The bottom of the Circle Pad and SD card slot sit side-by-side and come out with little effort.

This is the first time a Nintendo handheld console has had directional buttons other than the D-pad, whereas the Sony PSP has featured an analog joystick since its debut in late 2004.

A 2 GB SD card comes standard with the 3DS, and can easily be upgraded to a larger capacity SD or SDHC card, an important option if you plan on snapping lots of 3D photos and purchasing games from the Nintendo eShop.