At its E3 press conference Sony finally revealed that its next generation handheld - previously codenamed the NGP - will carry the official moniker of the "PlayStation Vita". Most of the details of the Vita - which is Latin for "life" - have already been revealed, leaving the price and name as the only real new information, along with the announcement of some of the upcoming titles heading to the device when it is released from the end of the year.

The PS Vita will come in two flavors: a Wi-Fi only version and a 3G/Wi-Fi version. The Wi-Fi only version will be priced at $249 in the U.S., JPY24,980 in Japan, and EUR249 in Europe, while the 3G/Wi-Fi model will go for US$299, JPY29,980 and EUR299. Sony says it the Vita will have a successive global launch starting from the end of 2011.

Titles from SCE Worldwide studios heading to the Vita include, "GRAVITY DAZE," "Uncharted Golden Abyss," "Little Deviants," "Hot Shots Golf," "Reality Fighter," "Hustle Kings," "ModNation Racers," "Wipeout 2048" and "Super Stardust Delta".

A pre-installed "near" application will enable location-based gaming features and let PS Vita users share game information with each other, while a newly developed "Party" application will provide social networking features via voice and text chat, both during online gaming or when using different games and applications.

Sony Playstation Vita specs:

• ARM Cortex A9 core (4 core) CPU
• SGX543MP4+ GPU
• 5" OLED touchscreen (16:9, 960 x 544)
• 5" rear touch pad
• Two analog joysticks
• Front and rear cameras
• 3G, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and GPS
• Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass
• Built in GPS (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
• PS Vita card slot
• Memory card slot
• SIM card slot (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
• Multi-use port (for USB data communication, DC IN, Audio [Stereo Out / Mono In], Serial data communication)
• Headset jack