http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3808

Let there be Lite. Lik Sang has today received its very first Nintendo
DS Lite, which has been shining in our office since this morning
(literally). In this report hereafter, we take the bad boy for a ride
through one of our traditional hands-on reports, warming up for the
real release that happens in a couple of days. Please note that we have
only received one sample unit so far, we have not received the final
delivery yet and a more detailed news article will follow once the
Nintendo DS Lite officially hits the streets after March 2.

Latest rumors on the ground mention that only 93.000 pieces will make
it for the debut, only a third of the originally planned 280.000, after
two colors got postponed to 11th of March. That's very short indeed,
even less than the Japanese PSP or the US Xbox 360 at launch, and god
knows they were hard to get already. Taking into consideration the fact
that Nintendo DS is a hot piece of machinery that has been "sold out"
everywhere in Japan for the last two months, it is now certain that all
hell will break loose on March 2nd. Supply will not meet demand once
again, there is never enough of the good stuff on day-one. Big N is
reportedly having plans to flood the market with a total of 1 million
DS Lites before the end of March in the Land of the Rising Sun but we
are not yet convinced if that will even prove to be sufficient.

Impressions

"Smaller, lighter, brighter" was the motto so far. Now, you can
officially add whiter, cooler, prettier, sleeker, and overall better to
your arsenal of superlatives when describing the Nintendo DS Lite in
comparison with the first edition of the Nintendo DS. The new edition
has for sure a fashionable look, and appears more modern than the
previous model, which many compared to a "cheap plastic toy from the
20th century" when it first came out (not that we would agree with
them!). Nintendo has adopted the transparent see-through layer of
plastic that comes on top of a product casing to give it a shinier look
(like with the PSP or the iPod for instance). I must admit I also find
the white color to be much trendier and more appealing than the
original Silver painting there was on the early NDS when it first was
put in my palms in November 2004. All in all, a well done piece of
hardware is what it is.

The brightness is controlled using the same icon as with the original
Nintendo DS the light is switched on and off, and the menu of course
still features English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German and Italian
languages and comes 100% region free.

When powering the engine (with a switch now relocated from the front to
the side of the device), the amazing quality of the display strikes you
immediately. The dimensions are the same compared with the previous
NDS, which means it's still smaller than the PSP's screen. But, man,
does it look extra bright! As widely reported by various press sources
already, there are four brightness modes to choose from on the new NDS
Lite. On the previous DS, you had only the option to turn the light on
or off (which by the way is something you can't do any longer on the
new iteration of the handheld).

The brightness of the old NDS is about the same as the first level of
luminosity on the new Lite revision. As you can see from the pictures
below, when increasing the brightness level on the DS Lite's panel, the
new kid on the block clearly leaves its elder far behind in the dust.
Impressive display quality improvement on Nintendo's behalf, two thumbs
up on that part. A few other minor fine-tuning steps have been taken
with the new Nintendo DS Lite: the D-pad is smaller and sharper, the
buttons are spring-loaded, thicker and with an improved shape, while,
finally, the Stylus is now longer too.

Accessories Test Report

Among the few discrepancies between old and new NDS variants is the
change of power socket connector. You can no longer fit the electric
adapter of the Nintendo DS with the Lite, and vice versa. Opposite to
what was speculated on here and there, the plug is also not the same as
on the Gameboy Micro. The DS Lite requires a brand new power supply
adapter that you can't just replace with anything you might have lying
around. In order to recharge the Nintendo DS Lite Japanese version in
Europe, you will therefore need a Stepdown Converter.

On the other hand, the displays being the same sizes as before, you can
still apply the Dual Screen Protectors made by Hori and GameMate. The
protective PVC for the top screen goes off-edge by a couple of
millimeters but that doesn't pose any kind of problem whatsoever. If
you want to carry your brand new NDS Lite around in the pocket, we also
have just the thing, as we recorded to inventory yesterday the first
third-party pouch that fits the Lite perfectly. Named Pocketbag Lite,
it is available in limited quantities at the time being, which is why
orders are limited to 2 pieces per customer. Please understand.