Nintendo DSi I almost bought it

My son has been begging for a video game system for years. His mother remembers watching her little brother play Nintendo and doing very little else.  My experience with video gaming tells me that it's addictive and can interfere in ones ability and desire to achieve something other than getting to the next level of the video game. It's imperative that my son experience life without a flashing screen dictating his mode and controlling his attention span.

Still, there are times when it could be handy to have something small and captivating for him to do that might help keep him quiet and out of trouble for brief periods of time; like when he has to accompany the family to events for his sisters (dance recitals) and his attention really isn't required. So, I almost bought him a Nintendo DSi for Christmas.  Remembering how fun Mario Brother's was, when my brother let me play, loosen me up just enough to think, perhaps a portable game system could be a useful tool.

Then I watched the promotional video for the system and learned about all the other things the little hand held device could do. It's not just for playing videos games, but a camera, video, audio recorder, and internet browser too. Okay, I may be showing my luddite colors here, but I had not been counting on a Nintendo being an access point to the internet for my 12 year old. So, naturally, I'm reconsidering my plan to purchase this for my son. I really don't want to have to worry about what he might be coming across on the net while we're, for example, at his little sister's Little Flower's meeting. I'm just not tech savvy enough to feel confident in my ability to find a way to make this device kid safe.

Is there something better and safer out there?