I actually think this thing is kinda nice. While it does look a bit wonky at first, when you watch the videos it looks a lot more comfortable to hold to me, as someone who has rather largish hands. The pocketablity is gone, yes. But I do most of my handheld gaming at home anyway. I wish they would have kept the 3D though, as that is something I DO use most of the time while playing. I guess I'm one of the few who like the 3D feature.
Ninty is obviously going for a tablet like look. Most likely to suck in all the uninformed parents who just want their iPads/iPhones back from their 5 year olds.
I can see ALOT of broken screens without the clamshell design, that was probably a bad choice.