Since the unveiling of the pocket-sized-set-top box of Sony in Japan last year, Western gamers have been trying to have their own version of the PlayStation TV. The mini device is launched in the U.S market on Tuesday. It is possible that the PlayStation TV will compete with other devices, game consoles like OUYA than be an alternative for the Chromecast or Apple TV.
On the other hand, the PS TV is affordable, it only costs $99 for the TV itself, or pays an extra $40 consumers can avail of the 8 GB Sony memory card, a controller of PlayStation 3 and The Lego Movie game copy. From $20 to $30 for memory cards is quite overpriced, but since it is for 8GB, the deal is pretty good.
The PS TV is quite small but in great shape, it is even tinier than the Apple TV, it can be easily setup for entertainment and can be easily kept. The back covers the HDMI, Ethernet jacks, USB and A/C power input. There is a slot for the Vita memory car and a side slot for cartridges of the PlayStation Vita. It can be simply connected to a controller for charging.
The shovelware interface is more obvious when closing an app; it is simply dismissed on the Vita when the apps closed. It's a surprise that Sony did not try to change the UI to make it closer to the PS3 or PS4, both have built-in controller input. The entire Sony PlayStation experience is just like Vita screen that is enlarged; of course the text is also big. Apps like PlayStation Store don't seem to scale up well enough. It just looks weir, putting the device on a TV, because it is like viewing a computer monitor with a very low resolution.
