Okay thanks! Firends also requested for XL so i guess i'll be getting that!
Sorry! I just wanted to know every detail, plus thanks for telling the Shorts part, deffinatly getting XL!
Edit - Plus, I heard the 3DS XL can act as a controller for Wii U! Is that true?
To answer the question in bold, no it cannot. Sorry if you got your hopes up over that.
As for the topic at hand, I would definitely recommend the XL over the original. Put simply, the 3DS felt cheap. It dug into my palms, the screens were too small, and the Select, Home, Start "buttons" were a joke. I honestly wondered if they were even trying with it.
The XL on the other hand is just amazing in comparison. The main thing of notice for me when I got it wasn't even the screen size, but rather just how comfortable it is. The corners are nice and rounded to prevent the aforementioned pain, on top of adding a better grip. The screens weren't colossal like expected but instead felt just right. And the middle trio of buttons are actually buttons this time, so it doesn't seem like you're playing on a prototype. Then, of course, the battery is better... I tend to get an hour more than my brother's 3DS (hour and a half with Wireless off).
Also worth noting is that the system is not actually that much thicker than the original. It's mostly just wider. So it does take extra pocket space, but it won't make them bulge anymore than the original would have.
I have a few complaints with the XL, and a big one would be that it is slippery. I'm not sure what they did to the thing, but it's pretty worrying. I had the same issue with my 3DS though, so this is more me just fretting over things I've put money into rather than an actual issue.
The screen scratch issue (the bottom screen scratching the top, I recommend looking it up on Google as there are better explanations) is much less prevalent, but also still happens somehow. My advice to fix it seems backwards, but I would recommend you do not put anything between the screens. The lines only appeared whenever I put a cloth between them, and actually stopped coming once I just left the screens alone.
In the end though, if you can only afford the 3DS it is a decent enough system. It just falls in comparison to the XL, and as such I can't really recommend it if you have the choice.
Edited by ChrisD, 10 February 2013 - 11:49 AM.