Yeah, you read that title right, and we're not talking about the DSi XL. On top of the news about Nintendo's redesigned DSi, Director of KBC Securities Japan Hiroshi Kamide expects 2010 to be the year of a new Nintendo portable.

"It's just not realistic for [Nintendo] to repeat what they did last year," Kamide told the Associated Press. "[2009 is] a bit of a filler year. Next year, I still suspect there's a new handheld turning up."

Kamide's suspicion isn't unfounded. Aside from whatever tactical promise 2010 holds, information about the new portable's hardware has also surfaced.

Earlier this month we reported on a contract between Nintendo and graphics-card manufacturer Nvidia to use their graphics-intensive Tegra chip. There are also rumors that the new portable will be backwards compatible.

With one new SKU already officially slated for 2010, will there really be room on the market for a DS successor? And if so, will that successor simply be a beefed up DS, or does Nintendo have something entirely new up their sleeve?