Atari Lynx II here Atari Lynx II there. I'm confused.

[culltyler]

I'm always seeing Lynx II. Ebay, DP, Mars, everywhere (not literally of course) and it looks like a Lynx, the one that i saw at k-mart when i was kid. So, is there a Lynx "I" and if so whats the difference? And if i'm an idiot and thats been the name of the Lynx (Type 2) all along, then well, i'll shut up. :embarrassed:

[howdoin]

There were two lynx :

Lynx
Lynx 2

The difference was only in the design of the outer shell of the unit but both had the same features (Errata : there are some differences - jsut read DP's post below). Lynx 2 was the best design of the two IMO.

Here is a comparison pic :

http://www.guenthoer.de/bilder/atari-lynx.jpg

[digitalpress]

I'm always seeing Lynx II. Ebay, DP, Mars, everywhere (not literally of course) and it looks like a Lynx, the one that i saw at k-mart when i was kid. So, is there a Lynx "I" and if so whats the difference? And if i'm an idiot and thats been the name of the Lynx (Type 2) all along, then well, i'll shut up. :embarrassed:

The Lynx (not technically called "Lynx I" but it was the original model) is longer/wider, has a dark gray case (instead of black). The Lynx II also has a backlight on/off feature, better battery life, and a headphone jack.

[goatdan]

The original Lynx (like this one: http://www.goatstore.com/info.php?id=141025 ) is much harder to find and usually a little more expensive because for some reason people seem to want them more. The Lynx II is a much better model for just about everything from size to how you put the games in and especially battery life.

Personally, if you're looking to buy one, go for the Lynx II unless you don't plan on ever taking it anywhere. Then, either model is just fine (as long as you are plugged into a wall, of course.)

[Cauterize]

IIRC Correctly, someone in #vbender said that the Sound Chip in Lynx I is much much better than the Lynx II Sound chip!

[Arcturius]

IIRC Correctly, someone in #vbender said that the Sound Chip in Lynx I is much much better than the Lynx II Sound chip!

That's correct, it was one of the things they changed that supposedly helped the battery life in the Lynx II. Quite how I'm not sure exactly but there was a Lynx FAQ up on-line at one point that explained all the changes.

[Jorpho]

Do you think the Lynx I was based off Epyx's original Handy design, while the Lynx II's design originated from within Atari?

[BlastProcessing402]

The Lynx (not technically called "Lynx I" but it was the original model) is longer/wider, has a dark gray case (instead of black). The Lynx II also has a backlight on/off feature, better battery life, and a headphone jack.

sorry for the necrobump, but just for posterity's sake, I have to correct this slight bit of misinfo... both versions have a headphone jack.

maybe you heard about how they apparently hooked it up wrong in model 1 and wound up with mono sound out of both ears and got that confused. but the sound wasn't even that great anyway so I wouldn't worry (and I'm sure someone's modded it by now anyway)