Description:

Packing a quad-core processor, 512Mb of RAM and an additional 128Mb VRAM, sufficient to say, this is the most powerful handheld yet by some distance, and a quite remarkable device to get your hands on, that even at launch has a variety of console-quality games to delve into; including but not reserved to Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ryman Origins, FIFA Football, Motor storm RC and PlayStation-favorite Wipeout 2048. The 5-inch OLED touch screen (at a resolution of 960 x 544 pixels, no less) is a sight to behold; vivid, crisp and bringing stunning detail to everything from the lush jungle in Golden Abyss, to the bright cartoonish art style that brings the limbless Ryman to life eight years after his last major appearance on consoles.

Packed to the rafters with functionality and varying control methods (the facing touch screen, a rear touch pad, motion control, front and rear facing cameras, dual analogue sticks), it’ll take time for the strength of the system to become apparent. Much like the launch window of any new hardware (particularly the dual touch screens of the DS and 3D capabilities of the 3DS), most of the titles currently on offer for the Vita showcase its features at a trade-off of often annoying and cumbersome controls. We can’t take anything away from the hardware for such instances (Sony, after all, will likely have urged developers to use the Vita to its fullest) but it’s worth noting that it will take time for developers to grow into exactly how to play to the systems’ core strengths instead of tacking on gimmicks.

Hardware:

The device features a "super oval" shape similar to the design of the original PlayStation Portable, with a 5-inch (130 mm) OLED capacitive touch screen in the center of the device. The device features two analog sticks (unlike the PSP which features only a single analog "nub"), a D-pad, a set of standard PlayStation face buttons two shoulder buttons (L and R), a PlayStation button and Start and Select buttons. Internally, the device features an up to 2 GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor (3 of the 4 cores are usable for applications) and a quad-core GPU SGX543MP4+. The device also features a rear touch pad, two cameras (a front and a rear), stereo speakers, microphone, Six axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), three-axis electronic compass, built-in GPS receiver (only for the 3G version) as well as Wi-Fi, 3G, and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR connectivity. The two cameras feature the abilities of face detection, head detection, and head tracking. It also allows for customization and personalization. The PlayStation Vita has 512 MB of system RAM and 128 MB of VRAM. The amount of RAM allows cross-game chat to be used on the system.

The PlayStation Vita has been released in two different variations: one with 3G and Wi-Fi support, and a cheaper version without 3G supports, but still including Wi-Fi. The 3G service has been partnered with NTT Do Como in Japan, AT&T in the US, Rogers in Canada and Vodafone in Europe and Australia.

Unlike the PSP-2000 and PSP-3000, the PS Vita does not have video output capabilities or a removable battery. Sony also confirmed during TGS 2011 that the battery would last 3–5 hours of game play (no network, no sound, default brightness level), 5 hours of video, and up to 9 hours of music listening with the screen off.[53] An external battery option was announced in an interview by SCE Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida.PS Vita is equipped with a storage media slot in addition to the PS Vita card slot, so that users can choose their memory capacity based on their use.

PlayStation Vita game card

Software for the PlayStation Vita is distributed on a proprietary flash memory card called "PlayStation Vita game card" rather than on Universal Media Discs (UMDs) as used by the PlayStation Portable. The size and form factor of the card itself is very similar to an SD card. Some media applications and games require a proprietary PlayStation Vita memory card inserted to be used.[56] 5–10% of the game card's space is reserved for game save data and patches.

PlayStation Vita memory card

The PS Vita is incompatible with standard memory cards, such as SD cards, and instead stores data on proprietary PS Vita memory cards, which are available in sizes of 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB and 32 GB.A maximum of 100 applications and games can be stored on the Vita's memory at any given time. When the limit is reached, applications or games must be moved or deleted in order to access those beyond the limit.

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