When Sony launched the PlayStation Portable back in 2005, Sony had defined what portable gaming was about. But that was before Apple launched the iPhone and the iPad and Google started powering smartphones and tablets with its Android operating system. These smartphones have transformed the plain old mobile phone into an internet-based communications and entertainment centre, while the tablets are re-inventing portable computing.

So what does this has to do with the new PlayStation Vita? Well, you can play a lot of games on your smartphone and tablet, but if you first concern is gaming, than the Vita is surely the first choice. It’s a bit like taking pictures with your smartphone. Today’s smartphones have good cameras, but the semi-pros and the pros will always shoot with a camera.

The Vita has a very good 5-inch OLED capacitive touch screen with bright colours and a very good response to touch. That’s obviously copied from smartphones but it has been done quite well.

The handheld gaming console feels well, it’s not too heavy, and the array of buttons makes gameplay easy and fun. It’s not too tiring on the wrists if held the right way.

The Vita, like any trendy gadget, comes to life when connected to internet, either through 3G provided by a mobile company or Wi-Fi. Otherwise it’s a dumb terminal. You need internet to connect to the PlayStation Network to get the games and the updates. While Wi-Fi is the preferred means of access at home, 3G comes handy when on the road and you don’t have to wait to get back to your Wi-Fi at home.

The operating system is nice and looks playful, almost childish, complete with nice mellowing background music. You can use the Vita for web browsing too but the browser is weak compared to what’s available now on smartphones and tablets.

A portable console is nothing without games. There are several games for the Vita and the store is getting bigger, but the games are pricey, as pricey as games for the PlayStation 3 and the PC/Mac computers. Forget downloading the small, nice free games like we are used to do on our smartphones and tablets. However the Vita games are almost as impressive as the version for the PS3 in terms of graphics and gameplay.

Another miss comes in the shape of a lack of video-out port to play on a TV screen. Maybe the idea here is to make you use the PS3.

Battery life could have been better. On standby it’s quite good but you only get power for three to five hours of continuous gaming before re-charging. And you cannot just replace it with a new one.

Indeed some proprietary communication features, such as the Vita memory card, are an additional hidden cost.

Final verdict: Get the PlayStation Vita if you want solid and mobile gameplay. It’s better than playing on your smartphone.

The PlayStation Vita was made available to i-Tech for review by Vodafone Malta.

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