Apparently you won’t be able to do a whole lot with the 3G connectivity included in Sony’s upcoming Playstation Vita handheld.
Sony revealed a lot of information about the Vita in June at E3, including its official name, 3G exclusivity with AT&T, and the $250 base-level US price point. But one thing it specifically did not say is when the device will be coming out.
But one thing we didn’t hear a whole lot about was the device’s mobile aspect. Aside from the AT&T detail, Sony didn’t talk about downloadable games, mobile multiplayer, etc.
Apparently a new detail is that downloads initiated through 3G will be capped at just 20 MB. That’s enough to download the average smartphone game, but certainly not all smartphone games and certainly nothing like a PSP game.
The Vita has already been called Sony’s potentially last game-specific mobile device. The company has already started pouring resources into Android and has been working with bringing Playstation connectivity to its sister mobile company Sony Ericsson.
However, the Vita offers several features that most traditional smartphones can’t, such as a dedicated game-launching memory card slot, dual joysticks, a touch-sensitive panel on the back of the device, and the ability to sell at low prices without a mobile carrier subsidy.
Yet, even smartphones can download large files. Sony has said this is because of the slow connection speed limited by 3G, and the limit may be increased in the future. But for now, you’re probably better off just using your existing smartphone’s mobile hotspot feature and connecting to that via the Vita’s WiFi connection.
