drmoze

Setzer, sorry but the frontlighting of the SP isn't the reason why colors appear 'washed out' to you. The regular GBA is also front-lit, although from an external source. *All* GB models have 'front-lit screens' of one type or another. On the SP, simply tilting it forward slightly gives better color saturation. As good as an AB, for sure.

As for the regular GBA, mine spent several months in the closet, even though I had a bunch of games I liked and hadn't played much. Why? It's not very portable. The screen is *not* very visible in most lighting conditions--you *do* need direct lighting to get anything close to the SP's clarity. And the GBA gets bulky quickly when you add on a protective cover/case and a light. Plus, *every* light I've tried (the wormlight, another dual light, and even the mini fluorescent) all give excessive screen glare and non-uniform lighting.

OTOH, I just charge the GBSP, fold it up, and stick it in my pocket. It goes with me, compactly and conveniently, which my GBA never did. I actually *use* it more, asnd it's always bright and clear.

I've been platying handhelds for decades, from the old LED games (Mattel etc.) to the GB pocket (couldn't stand the original GB!), Lynx, TurboExpress (now *this* was a backlit active-matrix machine!!!), GBC, and GBA. (No GameGear for me, thank you.) SP is the most convenient, portable, and handy portable of all. (The Express had a better screen and a great library, but it was bulkier and ate batteries pretty quickly.)

Setzer

Ok let's take a look at a few pics then shall we?


First we have a GBA with an Afterburner installed(ABGBA)...




Second we have a GBA SP.....




And lastly we have a GBA with a Flood light attached....





It seems to me that the colors on the GBA screen with the flood light attachment are more colorful and vibrant where as the ABGBA and the GBA SP have a 'washed out' look. So, YES the front light is the reason why the GBA SP and the ABGBA have a 'washed out' look. The only way you're going to fix this problem is having a back light or getting an attachment such as the flood light for your GBA.

Yes, the GBA SP is small and very portable but when it comes to 'how it feels in your hands' while playing it...the GBA beats it. Personally I don't care that the GBA SP is small enough to fit in my pocket...if it feels awkward playing games on it then, to me, it's not worth paying $100 for. Why get a GBA SP when I can get a ABGBA and have the exact same thing, as far as lighting goes, and have a portable system that I don't feel uncomfortable playing? It's all about preference...if the SP works for you then great.

Also, the light attachments you have tried pretty much all suck. The flood light is probably the best external attachment you can buy. As you can see by the above picture it does an excellent job of lighting the GBA far better then that of the ABGBA and GBA SP.

That's a great advantage for the SP. You can also get the same thing for a GBA for around $10. So, you can have the luxury of not buying batteries on both systems.

One other thing I like about the GBA is I can plug my headphones in, which I use whenever I play a portable system. With the SP I'm forced to buy a special set of headphones with the proper connector to use with the SP. Nice move Nintendo.

Yeah I've played all those too. I purchased a Turbo Express for $299 when it was first released along with the TV tuner..I thought I was purchasing the greatest hand held system ever. It was the first portable gaming system to use a back-lit LCD screen, which was it's biggest advanatge and at the same time it's biggest diadvantage...it sucked the life out of batteries. 6 AA's lasted roughly 3-4 hours of play thus an AC adapter was almost necessary which basically defeated the purpose of it being a portable gaming system. In the end the TE was a failure because of several things; battery life, price, portability, and playing games. I remember playing thru some games and not being able to read any of the text because it's library came from it's TV console counterpart.

All the others you mentioned I've owned and played as well...doesn't mean anything though. Do I think the GBA SP is the best portable gaming system on the market? No. Is it better than the original GBA? In my opinion, No. Technically they're both the same system and with a afterburner installed into a GBA the only difference is the size. There are people that like the size and portability of the SP and there are people, like myself, who like the design and comfort of the GBA. Maybe it's because I have big hands...don't know but to each his own.

Superboy

I've noticed the same phenomenon with washed-out colors. The light isn't pure white, that's why; it's a shade of blue.

SpaceBoy

Not to thread-jack, but is there any deals currenty for the advance sp? I want to pick me one up, and wondered if there was anything I should look for.

Setzer

Well, Nintendo had a deal going where if you buy their FFTA package you get a $10 off SP coupon. I think you get....

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
FFTA Players Guide
One year sub. to Nintendo Power
GBA SP head phones
Coupon for $10 off GBA SP

All for $59.99 + Shipping.

Other than that I haven't heard any others. You could also try ebay and see if you can score a new or used one for under $100.

drmoze

Setzer, I've played Golden Sun on the SP and it does not look *anywhere* as blue as your pic above. In fact' it looks a lot like the floodlight picture you posted. If holding a live SP next to my monitor with your screenshots is any guide (I have a CRT monitor), then based on your post the SP in real life 'looks' like the floodlight pic in this thread, complete with decently saturated blues, yellows and browns...

Not all the light attachments I tried 'suck.' If you read carefully, I also pointed out that I own a mini fluorescent (AKA 'Floodlight'). Yes, this has more uniform lighting than the other atatchments, but still not as uniform as the AB or SP. And the Floodlight is *big* and bulky. Not to mention that it uses its own batteries, which need replacing regularly, with a screwdriver no less. Not a handy accessory at all for portabiltiy, and the light isn't that much better than the SP's if at all. (There is still either some glare or else, aiming it differently, some darker screen areas.)

