Summary
It was unveiled on "PlayStation Meeting" in Japan on January 2011 as its code-name 'Next Generation Portable'. The name 'PlayStation Vita', along with the pricings, were revealed at Electronic Entertainment Expo on Jun of the same year.
It was released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and later the rest of the regions in 2012.
There are two version of the PCH-1000 model: the one that only supports wi-fi connectivity and the one that supports both 3G and wi-fi connectivity.
On October 2013, Sony replaced the PCH-1000 model with the PCH-2000 model. It feature minor redesigned body and has a LCD display as opposed to the OLED display of the PCH-1000 model. The PCH-2000 only has the Wi-fi version.
On November 11 of the same year, Sony introduce the micro-console version of the PlayStation Vita known as PlayStation TV (known as PlayStation Vita TV in Asian regions, including Japan). Due to the lack of touch interface, it can't play some PlayStation Vita titles.
The name 'Vita' means 'life' in Latin language.
Features
- It featuring a OLED display. (On the PCH-1000 models) Whatever if Sony have solved the problem with the OLED display is unknown. It was replaced by the LCD display on the PCH-2000 model.
- It has touch interfaces on the display and on the back of the handheld.
- It use the PlayStation Vita game card for game titles and use the PlayStation Vita memory card for storage. (The Playstation Vita doesn't supports other memory card formats for security reasons)
- The 3G version of PCH-1000 model supports 3G connectivity.
- While being the successor to the PlayStation Portable, it doesn't have the UMD drive. As a result only digital PSP titles can be played on Vita.
- It supports Sony's Remote Play on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 console.
- It supports Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity and support A2DP, AVRCP and HSP profiles.
For PCH-2000
- The USB connector was changed to the Micro-USB (B-Type) connector, making it compatible with any mobile phone's chargers.
- The accessory port, which presented on the PCH-1000 models, was removed.
For PlayStation TV (Known as PlayStation Vita TV in Asian regions)
- Being a micro-console version, it has a HDMI output port and support DualShock 3 controller and (as of system firmware version 3.10) DualShock 4 controller. It doesn't support touch-inputs.
