Wow, I had no idea this existed. Have you ordered one of these custom skins before?

Good find! It's really tempting to get one of these on sale, but since everyone is saying XL I think I might have to go for that. I want to get the superior system.

Do you think retailers might release a better XL bundle around Black Friday, sundin? Right now, there's a New Super Mario Bros. 2 bundle at GameStop, but it costs the same as the system and game if bought separately. Which kind of defeats the point of the bundle.

XL is more than worth the possible extra cost. She sounds like someone who sticks with a system for years, so get her the premium model is my advice.

Yeah, I have one on my phone and 3DS.  They do a really good job.  I had to return one once though because it was pixelated but they gave me two for free after that :)

I doubt you will be able to find an XL lower than 145$ but you will easily be able to find it under 200$. If you plan on getting the XL, wait until Black Friday. There is a possibility of there being an even cheaper regular  3DS then too but no matter what, the regular version will be cheaper. Its all about how much you are willing to pay. I have the original 3DS (zelda edition :D) and I love it. So like I said, you can't go wrong either way.

Original 3DS-
Pros:
-better looking
-less expensive

Cons:
-slightly worse 3D effect (apparently)
-less battery life

Neutral:
-smaller

XL is deffo better, the build quality of the normal 3ds is unsturdy

If she's not a serious gamer, I say just go cheap. No point in going for the absolute best if she can't really appreciate the difference.

I own both versions and i would say go with the xl for sure. I look at the original model and wonder how i ever enjoyed anything playing it. The bigger screen size alone is worth the purchase, plus the fact it looks ten times better than the crappy original design.