Sony PlayStation Vita: Official Specs, Features, Photos, Prices and Availability Announced!

Remember Sony’s next generation of portable gaming, codenamed NGP?

Well, we finally got its official name. PSP2 may sounds great, but Sony thought of having a name that is full of life, something that enables a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context. Being said that, Sony’s latest handheld game console is officially named as PlayStation Vita or PS Vita. I liked it, Sony!

So, what’s up with PlayStation Vita? If you can still remember, PS Vita is not just your ordinary PSP. Unlike the earlier models of PSP, PS Vita offers both front and rear touchpads, flaunts a high-resolution 5-inch Multi-touch OLED display, offers up to six-axis motion sensors, dual analog thumb-sticks, support for wireless communications (3G and Wi-Fi), and brings both front and rear cameras – providing support for augmented reality gaming.



Sony PlayStation Vita Specs and Features



ARM Cortex A9 core (4 cores) processor

SGX543MP4+ GPU

5-inch OLED Multi-touch screen (capacitive type)

Rear Multi-touch pad (capacitive type)

182.0 mm x 18.6 mm x 83.5mm

Front and Rear camera

Built-in stereo speakers

Built-in microphone

Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope,

three-axis accelerometer, three-axis electronic compass)

GPS

3G

Wi-Fi, 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

PS button, Power button, Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left), Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square), Shoulder buttons (Right/Left), Right stick, Left stick, START button, SELECT button, Volume buttons (+/-)

182.0 mm x 18.6 mm x 83.5mm

The support for Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity on PS Vita enables infinite possibilities for users to "encounter," "connect," "discover," "share" and "play" with friends wherever they are. The PlayStation Vita also features PS3 Integration, which allows users to enjoy continuous and uninterrupted game play between PS3 and PS Vita systems with compatible game titles. What that means is the ability of PS Vita to start a game and then resuming it on PS3 – through cloud-based saving.

PS Vita gamer versus the ones using PS3 consoles? Well, there’s the “Cross-play” feature which will offer games the possibility of being played between the two different consoles. PS Vita will also come pre-installed with an app called “Party” which enables users to enjoy voice or text chat not only during online gaming, but also when users are playing different games or using different applications.



PlayStation Vita in Action





PS Vita Price and Availability



Wi-Fi and 3G models of Sony PlayStation Vita will be available worldwide come December this year, and will sell at $249 for the WiFi-only model, or $299 for the 3G version in the US. Japan prices are set for ¥24,980 (Wi-Fi) and ¥29,980 (3G); while those in Eurozone will get it at €249 and €299 for the Wi-Fi and 3G versions, respectively. Here in the Philippines, we still don’t have the official pricing just yet; but surely I’ll let you know once we got a word from Sony’s PR in the country.



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