Sony Unveils The PS Vita

As previously reported, Sony just unveiled a PSP successor, codenamed “Next Generation Portable”, at an event in Tokyo. The biggest bullet point here is that Sony claims the portable system is as powerful as the PS3

The new device will come with the following features:

• 5-inch OLED touchscreen with 960×544 resolution (the current PSP has a 4.3-inch LCD with 480 × 272 resolution)
• ARM Cortex A9 core CPU (4 core)
• SGX543MP4 GPU
• storage: “new type of mini flash memory cards” (definitely no UMDs anymore)
• new form factor (Sony speaks of a “super oval” shape)
• touch pad on the rear that allows users to “touch” or “push” objects in games from the back
• 3G and Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n connectivity (3G for a portable gaming system is a first)
• front and rear cameras
• dual analog sticks
• tilt-sensitive SIXAXIS controls
• GPS
• built-in stereo speakers, mic
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• size: 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm

Sony says the PSP2 will hit stores by year-end. The price hasn’t been fixed yet.The earthquake and tsunami in Japan may have delayed the PSP2/NGP to 2012 in most markets.