http://kotaku.com/5658712/the-3ds-battery-wont-last-as-long-as-the-ds

I didn't have a problem with 3DS "focusing on graphics" since I didn't really believe that's the case, I thought that the level of graphics 3DS had wasn't above the "might as well since it's cheap now anyway" level.

However, if it's impacting on the battery life then I am not happy. I was quite critical of the PSP for sacrificing battery life for the capacity benefits of optical media, and I am going to be equally critical now that Nintendo is doing it. Battery life is a fundamental issue for a handheld the purpose of which is often to entertain on long journeys where you will have little opportunities to recharge. A cradle is not enough, the 3DS should last a long time away from the cradle.

Now, no doubt I can turn off 3D, lower the light, use headphones etc. to increase battery time, but most of this I can already do with DS, and if the end results are still significantly less battery time than with DS, I will say that Nintendo have overshot with graphics because it is costing us in another very important area for handheld consoles.

If you played your 3DS whilst it's connected to a power supply like I do often ( play off the electric), it should be fine.  I do thin kthe battery life will be longer than 5 minutes.

There's another issue. Do we have a typical charger where that is convenient, or is it only the cradle (where it is not).

My DS lasts hours and hours. The 3DS should be the same, or at least nearly. If it's closer to PSP battery life, that's a bad thing.

If it holds for 7 hours with level 3 brightness, 3D, enabled wi-fi and max sound out of the speakers, I'm happy

the question is is which DS model as each has different battery life. And considering how long the DS lasts on a charge (I can literally play for hours on my old light) as long as it's not like half or something like the PSP, even running games off a memory stick, it should be very manageable.

Well DSi already chopped a few hours off the battery life on low brightness settings, but still lasts a good 9-14 hours. I would hope for it to last at least that long but preferably more like DS lIte (15-19 hours).

Previously I'd heard battery life was being targeted to match DSi battery life. With a (possible) £200 price point, I'd expect a decent battery in the machine.

I'm sure it will, otherwise I'de have to play it on the cradle which could be awkward.

I'm expecting constant recharges with the 3DS due to the 'always on' feature that Nintendo have been talking about. It could have a comparable battery life to one of the current DS models, but those new features would result in the battery life appearing to drain much quicker than it does currently, when the actual time would remain the same...

wait for official spec before freaking out?