Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
The biggest star in the history of video games is getting even brighter. Nintendo of America Inc. today announces the introduction of Game Boy Advance SP, a redesigned version of the wildly popular Game Boy Advance. The system has a new illumination feature and sleek flip-screen design making it the most distinctively stylish, compact and portable Game Boy system ever. The Game Boy Advance SP will become an instant "must-have" gadget when it launches in North America March 23, 2003, for an estimated retail price of $99.95. It will launch in two colors: cobalt (metallic) and platinum.

Building on the significant improvements and refinements already introduced in the current Game Boy Advance, the new Game Boy Advance SP features a revolutionary Front Light Screen making game play easy in any lighting condition. The system is powered by a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery good for about 10 hours of game play and takes only three hours to recharge. Amazingly, the battery life increases to approximately 18 hours of continuous play when the Front Light Screen is turned off. All current and future Game Boy Advance games are compatible with the new system. And, similarly, Game Boy Advance SP is backward compatible, allowing use with virtually all games and accessories previously released in the Game Boy line. Nintendo will continue to manufacture and market its current, successful Game Boy Advance system, which has now sold-through more than 11.5 million units in North America alone since its launch a little more than a year ago.

Review
At first look, you might think the Game Boy Advance 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. Its clamshell design protects the screen from everyday scratches. 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.
Many decried the original GBA's reflective LCD screen and its reliance on external light sources. The Game Boy Advance SP's main feature--optional built-in lighting--fixes this complaint nicely. The quality of the backlighting is very good; it's bright and clear when looking directly at the screen, though less so from other angles.

The SP comes with a power adapter that recharges a built-in lithium battery; our informal tests found that it takes about four hours to fully charge (you can play it while it's plugged in and charging), and the battery lasts about 11 hours with the backlighting constantly on. Using the backlighting less often will conserve battery power. Size, power, and affordability don't come without trade offs, though. There's no headphone jack here--you'll need a separately sold adapter--and the system isn't very loud at its highest volume. The L and R shoulder buttons are a fraction of the size they were on the GBA, and thus are harder to hit, and the reduced size of the SP is slightly less comfortable for adult hands than the GBA. 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.

Overall, the SP is a significant improvement on, and seems just as rugged as, its predecessor--which has proven to be very rugged indeed. 

Specifications
CPU : 32-Bit ARM with embedded memory
Memory : 32 Kbyte + 96 Kbyte VRAM (in CPU), 256 Kbyte WRAM (external of CPU)
Screen : (diagonal) reflective TFT color LCD
Resolution : 240 x 160 pixels
Color : Can display 511 simultaneous colors in character mode and 32,768 simultaneous colors in bitmap mode
Software : Fully compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color Game Paks
Game Boy Advance:
Size : Approximately 3.2" height/5.69"width/0.97" depth Weight : Approximately 5 ounces Power : Two AA batteries Battery Life : 15 hours
Game Boy Advance SP:
Light Source : Front light integrated with LCD
Size (closed) : Approximately 3.3" height/3.23" width/0.96" depth
Screen (diagonal) reflective TFT color LCD
Weight : Approximately 5 ounces
Power : Rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Battery Life : 10 hours continuous play with light on, 18 hours with light off, 3 hours recharging
Hardware colors : Onyx, Flame, Platinum and Cobalt