Info Tech Guide

Everything about the Sony PS Vita reeks of refinement. Looking initially rather disconcertingly like the original Sony PSP - it is, in fact, even bigger - the Vita is actually a strong mix of style and substance. Like the Apple iPhone 4, the problems with the first PlayStation portable were certainly not aesthetic, so its sleek and black chassis is unsurprisingly and reassuringly familiar.

An evolution of Sony's first handheld, this addresses a lot of its flaws – a terrible single analogue stick, drop-it-and-it'd-shatter product vulnerability, reliance on dead-on-arrival UMD software – and takes more steps on than you'd expect.

For a start, this is Sony's first handheld you don't have to wrap up in cotton wool, its reinforced shell making it more robust to knocks without diminishing its sexiness or making it too weighty.

Arguably the most impressive thing about the PS Vita is its five-inch OLED display, which kisses everything that graces it. Let's not understate this: it's bloody enormous, but never feels bulky.

Colours are vibrant, images sharp - you almost want to ignore its capacitive multi-touch functionality in fear of sullying it (which unfortunately, in true smartphone style, your fingerprints very much will).

The PS Vita's quadcore processor is a whizz, powering through spectacular graphical feats with rare slowdown. Audio is strong, though just as with the PSP, is best played through headphones.

The iPhone 4S-alike 512MB RAM isn't huge, and it's noticeable that while it can multi-task on the lesser services, each game has to be shut down to open another (at least it means you won't find someone quietly deleting your files in the background because you've carelessly left every game you own running simultaneously).

Sony PS Vita availability: Out now on Japanese import, or from 22 February in the UK

Sony PS Vita price: £230 for Wi-Fi-only, £280 for 3G model