After years of success across all variants the PSP is being replaced with the remarkable PS Vita.

The new version of the handheld gaming console comes with two analog sticks, a 5-inch OLED multi-touch screen, supporting Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and optionally 3G. The PS Vita will also support social networking apps such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and foursquare, which will be available for download for free from the PlayStation store.

In the earlier version of the PlayStation, there was just a single analog stick, but in the PS Vita you can find two analog sticks on its front, joined by a D-pad along with the standard PS button. On the top, it has the Left and Right shoulder triggers along with the Start and Select standard buttons. It has two touch-sensitive pads behind the device where you rest your fingers for support. It is quite similar to the track pad on your laptop and it is designed to function in a similar fashion. These pads work in combination with the controls of the PlayStation Vita which can be used to stroke and poke for additional controls when playing the game. The popularity of this new control all depends on how the game developers make use of it for the PS Vita.

I think one of the coolest things about the PS Vita is the cross platform play. You can start a game on your PS3, pause it, and pick up where you left off on your PS Vita. Multiplayer play will also enjoy full cross platform play.

Here is a list of the Specifications:

• CPUARM: Cortex – A9 core (4 core)
• GPUS: GX543MP4+
• External Dimensions: Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth)
• Screen: (Touch Screen) 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colours, OLED multi touch screen (capacitive type)
• Rear Touch Pad: Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
• Cameras: front camera and rear camera
• Sound: Built-in stereo speakers and built-in microphone
• Sensors: Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), three-axis electronic compass
• Location: Built-in GPS, Wi-Fi location service support
• Keys / Switches: Power button, directional buttons (up/down/right/left), action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), shoulder buttons (right/left), right stick, left stick, START button, SELECT button, volume buttons (+/-)
• Wireless Communications: Mobile network connectivity (3G), IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1) (Wi-Fi) (infrastructure mode/ad-hoc mode) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)

The PS Vita will be available from Incredible Connection on the launch date here in South Africa on the 22 February 2012 and will be selling for R 3 599.95.