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.
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| 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. |
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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
Customer Review: Not for seniors
I wanted a simple 'puzzle' handheld game that didn't involve rapid finger and thumb movement because I'm simply too old for kid's games. This is a kid's game and nothing I read in advance prepared me for that. Apparently all the reviews are written by youngsters who love to wail at the keys before losing to a relentless clock. The game console (used) arrived in excellent condition but it was just a shell. NO included games, NO instructions. I ordered two games (Tetris, Mario Bros) which also came without instructions. Eventually I figured out what was needed but, again, not what I wanted. I've asked the kids selling Wii, PS2 & 3, etc., and none seemed to understand I wanted puzzle or adventure games - NOT action games requiring manual dexterity, so they didn't know what I should buy. I'm afraid the days of King's Quest and Liesure Suit Larry are gone forever, or at least anyone that knows about such things are nowhere to be found. Guess I'll go watch some TV...
Customer Review: Great game
Game has been handed down from my 7yr old to my 5yr old and still gets a lot of play.
Video game consoles are getting popular today because of the technology and the features when compared to that of the PC games. Initial video game console came with a cassette like circuit where you need to insert them into the consoles main box. Then games came into PC that was more fascinating than that of the ordinary video game because of its graphics and a variety of games available under different programming languages. Now, it has reached the next level like the Xbox or PlayStation, etc. The reason to this is some drawbacks in playing games in a PC in certain aspects. One of the major drawbacks is the graphics as PC requires special graphic cards to play certain games.
Microsoft's Xbox
Xbox is one such advanced gaming console available today in the market. Xbox is a product of Microsoft who themselves have developed the hardware for the console. We are all aware that, Microsoft is well known leader in writing program code. Xbox 360 is the latest product in videogame console released in the year 2005.
Design
Xbox 360 hardware was developed by Microsoft Corporation with Microsoft's own program codes running on each and every component. It mainly consist of two processors namely the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphical processing unit (GPU). The console boxes consist of a power ring around which LEDs light will be glowing in green or red. The heat sinks are fixed firmly to the microprocessor by means of two X clamp beneath the motherboard. The added feature in Xbox 360 is the CD-ROM where you can add new games to the console where you like playing them. The storage space in this console also has been increased when compared to that of the previous version of console.
Design Failure
Since its introduction into the market many Xbox 360 users have complained about the red light error in their console. In any kind of consoles, it has some inbuilt setups to caution the users about the status of the console. Likewise, Xbox has the lights around the power ring to indicate these errors and also will display the cause of failure on the screen with some error number.
Error E74
Most of the users complain about a particular error called E74. This error results in glowing of three red lights in the power ring area. This problem is commonly known among gamers as 'THE RED RING OF DEATH' or RRoD. This error might lead to the death of the motherboard if the problem was not properly fixed. The cause for this error is the overheating of the console.
How To Fix
This can be fixed by removing the X clamps in the motherboard. The heat sinks do not provide enough air supply to the processors and the heated air is not properly removed from that area causing the processors to fail.
Repairing of console can be done in two ways. One by sending the console to Microsoft service station or by repairing by own. If you have the warranty, then the repair is done at free of cost. But, if the warranty period is over then you have to pay for the repair which will cost you more.
The simple solution for this problem is that you can repair the console by your own. There are some video tutorials in the internet using which you can fix your Xbox in just one hour. The repair work is pretty simple and I myself have done the repair work in my Xbox 360. These videos will tell you how to remove the X clamps from the motherboard and how to fix them back without the clamps.
Xbox 360 Video Tutorials - Fix Your Xbox in just One Hour From Now
Repair your Xbox 360 by watching some of the online videos and fix your Xbox 360 now. You can fix your Xbox in just one hour from now and start playing the games again. Save over $100 and also the valuable play time. Just by using your household tools you can fix your Xbox and its very simple to do. Just give me ten minutes and I will show you how to fix your Xbox now. Visit http://www.squidoo.com/xboxredlightfix to Fix your Xbox 360 now.
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