I saw this on Kotaku earlier today http://kotaku.com/5872913/is-the-3ds-lite-coming-out-next-spring-wonders-a-japanese-magazine A bit early I would say -_-. I just purchased a 3DS a couple days ago...
It isn't that bad as they claim. As you don't play much with the 3D slider on "on" ... well... it is just OK. It can be a whole lot better.. but I don't enable the WiFi & 3D so it holds on longer.
But the 3DS has more improvements or additions then the 3D alone. And when there is 3D at your console... do you HAVE to use it? No not really, you can make use of the newer powerful hardware