Anybody has the 3G/GPS Vita?

[MjW]

I am itching to get one and I found the 3G at about the same price as the wifi one and I am wondering.


Is there something to do with the 3G/GPS functionality?

Does it affect the experience in some way? (more fun, battery drain etc.)

[DarkVincent07]

I only have the WiFi model but from my understanding the 3G model just lets you use the net and que stuff up for download off the store. Apparently 3G connection isn't strong enough to play games over. Also if you have it on it WILL drain your battery.


If you can get a good deal, may as well go the 3G model and just don't use it. If you ever feel the need to or whatever - maybe future proof yourself - then you can set it up and activate it.

[F34R]

I am itching to get one and I found the 3G at about the same price as the wifi one and I am wondering.


Is there something to do with the 3G/GPS functionality?

Does it affect the experience in some way? (more fun, battery drain etc.)

There are a few games that will play online with the 3g, and battery drain is a little more. You can get real time score updates from games that others are playing, messages, notifications, cross game text messaging, and game news feeds.

[snooper71]

Near is nearly useless on Wi-Fi in my area. I'll be switching to a 3G after the Holidays.

[SHAZZMAZZ]

I have 3G.

Things you get on 3G

Sim Card
You get GPS maps
And a 4GB memory card
A free game ( i got wipeout ) download from PSN store
( Warning you may get different game)

More info

But one shit thing about the sim card is you get 1GB data and you cant use it to download stuff of the PSN store that more then 20MB, but you can use it to sign in ot your PSN account but i dont no if you can play games online if your using the sim card not tryed it.

(Warning if the PS VITA 3G you get is ,2nd hand, you won't get the FREE GAME unless the first owner of the VITA didnt use the SIM CARD. And the FREE GAME will be saved to the memory card so it will take up a lot of space so a 2nd memory card would be useful. And to get the FREE GAME you need to use the SIM CARD first then you get a message pop up on your VITA with the PSN store FREE GAME code).

With the Sim Card you may need to make a account on the Sim Card network ( your VITA will send you to the network website where you can make the account and TOP UP

VITA 3G APPS youtube, facebook, livetweet, foursquare, fliker and more, can be downloaded from PSN store for free

[F34R]

It has a SIM card in the UK?? I don't remember having one in the NA version.. USA to be exact.

[SHAZZMAZZ]

It has a SIM card in the UK?? I don't remember having one in the NA version.. USA to be exact.

Then how do you use the VITA online without WIFI

[KillingSpree0]

It has a SIM card in the UK?? I don't remember having one in the NA version.. USA to be exact.

The ones here have sim cards too, you guys also forgot to mention that the youtube and a few other apps work with the 3g, netflix does not last time I checked

[SHAZZMAZZ]

The ones here have sim cards too, you guys also forgot to mention that the youtube and a few other apps work with the 3g, netflix does not last time I checked

O shit ya youtube i forgot that

[F34R]

Then how do you use the VITA online without WIFI

Never mind lol. I had honestly forgotten the SIM card lol.

The ones here have sim cards too, you guys also forgot to mention that the youtube and a few other apps work with the 3g, netflix does not last time I checked

/smacks forehead

[Ghost-Rhayne]

It's an old article, the bolded part is what made me choose 3G.

PlayStation Vita officially launches on February 22, but we have to wonder how many of the units sold will actually be the 3G version. While Sony has gone out of its way to "sweeten the deal" for 3G purchasers by putting together attractive bundles, the bottom line is that many gamers may not feel it's justified to spend more on the portable and on a monthly AT&T bill. These are concerns that Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida said are completely understandable.


Speaking to IndustryGamers at the DICE Summit, Yoshida commented, "I totally agree with where you're coming from. It's a new thing to have 3G capability in a portable gaming system, and when we were working on the design of the hardware, it's true that we believed in what we could do with 3G, but unless we have the system in the market and developers can try things and get feedback from consumers...it takes years to experiment and find a new way to use it, but unless we start somewhere we cannot even experiment."


He continued, "So 3G is our investment in the future. I hope some consumers will believe in that investment of their money for the future. These systems last many years, and we will upgrade firmware, add new features, but it's not easy to update hardware. But the main purpose we believe in for having 3G in PS Vita is the social connectivity features that we have put at the center of PS Vita. When you open a game, you don't automatically start a game, but you're taken to one page which is constantly updated from publishers as well as your friends doing activities or giving you in-game items. So all that social connectivity is enabled by the 3G."


Yoshida believes that the addition of 3G will automatically make the Vita a more social device by encouraging more interaction, even on an asynchronous level.
"So if you want to send your friend something or check to see if your score is being beaten, it's immediate, and beyond the social connectivity there's also asynchronous gameplay that lots of social games on Facebook do so well. We're integrating in-game many of these features," he said. "For example, MotorStorm is being released at launch in the U.S. and Europe, and when you complete each event in the game, you can send your challenge to your friend. When you receive your challenge through 3G, you can immediately play with just one press of a button, to get started and play the same event [as your friend]. And yes, this is doable over Wi-Fi if you're connected, but Wi-Fi isn't available everywhere. 3G is not good for real-time, heavy online play, but for these social and asynchronous features, it's quite capable."


