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