It's cheaper if I heard right. I'm fairly sure the target audience is for people who can't afford the regular 3ds or people buying one for small children who have a tendency to break stuff like the normal 3ds easy.

I like the idea of this for my young nephew, his mother wanted to get him a 3DS for his birthday but I think this would be better. I can see him breaking a 3DS within a week.

Considering it doesn't fold up, though, I see a great deal of screen damage in the future.

I sort of get it...but the thing is that this is a handheld system, if it doesnt comfortable fit in your pocket to carry around you're not going to be bring it with you to go anywhere, plus it kinda makes storage for it a little awkward. I'm not entirely sure what they were thinking with this one aside from going cheaper, maybe it doesnt break as easy? I dunno

Not folding up is kind of a big issue for me. Scratches on a touchscreen are serious bizniss.

Yep, another reason I dont quite get the point of it

$129.99 proposed price point. Much lower than the current $199 (?) current price. They took out the 3D effect and the folding clamshell design to cut down on costs.

Also, since they have a health warning about kids 7 and under using the 3D functionality, this is a way to give those kids a '3DS' without worrying about whether they'll turn on the 3D slider behind your back.

I think it's a good idea in theory, but I'd like to get my paws on one before I make a final decision.

I'm in a cynical mood, so I'll just refer you to the JC Penny crisis.

The 2ds is designed for young kids. #1 cause of breakage was at the hinges.
They made these to reduce problems that younger users are less able to avoid and to make it $40 cheaper so people will buy it with Pokemon... which costs $40 as well.