Lynx I or Lynx II - Which do you prefer?

[zektor]

I only ever owned the original Lynx. I have been collecting the system on and off and am at about 34 games. I really like the Lynx and many of the games are just great (Great version of lemmings here!), and I hear so many good things about the second revision. I found one of these models on ebay for the amazing low price of 25 bucks, so I snagged it. It will be at least a week before I am able to give it a whirl, but I figured I'd ask some of you guys and gals here about it.

I hear that it is now in stereo. Is this only through the headphones or also through the speakers (does it have two?). How does the screen compare to the original? The screen looks sort of "thick" or magnafying glass-like. Is the battery life any better? Is it prone to any failures? Overall, what do you think of it in comparison to the original?

[Atari 5200]

Ahh...I had some great time with chip's challenge on the Lynx II. I remember I found mine down in winston at a gamestore called It's About Games. Sadly they're not there any longer but they had some kick-ass deals on imports and older games. Anyway, after I bought it, I remember me and my friends went to a chinese restaurant and instead of eating, I played Lynx. Never got to picking up the Lynx I. It just looks too...uncomfortable...

[zektor]

Believe it or not, the Lynx I (in my humble opinion) is pretty comfortable to hold. It is large yes, but somehow feels just right to me. The sound on the original is LOUD as well. I mean, like absurdly loud. If I have it cranked in the house, people outside can hear it....that is loud for a handheld! I can't wait to see how the Lynx II fairs out in this department.

[madman77]

I prefer the Lynx II...as for battery life, I don't know how they compare as I don't think I've ever used batteries with either of them.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I actually like both of them.

I happen to own a Lynx II, but I don't have much of a problem with the Lynx I.

The worst thing about the Lynx I (other than the larger size) is the fact that the plexiglass screen is flush with the top of the unit making it VERY scratch prone. The Lynx II has a raised bevel around the edge of the plexi which prevents that kind of thing for the most part.

[retroman]

i have both of them, but like the lynx 2 better.

[SpaceHarrier]

As Frankie said, the more protected screen makes the Lynx II ace.

Another thing I noticed about the first design was that the game cover tends to be a part that breaks off. Plus it is embarrassingly huge (not that II isn't, but it's smaller, at least)

I remember taking my II to grade school back in '91 and playing it during lunch period. Some random kid asked me what it was and my friend replied "It's a Line-X" just to mess with him.

[Pantechnicon]

I have two model II's and that's the only one I've ever used. If I could find a model I cheap I'd probably get it for completion's sake but the II will probably be the only one that feels "right".

[ApolloBoy]

I prefer the Lynx II, mainly because it's smaller and goes easier on batteries (though that's not saying much). In addition, the Lynx II actually has gray-colored plastic, as opposed to the Lynx I which used gray paint on white plastic. I had a Lynx I a few years ago and it looked like trash.

[retro junkie]

I have three of the Lynx II. I keep one here at my desk, just in case the urge hits. Love this system, I have never seen or tried the first one.
:guitar:

[MrSparkle]

I originally owned a lynx 1 that i got from my friend. At the time he gave the thing to me i'd never even heard of it i was more of a passive collector. Got it with one game i believe it was either turbosub or sub hunt anyway the game was really basic and i wrote the thing off as complete garbage. Put it in my basement and haven't been able to find that one since. After searching through my stuff forever i simply bought a second one, this time model 2. Overall i think the model 1 was somehow more comfortable to hold it just fit my hands better despite being massive. However in terms of build quality the model 2 just feels put together better. The finish on the first model is pretty prone to chipping if you aren't careful with it (i know alot of people are not exactly careful with their handhelds). Overall they're both pretty well made, both have some cool design ideas that i haven't really seen since (ambidextrous controls). If i had to go out and buy one right now it would be a model 2 though, its slightly less huge (still not saying much), is better on batterys, AND wont wind up looking like a 1987 ford bronco after 2 months of use.

[otoko]

I really like my Lynx.. I only have the second one though.. I wish I had more games for it, but eh.. there you go. I think one of these days I'm going to invest in the original just for the "wtf" factor. Take that out someone will notice.

[MrSparkle]

haha whip out the original lynx and you'll probably get thrown into guantanamo for being a terrorist. "Sir its simply too large NOT to be an IED", "Well its certainly too large to be a gaming system like hes claiming".

[zektor]

Speaking of the original Lynx, I found an old commercial on youtube that I remember being played way too many times back in the day in my area:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKXScEpZ94Q&feature=related

But I have to ask, when the f*** did you ever hear of a school bathroom that supplied you with a power source? Check the vid, the kid has his Lynx powered via a/c adapter. Guess even Atari didn't want to blow the cash on the batteries! Hah!

[Pantechnicon]

haha whip out the original lynx and you'll probably get thrown into guantanamo for being a terrorist. "Sir its simply too large NOT to be an IED", "Well its certainly too large to be a gaming system like hes claiming".

Been there, done that. Coming back from CGE2K4 I was playing Awesome Golf on the airplane. After about 15 minutes the soccer mom next to me got up the moxie to ask what exactly is that thing? :roll: `Cause as we all know, there's Gameboy and nothing else.