For me it is interesting. I am not sure I think the Switch's current release schedule is worth the price of the normal Switch for me, but a budget model seems cool. Because I didn't have a WiiU and almost never played on one, those WiiU ports + the Switch games (and + the announced titles) are probably enough for me to take the dive. I bought a cheap 3DS a year back or so and enjoy having it. The Switch lite seems a bit like the successor to the PSP to me (games that are more like full console games), which I preferred back in the day. A better battery life and a better screen seem nice as well (which reports are saying).
I do hope the build quality is higher than the joy-cons, because I know plenty of people with a Switch and a lot are having problems (specifically joystick drifting, which apparently has a high chance of occurring in any joycon over time due to how they are built).
Honestly, the battery life is barely better than the original model. Literally the range is only about 30-45 minutes more depending on what you're playing, and the screen might have slightly sharper visuals, but it's smaller than the original Switch. The joy-con drift problem is real although I think the fanbase exaggerates just how bad it is. My Switch (got it at midnight on launch, mind) didn't develop the Joy-Con drift until the system had logged over 900 hours of gameplay, and only occasionally drifts now, but is still a completely viable controller (not as good as the Pro Controller though), and I'm not certain on this but I read that Nintendo was addressing the Joy-Con drift in newer runs of the console, because the problem is caused by a ribbon that gets worn down and eventually improperly reads the input.
Just a heads up for your own sake; if you think $100 off is worth a slightly smaller but slightly sharper screen and a small battery performance, go for it.
Oh, I know, the battery is reportedly 20% better or something like that. The screen remains to be seen, as someone who takes 4-5 hour trips by train frequently that little bit extra comes in handy. But I will say I have no issue with the current Switch screen and I am not expecting anything major offcourse.
Over here it is 130 euros cheaper btw (which is almost 150 US dollars). For me it comes to how much worth playing on the tv is, probably not 147 dollars. Local MP on my tv with friends that can actually game has become a once or twice a year event and I am fine with playing on my classic systems in that regard.
As for the joycon drifting issue, it is likely due to the sticks wearing on the surface pads below it. I have watched several videos of tears downs, because I like seeing how these devices are made (my dad had a major in electronics, so we used to mess around with broken devices and repair them). The joycons are apparently easy to fix, just replace the analog stick unit and you are done. But for the handheld I doubt this will be the case, which is why it is potentially a major issue for me for at least the lite model.
As for the occurrence, probably bad luck, but two housemates own a Switch for less than a year and have this problem already. One of my friends as well. So in this case I take the internet complaining serious. Plus other issues like connection failures (when clicking them on the unit) and bluetooth issues (we live in an environment with a whole lot of signals). For a device I plan on using reliably at least more than six years (hell, my lauch PSP and launch DS both work like a charm still), so many people having issues in only two years is a sign for me personally to wait it out for a bit. Playing two years intensively and it starting to show issues for me personally is not a good sign. I have abused many controllers, some decades old now, and the last one that gave me issues was the N64, which had that terrible limp analog stick almost everyone from that time remembers.