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PlayStation Vita Slim shows off thinner, lighter design (photos)

The PlayStation Vita Slim -- also known as the PS Vita 2000 -- has been given a new thinner, lighter design. We go in for a hands on look.

Andrew Lanxon headshot
Andrew Lanxon headshot
Andrew Lanxon
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1 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The Sony PlayStation Vita has been given a slimmer, lighter design for 2014, promising improved battery life as well. The PS Vita Slim is already available in Japan and is making its way to UK stores on 7 February for around £180. Sony has yet to confirm whether it will see a US launch.
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2 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The new Vita is around 15 per cent slimmer than the previous model.
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3 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
It's about 20 per cent lighter too, which should really help cut down on the weight of your airplane carry on.
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4 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Aesthetically, you'll still recognise it as the same Vita you know and love.
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5 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The touch-sensitive rear panel is still in place.
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6 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Along with the dents on either side, which help to get a firm grip.
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7 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Sony has replaced the proprietary charger with a micro-USB port, allowing you to use the same chargers you probably have knocking around from your phones and tablets.
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8 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
A 3.5mm headphone jack still sits on the bottom. Make sure to use headphones when playing games unless you want an entire plane full of people to hate you.
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9 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The 5-inch display keeps the same impressive resolution, but it now uses LCD rather than OLED technology. OLED displays are typically top-notch, so it'll be interesting to see how this LCD panel compares to its predecessor.
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10 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The Vita Slim keeps the same button arrangement as before, so you won't need to get used to anything new.
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11 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The analogue sticks felt just as comfortable to flick around as before.
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12 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The transparent shoulder buttons remain the same as well.
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13 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The slimmer design made it feel more comfortable to hold in our hands-on time. We'll see how much impact the weight reduction has in the full review.
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14 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
It keeps the same internal specifications, although it now has a built in 1GB of storage.
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15 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
It comes with Wi-Fi built in for you to download new titles.
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16 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Oh look, some volume keys. Those will be handy for, y'know, changing the volume.
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17 of 17 Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Sony reckons you can get up to six hours of gaming from a single charge. We'll put that claim to the test.

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