The 'same' batteries are not available for the GBA, btw. I have yet to see a Li battery pack for the GBA. And it's a big difference. Leave an SP sitting around for a couple of weeks, and it'll be ready to go, fully-charged. Leave a GBA with rechargeables unattended for a while (NiMH or NiCad), and it will be dead or nearly so. Plus, you'll need more batteries (and bulk, and weight) for the Floodlight. And the GBA is already a lot bigger than the SP to start with!

As for headphones, heck, a $3-4 adapter is available everywhere, as are SP headphones for well under $10.

And yes, I have big hands as well (at 6'1" tall). The grip on the GBA and the SP are different, but I play for hours on the SP with no problem. A light grip with fingers comfortably spaced works fine. (Bottom of the SP resting on bent middle fingers, bottom corners resting at the base of the thumbs, shoulder buttons on the inside of the 1st joint fo the index fingers, thumbs over the joypad and buttons.)

Yes, I agree about the "different strokes for different folks" and all. But I'm responding in detail because in my direct experience your comparison pix are misleading, and some of your points are a bit off. A GBAAB is not simply the equivalent of an SP that's bigger. The SP folds to protect the screen, and Li batteries are far superior to any GBA rechargeables on the market. The Floodlight is not a perfect light (I still prefer the SP's built-in lighting), and it is very bulky which adds to an already less-than-truly-portable system. In my experience, size *really* matters when it comes down to the decision whether to carry around a GB system with you and use it a lot (or not). The GBA lost here (esp. with the necessary lighting attachments!)

Setzer

I still have my black SP and I have Golden Sun and the ONLY way I can get my screen to look like a GBA with a Flood light is if I turn OFF the light and then take my SP into an area where I have direct light. In fact, I would go as far as to say a correctly installed ABGBA system looks better than the GBA SP.

I agree the Flood light is 'big' and 'bulky' and yes you do have to replace the batteries BUT it does a much better job of lighting the GBA than an ABGBA or GBA SP will ever do. The Flood light will not 'wash' out the colors like the ABGBA and GBA SP do.

I used a rechargeable battery that combined as a rubberized grip for the GBA. It was put out by Pelican Accesories called the Power Grip Advance. I believe it used a NiMH battery but I never had a problem getting about 10-11 hours of play on one charge.

I agree with you on the size of the Flood Light and the hassle of replacing batteries for it but that's not what I'm arguing here...the fact is, the Flood Light does a much better job of lighting the GBA screen than the ABGBA & GBA SP does...that's my point.

I'm 6'4" and have big hands, the GBA feels more comfortable playing than the SP does...but that's me though. Just like you are more comfortable playing the SP...great, I'm happy for you! Whatever fits your play style then that's what you should get.

My pics aren't misleading. Both the ABGBA and GBA SP 'wash' the colors out and my pics show that. That pic of the GBA SP is what you get...a light blueish tint with faded colors. I'm referring to the technology when I compare the 2 systems. The GBA SP isn't more advanced as far as what's inside internally and if you add an Afterburner to a GBA you will have the same results you get playing games on the SP. Both screens are the same size and both have front lights installed. The physical size of the GBA SP is smaller and that's the only difference. So what about the flip down screen...you can get an attachment for the GBA that does the same thing. The GBA is a more comfortable system to play with in terms of size and design and with an Afterburner installed you have, in my opinion, a much better system than the SP and if you can stand the bulkiness of the Flood light it does provide much better lighting than a front light does w/o having faded or washed out colors. Overall, the GBA is still the way to go, IMO.

DB

1. For deals, buy.com recently had a $10 off of $100 coupon. Not much, but something. Check out techbargains to see if its still active.

2. For the SP, someone makes this plastic "grip" thing for the sp that is supposed to make it much more comfortable. You can always remove it to get back to portable size. I think it retails for $10, but I bought it off ebay for less. Now if my sp would just get here...

- David

Galanthas

The blue tint and dust under the screen, are the 2 major reasons I couldn't deal with having an SP anymore. I ended up Ebaying mine and getting a GBA player instead. Those horizontal bands bugged me as well.

Setzer

That's another thing I didn't point out...if you get dust in the SP there's nothing you can do about it. At least with the GBA you can pop the front screen off or even lift it up just enough to use a can of air to clear out any dust that has accumulated. Plus if your screen gets scratched they're easily replaceable. Although you do have less worries about scratches with the GBA SP because it does fold to protect the screen. Now you just have to avoid getting the outside of it scratched.

Outlaw

This is not a good idea, you'll get more in than you take out.

Setzer

I've done this several times with my old GBA and that was never the case. You don't need to take the screen all the way off to do it. Even if you need to replace your screen you can still put a replacement on w/o having any dust problems...just depends on the conditions of the room you're in and if you have the proper tools.

It's not a good idea if you don't know what you're doing.....

Outlaw

Perhaps, I've had some friends with Afterburners and any time they open the screen they get dust in. I've read tons of stories on the Triton Labs forum about people who have also done it even in virtually dust free rooms so it seemed pretty common, the AB light guide is pretty finicky when it comes to dust. Its hard as hell just to get the Afterburner installed without a couple of specks dust in the first place, but I've never had to open it though .