The Game Boy system is probably the most usefull electronic device
ever devised. If you have your priorities straight, that is.
The first version was introduced in 1989, it was big and clunky and a
miracle of technology. The Pocket version came along much later,
in 1996, then the Color a couple years later, the Advance in 2000, and
the SP (mini laptop) version a couple years after that. The DS,
introduced in 2004, brought wireless technology to handheld gaming, as well as two screens, the lower one a touch screen. The
Micro is the 2005 version of the Advance, with a backlit display and
rechargeable battery (although it will not play earlier games,
unfortunately). We finally sprung for the new DS
Lite...
By popular request, I have opened up a couple of dead boys, an original (made in 1992) and an advance (made in 2001).
Hint: to make your own screwdriver to open these things up,
you'll need a small grinding wheel, such as used on a Dremel tool, or
maybe a small bench grinder with a freshly dressed fine grit wheel with
a sharp corner on it. Get a Torx T15 driver, then grind off every
other tooth, and then grind it some more till it fits in the screw
heads. The joy of fondling handheld gaming technology guts can be
yours!
Another hint: If your Advance gets dropped and the screen quits
working, buy an SP or a Color (depending on what game cartridges you
have). Since Tetris is the only game to play, you really don't
need the Advance, the Color is the best machine for dropping blocks.
