Like the Game Boy, the Game Boy Color is powered by a Z-80 processor, however the color version has been customized to run at twice the clock speed (4.28 MHz) as the original (2.14 MHz). Sharp manufactures the Z80 processor in Game Boy Color as well as the 2.3-square-inch TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) color LCD display screen.
In the past, the purchase of a color portable game system meant that inevitably a lot of money would be spent on batteries. The Game Boy Color, with its highly efficient TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) color screen from Sharp, broke this rule. The system is capable of displaying 56 colors onscreen simultaneously from a palette of more than 32,000 and is extremely battery efficient. It requires 2 AA batteries that last an average of ten hours during continuous play (though there is also a 'high speed' CPU mode that consumes battery power at a greater rate).
Another factor that contributed to Game Boy Color's great battery mileage is that its liquid crystal display is not backlit, instead it is highly reflective and can be played in direct sunlight and virtually any situation but total darkness. While a non-backlit screen may appear to be a limitation, it does provide a tremendous boost in battery economy. The Sharp-designed TFT screen represents an improvement over the original's giving a crisp edge to images and eliminating blurring problems.
On the top of the Game Boy Color case there is an infrared communications port which allows low rate data transfers between two consoles. Players can exchange game data information from one Game Boy Color to another without a cable (though for head-to-head play a cable is still required). The Game Boy's two player abilities have also been speeded up with the Game Boy Color's Game Link Port which features a data transfer rate that is 64 times faster than the original's.