[Community member Portable Nerd brings us a creative and pretty-awesome-looking solution to the 3DS's poor battery life, and just in time for the portable's launch! Wondering why you're seeing this on the front page? Go here for the answer. -- Kauza]

Today, folks, (or Tue. for us Amazon pre-orders). That's when the 3DS comes to the masses. It's now a commonly known fact that the 3DS battery life is quite a bit shorter than that of the DS. Unfortunate but not entirely unexpected nor unable to be worked around. There are many tips out there currently about how to increase your play time and decrease your charge time. Keeping the 3DS on the charging cradle between use is one. Turning down the brightness setting and not using 3D all the time is another. But, what about a gadget that would help to charge your 3DS while you used it on the go without turning it into a portable system that's about the size of the Atari Lynx?

Enter the Universal Gadget Wrist Charger! Otherwise known as the "Bracer of Battery Life +2," this handy little thing contains a 1,500mAh 5.5V rechargeable lithium ion battery that charges via the USB port on your PC and weighs about 82 grams. It has a LED power level indicator and an on/off switch. Sound like your kind of gadget? More details follow.

It also comes with nine different adapters and can charge a whole list of your favorite goodies like:

iPhone

Nokia II (2mm)

Nokia I (3.5mm)

Mini USB (for Motorola/HTC/Dopod/MP3/MP4)

LG

Samsung i900

Sony Ericsson

Sony PSP

NDS Lite

Nintendo DSi

Yes, I do realize that the 3DS is not listed, but the 3DS uses the same charger that the DSi and DSi XL uses so the bracer should have no trouble in charging the 3DS. Now, as to what sort of time extension this will provide I do not know, but it's an option that I'm sure quite a few people will be at least mildly interested in. I plan on putting an order in for one and trying it out myself, just to see what sort of results I get. Of course, not having to worry about extending the battery life would be the best option but it doesn't look like that's going to be realistic anytime soon.