The bottom line for Yoshida is that, "you have to experience it before you might decide you want to get 3G."
What do you think? Is the inclusion of 3G simply going to be a failed experiment for Vita?

Sauce.

If I was going to buy a Vita, I was going to get the one which would afford me access to all of Vita's future updates and functions. Add in the fact that Vita is unlocked in the EU, so I can get a cheap as data plan when I want to use 3G features.

[MjW]

So to sum it up if I understood correctly.

• 3G offers limited connectivity, when a Wifi (home or phone) connection offers full connectivity? (Plus a slight battery drain)
• GPS, well offers positioning. Good for Near? Also maps and t@g?

So does any of you actually use the 3G or the GPS? and for what?

There are a few games that will play online with the 3g, and battery drain is a little more. You can get real time score updates from games that others are playing, messages, notifications, cross game text messaging, and game news feeds.

To be honest I won't use the 3G. I'll just tether it to the iPhone. But the slightly more battery drain is interesting.
Now without a 3G connection there shouldn't be any extra battery drain. But accessing Near might, if it's trying to get a location with the GPS?

Near is nearly useless on Wi-Fi in my area. I'll be switching to a 3G after the Holidays.

What do you do with Near?
Can't the Vita get a location from your wifi network?

I have 3G.

Things you get on 3G

Sim Card
You get GPS maps
And a 4GB memory card
A free game ( i got wipeout ) download from PSN store
( Warning you may get different game)

More info...

Weird. The 3G vitas I'm looking make no mention of a 4GB card or free game.

It's an old article, the bolded part is what made me choose 3G.


Sauce.

If I was going to buy a Vita, I was going to get the one which would afford me access to all of Vita's future updates and functions. Add in the fact that Vita is unlocked in the EU, so I can get a cheap as data plan when I want to use 3G features.

If Yoshida says so.

[F34R]

So to sum it up if I understood correctly.

• 3G offers limited connectivity, when a Wifi (home or phone) connection offers full connectivity? (Plus a slight battery drain)
• GPS, well offers positioning. Good for Near? Also maps and t@g?

So does any of you actually use the 3G or the GPS? and for what?


To be honest I won't use the 3G. I'll just tether it to the iPhone. But the slightly more battery drain is interesting.
Now without a 3G connection there shouldn't be any extra battery drain. But accessing Near might, if it's trying to get a location with the GPS?


What do you do with Near?
Can't the Vita get a location from your wifi network?


Weird. The 3G vitas I'm looking make no mention of a 4GB card or free game.

If Yoshida says so.

Yeah, the more you use it, including other features like Near, the more the battery will drain down. Is it a bigger drain with the GPS, nothing noticeable. For some people, the Wifi isn't locking the proper location, some it does. You can register your router with skyhook (http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/submit_ap.php) to try and get more accurate location.

There are some bundles that still are the same retail pricing, and has the 4gb card in it.

[KillingSpree0]

Also what hasn't been mentioned with the near thing with 3g, you'll go out just have the vita nearby and it'll consistently pick up where you been, new game goods dropped by others, and it'll show you where and what other people are playing(not super pin point of course) With the wifi one, it only goes a certain radius. When I was outside my town I had people message and befriended them for psn action!! I've only used the Gps once, it only gave you miles you would have to walk to get to your destination instead of if you were say in a car

[F34R]

Also what hasn't been mentioned with the near thing with 3g, you'll go out just have the vita nearby and it'll consistently pick up where you been, new game goods dropped by others, and it'll show you where and what other people are playing(not super pin point of course) With the wifi one, it only goes a certain radius. When I was outside my town I had people message and befriended them for psn action!! I've only used the Gps once, it only gave you miles you would have to walk to get to your destination instead of if you were say in a car

Great supplemental to the info. Thanks for sharing it.

[SHAZZMAZZ]

So to sum it up if I understood correctly.

• 3G offers limited connectivity, when a Wifi (home or phone) connection offers full connectivity? (Plus a slight battery drain)
• GPS, well offers positioning. Good for Near? Also maps and t@g?

So does any of you actually use the 3G or the GPS? and for what?


To be honest I won't use the 3G. I'll just tether it to the iPhone. But the slightly more battery drain is interesting.
Now without a 3G connection there shouldn't be any extra battery drain. But accessing Near might, if it's trying to get a location with the GPS?


What do you do with Near?
Can't the Vita get a location from your wifi network?


Weird. The 3G vitas I'm looking make no mention of a 4GB card or free game.

If Yoshida says so.

Maybe the free memory card and game is only free in sum countrys or a place where i bought it from, it must have been free cuz i didnt pay extra or maybe the shop worker didnt add the memory card and game to my bill.

But i looked in argos shop and they do the same 3G = free memory card, game and with GPS so i dont have clue the only thing i can think about is the country thing.

I payed £280 for my 3G VITA which is a lot, i played that same price for my old Ps3 when it first came out. But just the WIFi VITA is £240 so im paying extra £40 for memory card & game plus the 3G thing, but things do cost more in the UK