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Had a go on a demonstration 3DS in my stinky local branch of Gamestation today. Your local branch should have a demo unit behind the counter if you ask nicely.
The handheld's 3D effect... works. It's definitely more subtle than 3D cinema and 3D flatscreen TVs, which as we know require glasses. The 'looking into a box' analogy I've seen used is almost accurate, as the image doesn't 'leap out' at you (it's a depth effect only), but I'd liken the effect more to having a magic window which you can see through, cheesy as that description may sound.
The 'depth slider' to activate then adjust the 3D effect suffers from the problem I had with the DS Lite's volume control, being that it's just too small for the amount of precision you ideally need from it. You will need the slider set to the 'right' setting for your eyes, otherwise I've discovered the itchy eyestrain can set in fast. Get the screen calibrated right on the spot though, and you'll know instantly. It just clicks, you don't need to squint or anything. (I can imagine that if you share your 3DS with another player, it will be annoying to constantly recalibrate the screen to 'your' setting each time you pass the 3DS back and forth. I can also see many people being instantly off-put by the console if they try it with the screen not calibrated correctly.)
The GS said employee that only the Face Raider and picture-taking mode could be demonstrated to the public, but both showed the 3D display part of the hardware adequately. Face Raider, if you hadn't heard, is built-in; you take a 3D photo using the (disappointingly low-res) inbuilt cameras of peoples' faces, and the face images are used in what could be described as a first-person Missile Command, using the tilt sensor to rotate on the spot and move to fire at oncoming faces. (Makes more sense if you play it yourself.) As a hardware demo, it does it's job, but it's not a standalone game like Wii Sports.
Thumbstick's on 3DS just like the PSP nub to use, only more concave. Just as you'd expect from looking at hardware picture, basically, no surprises. Touch-screen's the same as the DS Lite/DSi one, so are the physical control buttons.
Conclusion? Personally I'd happily buy one, but more out of interest in the potential of future software support more than anything else, certainly the hardware didn't really have an enormous wow factor from my short experience with it. The 3DS seems an evolutionary step on from the DS rather than a quantum leap, from what I've seen of the console without playing a proper game on it, and it might underwhelm if you approach it with too high an expectation.
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