Nintendo today announced a new portable games console with two screens and two CPUs.

However, the company denied the product was intended to go head-to-head with Sony's upcoming PlayStation Portable (PSP).

The device, tentatively dubbed the Nintendo DS, for 'Dual Screen', will sport a pair of 3in backlit displays, one above the other, backed by dual ARM-based processors and 1Gb of RAM. It will ship later this year. Nintendo will reveal more about the device at the E3 show on 12-14 May in Los Angeles.

That's the venue at which Sony is expected to launch PSP, the giant's first attempt to extend the PlayStation brand into the mobile gaming market. The device is believed to be scheduled to ship in November.

The two machines will not compete, Nintendo said. "We're not trying to take on PSP, because this machine will be completely different than anything that exists right now," said Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa, according to Reuters. ®

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