The newest PlayStation Portable device from Sony is now available for pre-order at Sony Style. The Vita is being released in Japan on December 17, but we were told that the US release would come in early 2012. When the Vita was first announced, the date of December 31 was stated as the US launch date. Amazon.com and other vendors have kept this date on their pre-order pages, even after several announcements from Sony about the later launch dates. Now that Sony itself is offering the Vita for pre-order with a shipping date of December 31, 2011, it looks like it may actually get here in time for the New Year.

Here are the specs:

• ARM Cortex – A9 core (4 Core) Processor
• SGX543MP4+ GPU
• 5″ capacitive OLED touch screen, 960×544 resolution, with up to 16 million colors
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm
• Front and rear facing cameras
• Built-in stereo speakers and microphone
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• GPS
• Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass

All this needs is a GSM antenna and we could have the ultimate PlayStation Phone. As it is though, it will be a very nice gaming system. There will be cross-compatibility between the Vita and your PS3, including the ability to start a game on one device and continue it on the other. Some of the launch titles looks really sharp on the system, including Uncharted: Golden Abyss. The Vita should appeal to PS3 owners primarily, but PSP fans should enjoy upgrades like an additional control stick.

There will be no UMD support outside of Japan, which is unfortunate for those of us who bought the original PSP. Another point of concern is the proprietary storage. Sony has made great strides recently in using universal accessories, but went back to its proprietary tendencies on the Vita. I’m not sure that this is a deal-breaker, but it is a little annoying. For the 3G enabled Vita, there will be an initial download cap of 20MB. Larger files will require a Wi-Fi connection, at least for now. There is a possibility the cap will change over time.

The touch screen on the front makes a lot of sense, as do the front and rear cameras. The rear touch pad makes a little less sense at the moment, but hopefully with the appropriate games it will be useful. Sony certainly put a lot of effort into the Vita.

The Vita is available with Wi-Fi for $249, and with Wi-Fi/3G for $299. Both are evidently now shipping by December 31. Check out the Vita at sonystyle.com, or your favorite electronics vendor.