I use my PlayStation Vita every day and the majority of the time it acts as an MP3 player to keep me entertained with podcasts and music. My daily commute usually involves firing up Super Stardust Delta then switching over to the music player and listening to a podcast whilst I game.
Due to the limited space on the memory card I only keep twenty or so MP3s on my device, usually the latest podcasts from Radio One and Five Live, the TSA podcast, a couple of random tunes and half finished versions of tunes and mixes I am working on so I can listen to them and decide what needs changing even though I’m not in my studio.
This Sunday I’m jetting off for my two weeks holiday and to complicate matters further I have recently moved, which means I have no internet access until Virgin install my new broadband connection.
As I knew I would have no internet connection before I moved I fired up iTunes and downloaded a plethora of podcasts, tunes and audio books and spent a good few hours carefully selecting the perfect playlist for the 22 hour flight to Hawaii.
The move went well and I have spent most of this week unpacking and arranging my life. Last night I finally got round to setting up my computer and thankfully it had survived the journey and sprang merrily to life.
I connected up my Vita, wiped a couple of demos off the memory card to clear some space for my holiday playlist, fired up Content Manager and…
[drop2]“You must be connected to the internet to use Content Manager”Obviously that cannot be true, I must have misread the message so I try again.
“You must be connected to the internet to use Content Manager”
I will not describe what happened next but it did involve questioning the parentage of Sony and the use of colourful and fruity language.
You cannot use Content Manager for PlayStation Vita unless you have an internet connection.
That means I cannot transfer my holiday playlist to my Vita and for the next month I am stuck with the same couple of podcasts and a smattering of half finished demos.
This is utterly, utterly ridiculous.
There is not a single reason why Content Manager needs to talk to the internet when all I want to do is transfer a rare remix of ‘Ooh Ahh Just A Little Bit’ by Gina G to my console.
Why on earth does Content Manager need to talk to the internet? Surely not to check for a software update, all the other Vita apps work without being online. Frankly it’s rather worrying, are Sony gathering data on what I transfer to my Vita?
I do love my little PlayStation but I use it for music more than games and this stupid requirement has left me with a multimedia brick for the next month. There is no way on hell I am sitting on an aircraft for 22 hours without music – so there is only one thing to do.
I’m going to go and buy another iPod and do you know what Sony? It will transfer all my music to the device without being connected to the internet. The Vita will be left at home and the money I was going spend on Vita games for my holiday will be spent on iTunes instead.
Do you know what will happen when I come back from holiday, Sony? I’ll keep the iPod in my pocket as it’s smaller and my Vita will be left at home. I won’t be using it every day and I sure as hell will be buying fewer games for it.
I suspect the Vita is going to sit on a shelf at home and gather dust. To be honest it’s somewhat of a surprise it still exists, I could have thrown the damn thing against a wall I was so annoyed last night.
Epic fail Sony, epic fail.
rept0n
I can’t think of a holiday without my Vita.
Off to Vancouver/Vegas/NYC over the next few weeks and Vita is the first thing I’ll be reaching for!
I like the size of the game cards, as they take up no space at all and easily fit into the case I got on day one. I’m also happy with the size of the memory card (16Gb) – yes it could be bigger, but my thinking is:
A few episodes of The Killing
Final Fantasy 7 (ready for that end-of-august update)
Escape Plan and Hot Shots Golf
The TON of minis that I have from being Playstation Plus from day one
My second gadget of choice is my iPhone 4 with iTunes Match
Okay… so I’ll be taking my iPad as well, but that’s just to act as a laptop if I need to catch up with emails
I’m glad technology has finally caught up with exactly how I want to travel
gazzagb
I think Sony did something similarly stupid with the PSP content manager, but at least you could use your PS3 or just use My Computer to access the memory card to transfer stuff.
Another thing is could its battery even last the 22 hour flight? Although most nice planes now have USB charging sockets built into the TV’s for long haul.
Tuffcub
Vita’s battery lasts a suprisingly long time if just being used for music
Bilbo_bobbins
interesting read Tuffcub, this is unfortunately a reason I didn’t buy a Vita, not because of being connected to the internet, but because an ipod is smaller and does music better, and you can get games that are just addictive, for less.
This is why I have said all along that the Vita will never make the impression on the industry that Sony want. I might still be wrong, but so far I’m right.
enigma_flex
Anyone who buys the Vita as an MP3 player is a bit of a plonker in my opinion. Its a games console that has bonus features of being able to play music and films. Why anyone would sell their ipod to get a Vita as a replace music player boggles the mind, I have both because I dont expect my Vita to do the things my ipod does, my only expectation of it is to be a handheld games console.
An-dz
My mate was gutted when he brought one on a recent trip to mainland Eu and he found that his 3G was not valid anywhere outside the UK.
Roynaldo
bought dammit BOUGHT!!
Sorry, it really gets to me how people get that wrong. :)
bunimomike
I don’t think he did! :-)
KeRaSh
I think he actually means that his friend TOOK his Vita which he BOUGHT in the UK to mainland Europe and found out that his 3G data plan doesn’t allow data roaming. :)
colmshan1990
I didn’t bring my Vita on my trip to the Euros.
That was only because I forgot to put it back in my bag after charging it though, was very annoyed when I tried to take it out in the plane and found only my game carts. Oops.
I had my iPad, but even when it had nothing to compete with in terms of gaming, I only managed about 2 hours out of it in the 12 days or so.
Now, the Kindle app, Tweetbot and the browser, they fared a bit better in terms of use…
KeRaSh
Wow, that would have pissed me off too. I’ve only used the Content Manager once and fortunately I was connected to the internet so I didn’t even notice the requirement.
It’s obviously a very rare scenario that you’re transferring data while not being connected to the internet and like someone already mentioned, tethering the Vita to your phone is always a possibility.
tactical20
You have to admit, using a big expensive Vita as an MP3 player was a bit retarded though, lol! Just get an Shuffle innit. £35, 2gb, done. It’s tiny and you can treat it like shit, because it’s cheap and doesn’t have a screen. It’s meant I can actually listen to music while skateboarding too.
Tuffcub
I did have an Ipod but someone nicked at last years Eurogamer. As I new I was getting a Vita – which plays music – I didnt bother replacing it. No need to carry to devices.
KeRaSh
Which brings up the question: Why aren’t you using your cell phone as an MP3 player?
Tuffcub
It’s a Blackberry, its for work, its packed full of excel files, spreasdheets and reuters tabels. No space for music.
KeRaSh
Got it. BBs aren’t best known for their media player capabilities. :P
Sympozium
Aw :(
No Sound Shapes
Alex C
Whilst I find it odd that there isn’t a single free wi-fi spot nearby, TC, this is a major flaw to usability, IMO. Not that it’s ever affected me (and I wouldn’t dream of using the Vita for music) but there you go.
Opinions, eh?
Tuffcub
Alex – if there was a free wifi spot in need to lug my Vita.. and my desktop PC out to it :)
Alex C
Well yes, that’s true enough. I don’t disagree that it’s an issue.
Peter Chapman
you’re a big guy, you could carry both (and I’d think it was hilarious!)