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Gameboy Advance SP vs Canon Powershot G3

Pink Daisy writes "When it comes to modern consumer electronics there are a lot of choices to be made. Choosing the right gadget for you can be difficult, but a good decision has tremendous rewards. A bad one can doom you to Boring and Uncool Gadget Hell until your wallet recharges. Today I will help you decide whether your next portable device should be a Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP or a Canon Powershot G3. Since I'm a scientist, I will make this review as objective as possible. Where subjective judgements are required I will make note so that you can evaluate the evidence for yourself." Read on, or you won't know where to open your wallet.

Colour: Both devices have a metallic silver colour that is typical of portable consumer electronics. Black would have been cooler. The Gameboy is also available in other colours, although I think they don't look as good as the silver. Win goes to Gameboy for choice, although it doesn't matter unless you prefer one of the cheesy colours.
Score: G3 7, SP 8

Construction quality: Although the colour is metallic, neither one is completely metal. The Gameboy Advance SP is made from slightly pliable plastic. It feels strong enough, but is probably susceptible to scratches and bumps. The G3 body is about half metal and half carbon reinforced plastic. It is definitely a piece of quality construction. The lens is a marvel as well. The thing is built like a brick.
Score G3 8, SP 4

Form Factor: The Powershot G3 is box shaped, with a grip protruding from an edge and a cylinder from the centre of one face. It has a twist out LCD display. The Gameboy is box shaped when closed, but opens up in clamshell fashion to expose the LCD. Both feel a bit small to me when being held in the intended manner. That's because I have large hands; most people would probably find both very comfortable. When closed the Gameboy is more compact and very easy to pocket. The G3 is too large for many pockets and difficult to fit in others because the lens cap has a tendency to come off.
Score: G3 7, SP 9

Controls: The small size of the devices doesn't hamper operation of the controls. Both have excellent control layout. The buttons on the G3 are logically laid out so that the important ones are easy to reach when you need them. The buttons on the Gameboy are easily accessible in the heat of the moment. Despite the G3's great menu system for complex controls, the Gameboy has it beat there. Metroid Fusion has an even simpler menu system and very intuitive controls. My only complaint is that the controls on the Gameboy look like cheap plastic, whereas the buttons on the Powershot G3 have an excellent high-quality appearance.
Score: G3 10, SP 9

LCD Display: The part of the device that you will look at the most is the LCD display. The G3 has a smaller display. It has the definite edge in graphical capability. As well as being higher resolution, it performs sub-pixel anti-aliasing, where the Gameboy does not. It also displays more colours.
Score G3 7, SP 6

Replayability: Quality means nothing if you don't want to look at it. The Gameboy has an excellent selection of games available, with more arriving regularly. Metroid Fusion is particularly good, and many others are also noted as being of quality. If you already have a collection of older Gameboy and Gameboy Colour games that you love, they are compatible with the Gameboy Advance SP. In comparison, the photograph of a garbage dumpster stored in my G3 is lacklustre.
Score G3 2, SP 9

Storage: The G3 is compatible with all CF2+ class storage devices, including type 1 and 2 compact flash memory cards and microdrives. These cards are available in capacities of up to four gigabytes. In comparison, the Gameboy uses proprietary cartridges with a 24-bit address bus and a 16-bit data bus for a maximum of 32 megabytes of data.
Score G3 9, SP 6

Totals: G3 50, SP 51
The Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP narrowly beats out the Canon Powershot G3 for the coveted Raymond's Choice Award. Your next portable electronic device should definitely be a Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP.

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19 of 353 comments (clear)

  1. Great content... by Radi-0-head · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And they want me to PAY for this garbage?

    Ha.

  2. Prices? by Scrag · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is a very complete review of both devices, covering almost every aspect of the products that would be important to consumers. However, there seems to be no mention of the price of either item. I'm probably going to buy an SP since it beat the G3 by one point, but I don't know how much either one costs. Maybe I'll go for the G3 if the price/performance ratio beats the SP.

  3. Re:Huh? by anderm7 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It'll be even less funny a week from now, when they post it again.

