Color:Flame Product description The GBA SP is as small as a celphone and more portable than the original GBA

Take your portable gaming to the next dimension with this futuristic new game system! Color - Flame Amazon.com Many decried the original Game Boy Advance's reflective LCD screen and its reliance on external light sources

The Game Boy Advance SP's main feature--optional backlighting--fixes this complaint nicely, but it's the wealth of other features that makes this system so surprisingly good

At first look, you might think the SP is a sleek travel alarm clock

When closed, it's just as tall and deep as the original GBA, but only half as wide

Due to its clamshell design, the screen is always protected from everyday scratches

A small button in the center of the console turns on the backlighting element for use in low-light situations, like in a moving car

The SP comes with a well-designed power adapter that recharges a built-in battery; its prongs fold in for easier storage

Our informal tests found that it takes about four hours to fully charge (you can even play it while it's plugged in and charging), and the battery lasts about 11 hours with the backlighting constantly on--your results may vary

Using the backlighting less often will conserve battery power

With separately sold cables, you can connect the Game Boy Advance SP to other GBAs for multiplayer gaming (above) or to the Nintendo GameCube (below) to access secret levels, exchange data, or use other special features that vary from game to game

The quality of the backlighting is very good

It's bright and clear when looking directly at it, but degraded from other angles

This is only a problem for friends who are watching the screen from over your shoulder

But size, power, and affordability do not come without trade offs

There's no headphone jack here, though Nintendo promises an adapter

The system isn't very loud at its highest volume, and the sound can be turned down to socially acceptable levels

The L and R shoulder buttons are a fraction of the size they were on the GBA, and thus are harder to hit

Also, the reduced size of the SP is slightly less comfortable for adult hands than the GBA, but perhaps more comfortable for smaller hands

The cartridge port placement on the lower part of the console is fine for GBA games, since they are flush with the console body, but older Game Boy Color carts will stick out in a way that takes some getting used to

Open it up and the hinge will seek out a preferred, pre-set angle (about 150 degrees), though you can open it a bit wider or narrower for your own comfort

The hinge stands up well to lateral pressure, and over all, the SP seems just as rugged as its predecessor--which has proven to be very rugged, indeed

--Porter B

Hall Unit Specifications CPU: 32-Bit ARM with embedded memory Memory: 32 KB with 96 KB VRAM (in CPU), 256 KB WRAM (external of CPU) Screen: 2.9-inch reflective TFT color LCD Display Size: 1.6 by 2.4 inches (40.8 by 61.2 mm) Resolution: 240 x 160 pixels in a wide-screen aspect ratio Colors: 511 simultaneous colors from a palette of 32,768 Software: Fully compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color game paks Light Source: Front light integrated with LCD Size (closed): 3.3 by 3.23 by .96 inch Weight: Approximately 5 ounces Power Supply: Rechargeable lithium-ion battery Battery Life: 10 hours continuous play with light on; 18 hours with light off; 3 hours recharging