PS Vita or PlayStation Portable: What’s the difference
The PS Vita and the original PlayStation Portable (PSP) have a similar shape, design and outward appearance, it is clear the slightly larger and heavier Vita isn’t just an updated PSP or a PSP 1.5, but an entirely new device. Next to the front and rear touch screens, the Vita also adds a second analog control stick lacking on the original PSP and the build quality of those sticks trumps the PSP stick by a mile. The Vita is backwards compatible with all the downloadable PSP games, but does not support the store bought UMD’s, since the new device utilizes a different format of fysical games.
PS Vita size and look
The PlayStation Vita is a little bit bigger than the original PSP and just like it’s predecessor it’s not very easy to stick in your pocket. The glossy screen is very crisp. The screen does get some smudges here and there, when you don’t use a protective screen (which would be firmly suggested). If you use an smarthpone like an Android or Iphone, you’ll be used to this. Smudges are easily cleaned off your PSV. When you use the PS Vita in public, it’s absolutely an eye catcher, much more than the PSP was. The big screen and clear images invite people around you to view along. The handheld is built very solid and it just looks slick.
Battery life of the PSV
The battery life of the PS Vita is about 4 to 5 hours, which is pretty decent for a handheld gaming device. When you are not playing games, but watching a movie or listen to music, you can easily get another hour or so out of the Vita. Charging of the Vita is done via a Sony proprietary cable, so your existing USB cables can’t be used.
PS Vita Operation System (OS)
The Operating System of the Vita is a lot like any generic smartphone OS. Its ease of use, speed and responsiveness are very important in the user experience, which is quite fluent. There is also the option to multitask. Whenever you hit the sleep button on top, you will have to go from the OS back to your game, which takes up another 5 seconds, which can be tiresome. The PSP had no option of multitasking, which is probably why this procedure worked a little bit better. Shopping for games in the included online gamestore is quite nice, there is a nice variety and every time you visit the store, you’ll be discovering new things.
Quality screen
The 5 inch OLED screen, with a resolution of 960 x 544 is fantastic. Every game played on it looks awesome, with HD quality like graphics. Even at an angle the screen seems clear and bright. The screen is definatly one of the highlights of the PS Vita.
Technical specifications
CPU ARM® Cortex™- A9 core (4 core)
GPU SGX543MP4+
External Dimensions Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection)
Screen (Touch Screen) 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED Multi touch screen (capacitive type)
Rear Touch Pad Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
Cameras Front camera, Rear camera
Sound Built-in stereo speakers, Built-in microphone
Sensors Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass
Location Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi location service support
Keys / Switches 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 (+/-)
Wireless Communications Mobile network connectivity (3G), IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1) (Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode), Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)