  4. Re:Eh by sporty · · Score: 4, Funny

    You prolly don't want to compare a pacemaker and a microwave. One would break the other :)

    Tester: Yeah, this pacemaker works pretty well. Let's try the microwave. HURK!

    [/joke]

    --

    -
    ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only

  5. What??? by macshune · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No comparison on price? The gameboy advance is $99. The Powershot G3 is $800. Case closed. Get a Gameboy.

  6. Jumping the gun this year by Target+Drone · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slashdot is getting off to an early start this year. I wasn't expecting to see the April Fools articles for another 6 days.

  7. How about price? by L-Train8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is no comparison on price, which is a significant omission in my opinion. At Amazon.com, the Canon Powershot G3 retails for $550. The GBA SP retails for $99. The Gameboy is the clear winner in this category.

    --

    Don't forget that Friday is Hawaiian shirt day.
  8. Re:Last Criteria: Do you need a camera, Or a Gameb by irix · · Score: 3, Funny

    That woooshing noise is the sound of the joke flying over your head.

    --

    Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
  9. Must be a slow news day by binaryDigit · · Score: 5, Funny

    You'd think that they could re-dig up some articles posted yesterday.

  10. Re:huh? by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps I'm just not thinking this through properly for a Wednesday, but "What the hell is this crap?".

    Comparing a videogame system to a digital camera?

    Editors - Why are you wasting my time? What's next, comparing a toaster oven to a graphics card?

    N.

    --
    "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
  11. Re:huh? by canajin56 · · Score: 2, Funny
    What's next, comparing a toaster oven to a graphics card?
    Why not? The high end models both generate a comparable amount of heat ;)
    --
    ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
  12. nice matchup. by jeffehobbs · · Score: 5, Funny


    I look forward to next week's "2003 Humidifier Vs. Dehumidifer Deathmatch!".

    ~jeff

  13. please let this in some way be a joke by Sideswiped · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I would try to post some humours reply to this article, but in its wake of its stupidity all I can do is blankly stare at the mouse infront of me

    "if it wasn't for my horse, i would've never made it through that year in college" -LB

  14. Re:Eh by MrDingusMcGee · · Score: 5, Funny
    You make a good point. Articulate, intelligent, well thought out, and clearly communicated. I especially like your use of the word "bitch" to emphasize your point and let everybody know that you're nobody to be messed with, bravo.

    Maybe you just don't know what funny is. Here is a list of 5 things that are always, without a shadow of a doubt, funny:
    • Silly hats
    • A man in a chicken suit
    • over-sized phones
    • Any joke told with a british accent
    • Seeing somebody getting hit in the groin with any ball-shaped object
    --
    My Sig is Sauer.
  15. Re: Why ... Why not ? by G0dzzilla · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why don't get a camera that you can take pictures and play more than 3000 games like a Kodak DC265 Digita ?

  16. Next up, apples vs. oranges! by smackdotcom · · Score: 2, Funny
    They're both fruit, but which one will help you bake a pie, and which one makes a delicious breakfast beverage? Tune in tomorrow!

    Sheesh.

    --

    In a world without walls, there is no need for Windows.

  17. Re:*BOOM* *CRUNCH* by greenjinjo · · Score: 2, Funny

    How can you kick us in the balls? That is physically impossible because we are thousands of miles apart from each other.

  18. Re:moderation by stridebird · · Score: 2, Informative
    Yes it would be nice, and what's more - you can. There is a way you can register your displeasure with timothy, he the "author" of this article. But you'd do well to note that it was filed under "funny" - like "It's funny. Laugh."...

    ...so you can decide to exclude timothy in your user preferences: [preferences>homepage] to find it.

    and if you don't get the joke, then maybe you should....i might.

  19. Re:Eh by kirun · · Score: 2, Funny

    looks to me like microwave kicks all kinds of ass. Kinda like when us kids started adding things like the middle finger to the classic R,P,S and said it was "dynamite".

    Dynamite blows up rock
    Scissors cut fuse of dynamite
    Paper wraps dynamite stick which then blows up - draw!

    What's the problem?

    --
    I'm scared of numbers that can't be written as a fraction. It's an irrational fear.