The Sony PlayStation Vita may have staggered a little bit since launch, but owners of the handheld device will be pleased to see that version 2.0 of the Vita firmware is starting to land on the gadget after being pushed by Sony and is being classed by some as the biggest firmware upgrade for the Vita to date. Sony has also maintained that they wanted the Vita to be about more than just portable gaming, with the intention being to provide users with a converged experience that included gaming, productivity and accomplished web browsing. This new 2.0 update certainly adds to the power of the Vita.
Users will be overjoyed to see that the 2.0 firmware for the Vita brings with it a full native email client, and although it possibly shouldn’t have taken this long to come it, it is also clearly evident that Sony haven’t dedicated any creativity time to coming up with a name for the app. The mail client has a relatively attractive looking interface and comes with simple and automatic setup procedures for recognized email providers like Gmail and Yahoo! as well as the ability to add multiple email accounts to collect incoming mail from. Although only in its first public outing, Vita Email can be described as extremely basic, but functional, and is certainly a step in the right direction.
Sony has also recognized the importance of web browsing on their little portable device and have acted with the 2.0 upgrade to improve the browsing experience received by users. Responsiveness and page loading times have been improved, as well as the added ability to enter into browsing mode without actually having to quit out of a running game and lose all progress. When compared with the Mobile Safari or Chrome on an Android device, the Vita experience doesn’t come close with no support for HTML 5 videos, but in a similar fashion to the email app, it certainly offers a basic but solid experience for those who use it sparingly.
The firmware update is also littered with a number of other small but noticeable improvements that will be sure to bring a smile to the faces of Vita owners. Sony has added support for PlayStation Plus on the portable gadget as well as updating the Maps application to included weather based information for the local area. Wireless syncing is sure to be one of the most appreciated additions, with users no longer needing to hunt around for cables to tether the Vita before syncing content with the desktop software.
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