The New PSVITA Which Is Cheap

Sony is trying to give its Vita handheld a shot in the arm with a new Slim version. The fresh, slender games machine is already out in Japan, but is finally making its way to the western world.

Specifically, the Slim, also known as the Vita 2000, is coming to the UK on 7 February, for an estimated £180 -- £50 cheaper than the original Vita was when it launched. There's no confirmed US release date yet, but I'd be surprised if stateside readers had long to wait.

Thinner, but not exactly small

The Vita Slim is -- as the name suggests -- smaller and lighter than its chunky predecessor.

Holding it in your hands you'll notice that it feels very light, though the Slim model is still a large device that you'll struggle to squeeze into your pocket alongside a phone and wallet. Instead, this bulky handheld will require a backpack or handbag.

New display

Slimmed-down size aside, the biggest change here is that the Vita's 5-inch display has been tweaked. The impressively high resolution remains, but instead of OLED, that broad panel now deploys LCD technology.

OLED is tough to beat in terms of image quality, so it'll be interesting to see how the new screen compares in a side-by-side battle. It may be that the quality has been dropped slightly in order to make the Vita slightly cheaper.

Under the hood

There are a few other tweaks to the Vita hardware, all of which are welcome. To start with, you'll get 1GB of on-board storage, which means you'll have room to store some games straight-out-the-box, and will slightly decrease your reliance on memory cards.

Sony has mercifully ditched its proprietary charging port in favour of a Micro-USB socket. This is the same charging input that many gadgets (Android phones and the Amazon Kindle for instance) use, so you may already have several Vita Slim-compatible cables lying around your house.

Sony says the new Vita has better battery life too. Up to six hours of gaming is promised, which isn't jaw-droppingly spectacular, but is at least several hours more than the original Vita lasted.

In Japan, the Slim comes in a variety of charming colours, but unfortunately the UK model will only come in black, Sony tells me.

Outlook

The Vita Slim brings several welcome changes, and certainly makes Sony's handheld a more tempting prospect. It has a huge fight ahead though -- as well as competing with Nintendo's 3DS console, the Slim must fend off the likes of the iPhone, iPad, and a broad range of Android gadgets, many of which are being used for gaming.

Are you tempted by the Vita Slim? Have your say in the comments, and stay tuned for a full review coming very soon.