Sony announces updated PS Vita and new media streaming device

Today Sony announced an updated all-new PlayStation Vita in Japan as well as a new Vita TV streaming device. The new Vita underwent and all round improvement in terms of design and usability while the PS Vita TV seems to be aimed at competing with the up and coming media-streaming market. Apart from jamming Vita on your telly, Vita TV features Remote Play and other entertainment features.

The new Vita handheld console is set to be a more casual and easier to use model than the original PS Vita. It’s thinner (20%), lighter (about 15%) and more affordable. According to Engadget, it has a 5-inch OLED display with battery that will supposedly last you about one hour longer than the current model. It also finally has a micro-USB charger. Yay!

It’s to be available in a range of six colours and will have 1GB on-board memory with a new memory card storage option of up to 64GB. The new PlayStation Vita is priced at US$190 (R1 900) although there hasn’t been talk of an international release and price beyond Japan.

Launching on 14 November, Sony also announced the PlayStation Vita TV. The media streaming device will go for about US$100 (R1 000) and will allow you to play PlayStation Vita games on your TV or PS4 games via Remote Play. On top of that, you’ll be able to access other streaming services such as Hulu if it’s supported in your country of course.

http://youtu.be/_MoTr_-FE0U

The device looks like a router and has about six different ports including USB, HDMI and Ethernet. There’s also an extra slot for PlayStation Vita cards up to 64GB.

Although providing and serving different platforms of compatibility, the PS Vita TV looks s if it’s aimed at somewhere between the OUYA and Google’s Chromecast.

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