I'm not sure what to do. I have wanted to get a 3DS, but $200 seems steep (unless the battery life is unbelievable. One of the major reasons I haven't picked up a 3DS is because the battery life is supposed to be terribad) and this is definitely not the re-design I wanted. Was hoping for something more along the lines of a DS Phat to DS-lite redesign that made the system more functional and easy to store/handle/use. Aside from maybe helping DS games upscale better (which would be cool since I would not have no way to play GBA games or DS games if I sell my DS Lite), it looks like the increased size (was hoping they would re-brand the XL to encompass features and simply make customers think it was a 'bigger, better 3DS experience' rather than a bulkier system that doesn't transport as well like the really ill advised and, in my opinion, useless DS XL) is going to be more of a problem than anything.
With the GBA the SP was easier to transport and was all around better than the GBA classic. Then the Micro happened which was cool, but again kind of useless. With the DS the DS Lite was such an upgrade over the Phat (especially since the library had filled out too) and even the DSi was cool for integrating shops that would become higher functioning on the 3DS, even if the DS XL was larger and didn't really make any sense.
Not sure if I should just buy a 3DS now (perhaps using that GS $50 for a DS Lite trade in for a 3DS/buy a 3DS get a free game and battery pack deal) or just hope a better redesign comes in the future and hold my GS credit either for a Vita or the next gen consoles. Not too pleased with this.