Nintendo launched Nintendo DS Lite in Japan on 2 March 2006 and in Europe on 23 June. It did not replace the architecture or catalogue of Nintendo DS, but substantially redesigned the original hardware with a thinner and lighter case, brighter screens and four brightness levels. It retained the touch screen, microphone, wireless communication and the two software slots: Nintendo DS cards and Game Boy Advance cartridges. DS Lite turned the dual-screen concept introduced in 2004 into a considerably more compact device and was the revision that accompanied the major international expansion of Nintendo DS.