens of the DSi XL - one of which is touch-sensitive, as always - are (nearly) twice the size (i.e. surface area), yet they do not sport twice the pixel count of the original screens. Instead, graphics are displayed at the same 256 x 192 resolution but spread out over a larger surface area to affect larger, more legible words and pictures, albeit a little rough around the edges. The effect is not unlike blowing up a balloon, which thins out as it expands but otherwise uses the same amount of rubber. In geek-speak, the dot pitch is .33mm on the XL screens instead of .24 mm. Yeah, that helps.

Back in the DSi similitude department, XL has the same dual cameras (one fore, one aft); same built in microphone w/voice recognition; same dinky stereo speakers and stereo headphone jack; same WiFi connectivity; same access to downloadable DSi content, same slot for DSi game cartridges; same memory expansion slot for an SD card.

Oddly, the buttons and thumbpad on the thing are not enlarged, so ham-fisted users will find no respite in the same-old flea-mashing interface, which is too bad.

To juice it all, the XL sports a slightly better battery, longer lasting by a couple of hours. The DSi XL also comes in two senior-friendly flavors, namely boring bronze 'n' black and bland burgundy, glossy on top, matte on the bottom.

Forgetting for a moment that production costs for such a device does involve more plastic and power, the additional $20 cost over a regular DSi nets you two "lite" games and one gimmicky widget pre-loaded and raring to go on the XL. Both Brain Age Express: Math and Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters are gray matter teasers that purport to stimulate cognitive function and memory retention. There's not a lot of science to affirm the claim, but the games are fun and challenging in a casual sort of way.

Also included is a little interactive ditty called Photo Clock, which is basically a photo editor/slide show viewer and clock and little else.

Still, that's more than enough granny gaming out of the box to warrant the unit's slight premium.

But here's the thing: even if you're not a "Touch Generation" player - a "Gray Gamer," as it were - there's a lot of general appeal in the DSi XL. You don't have to be old to appreciate the XL's bigness, especially if you have large hands or less-than 20/20 vision, fortunes or afflictions that know no age group.

So while this new model DS won't fit in the pocket of your jeans anymore, the DSi XL is still small enough to tote around in a purse, backpack, briefcase or cargo pants. It may be redundant if you already own a DSi, but the DSi XL is a great buy for any gamer of any age.