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The PlayStation Vita is due out at the end of 2011, though it looks like this will be the Japanese release with Western countries getting the handheld in early 2012. Check out the introductory video below:

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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No doubt a clever fake, but if real you have to wonder if the guys could make one for bikini waxes….

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Google have finally launched the Android Market web store, which should mean a much better browsing experience for Android phone owners hungry for new apps on their phone. Until now the only way to browse for apps was through a very fiddly phone interface or by using a third party website called AppBrain. One of the best features on the site is once you have picked out an app you simply click install and as long as your phone is connected to the internet it will start installing – no need for cables or long syncing processes. This was the best feature of AppBrain till a naughty OS update killed remote installs from that site, bit evil Google. Non English speaking countries have complaints about very poor localisation, though Google promises more languages to be supported in the coming weeks. If you from a country with no Market support you are left with a blank screen with banner ads – very pretty. Hopefully later iterations of the site will provide more punctuality, but it looks a good – if extremely late start – and gets kudos for not needing to install any software clients on the computer.

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First up is the 3DS which brings 3D graphics and an analogue stick to the popular family of handhelds. It is hard to believe that when the DS was first released it was meant to be a filler machine till the next Game Boy. How times change! The machine is out in the UK on March 23rd and has no official price tag which makes things very confusing. Online stores are taking orders between £200-230, quite a step up from the launch price of the DS which had a RRP of £99.99. The machine has a slider to control the 3D effect and you can take 3D pictures thanks to the two cameras on the back of the unit. Nintendo have finally took on board criticisms of friends codes for online play, and this time around games will not need their own friend code – just one for the machine. Hurrah! The machine has an interesting online feature called Street Pass. When you are travelling and have the console in your bag, the 3DS will be scanning for other systems in the area and exchange data if both have compatible games loaded. The best example of this is in Street Fighter IV. Playing the main game unlocks special characters for use in Street Pass. When the 3DS systems connect to each other a battle will begin, and when you next open up the system you will see how many battles have taken place and the results.

The 3DS looks like a fine successor to the uber-popular DS. There are a great range of classic titles being ported over in 3D, as well as brand new games featuring Nintendo favourites. The main worries are region locked games and if Nintendo can finally provide an online store that isn’t a chore to use. It will also be interesting to see if the 3D effect will work well on a bus or train, though at least games are still playable in 2D.

While Nintendo have focused on a couple of key new features, Sony have thrown everything into their new handheld codenamed NGP (Next Generation Portable). The machine is due in winter 2011 and features an OLED touch screen, a touch pad on the back, two analogue sticks, sixaxis motion controls, cameras, full PSN access and 3g connectivity in addition to standard wifi. Rumours suggested the handheld would be comparable to the PS3 and early glimpses of Uncharted on action have been very impressive. Sony also announced the PlayStation Suite which would bring PS1 Classics and PlayStation Store access to compatible Android Phones. New titles developed for the Suite would also work on the NGP. While the PSP is still popular in Japan it is on life support in the West so it was good to see titles like Call of Duty, Killzone and Resistance would be coming to give this new console a fighting chance for those not into RPG’s or Monster Hunting. Most tantalising of all was MGS creator Hideo Kojima discussing the possibility of playing a game on PS3, then continuing it out and about on the NGP.

While the machine is powerful, we have to be worried about price and battery life. Sony have learnt lessons from the PSP Go mess and games will be released on flash memory style cards as well as from the online store but this means no chance of bringing your favourite UMD games to the new system. There is also a possibility that the majority of games could be PS3 ports instead of original titles built for the unique capabilities for the system. The PSP was also a powerhouse, but the DS led the way with innovative games that made great use of the touchscreen.

It looks like an exciting future in the handheld space, but will either console be able to topple the mighty Apple? The most popular handheld games these days seem to be the short, easy to play and very cheap titles on iPhone such as Angry Birds. An iPhone is expensive like these new consoles, but the games are impulse buys at low prices. Big budget games on the go sound great, but those budgets come with hefty price tags. Sony and Nintendo will need to produce some compelling software to get people off their phones and willing to spend more money for a better gaming experience.

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The worst thing about playing games on an iPad? ‘Virtual Joysticks’. Very fiddly to use and you end up covering the majority of the screen with your huge clumsy hands. However solutions are on the way, including this awesome looking portable joystick called ‘Fling’. Now you could well argue that developers should be making games that suit the iPad instead of shoehorning bad controls in, but the lure to play to play Pac Man Championship Edition DX on the go is just too strong. Watch out ghosts, daddy has a brand new toy. Shame about the name though, not the best thing to search for online. To save you the embarrassment of having ‘fling’ in your google search history, you can find the official website here.

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This video mysteriously popped up on YouTube over the weekend showing Mr Jonathan Post’s concept for watching 3D TV without glasses. Debate has raged on whether the video is real or fake but everyone agrees on one thing – it is terrifying. Instead of wearing active shutter glasses that alternately darken each eye , Mr Post’s invention physically moves eyelids and looks like an accident waiting to happen. Hopefully this ends up being a viral advert to show that 3D glasses are maybe not as bad we think.

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Chrome OS hardware is finally coming this summer and it looks like it will offer a great experience for those who only want to surf the web on their laptops. The new OS is run through the browser and applications are not installed locally onto the computer but are accessed through opening a new browser window or tab. Will it work? The initial offering of apps that are newly available on the current Chrome browser work rather well. Tweetdeck  works a treat and the New York Times is very easy to read in Chrome form. The YouTube app is simply a link to the website but this shows how Google want people to rethink the web experience – why can’t all websites be termed as apps? Apple have a lot to answer for.

All Chrome computers have 3G built in so you will always be able to use the OS when away from ethernet and WiFi connections and there is no cap locks key. A brilliant idea which could make messageboards a safer place to visit and will make emails from your mother readable again.

Are you ready to go totally cloud based or are there too many programs that you actually need on your hard drive? I mainly use my laptop for web browsing but would be lost without programs to do image and video editing – Google would need some damn impressive apps to replace those!

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How would you attract tourists to your country – perhaps a big festival, or a lovely museum. Well the Japanese are putting their faith in bras – talking bras. The bra, made by Triumph, is based on a tour guides uniform says “Welcome to Japan” in a variety of languages when pressed. Not making any of this up. There is also space for some delightful photos of Japanese landmarks. C’mon Weymouth, your turn next.

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