Now that we have had a chance to digest the announcement from Nintendo of its redesign of the 3DS handheld (which is to be called the 3DS XL), we have also had an opportunity to look things over and see what buyers will get for their money.

The biggest news of the 3DS XL is that it will offer a larger screen. The top screen will be expanded to 4.88 inches and the lower screen will now be 4.18 in the new unit. While larger screens often mean less battery life, not so this time around. Nintendo says that the 3DS XL will run 3.5 to 6.5 hours on a 3DS title and as long as 10 hours on standard DS titles.

The 3DS XL will not come with an AC power adapter, so if you want one you have to buy one or use one that you already have from a 3DS or DSi that you already own. It will also ship with a 4GB SD card rather than the 2GB card that was included with the 3DS.

The unit is slated to sell for $200 in the U.S., but pricing outside of the U.S. has yet to be confirmed, although it is expected to be similar. It is expected to be released in North America on August 19th. It is rumored that the 3DS XL will be released ahead of the North America release, with Japan and Europe seeing the unit arrive on July 28th.

It is believed that the recent surge in sales of the Sony Vita could be one reason that Nintendo has elected to release the 3DS XL. It should be noted that the release date of the 3DS XL in North America is the same day that Nintendo will be dropping the new Super Mario Bros. 2 for the unit.