I've only had the Vita for a couple hours and most of my opinions on the system in general are positive with very minor quirks. So far my best and worst things about the system are:

Best: The UI is super fast and snappy. I can sync trophies, go to my friend list, send message and go back to a full game in a minute.

Worst: I don't much care for the back touch so far although I'm willing to be open as I have not tried every game yet. Also I should come to expect this from devices but my 16GB card only has 14 available, 2GB is kinda a lot to take away.

Best: Yeah, it's most probably the UI. It's quick and intuitive.

Worst: Weird issue, but the fact that it constantly needs to load whatever's in the game card slot when you turn the Vita on. It's only a few seconds, but it compels me to remove whatever's in that slot if I don't need it.

Also, different issue, but I can't understand why it won't connect to my school's public wifi network even though it manages to obtain the IP address.

@msavo: Interesting... I've never tried, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised if such a restriction was established on the network. So would that mean that no Vita would work with that kind of setting? Because that would be disappointing.

Best: Everything about the system is really responsive and it does a lot of things that it does better than consoles. The d-pad also feels amazing. I've played Super Stardust Delta and Mutant Blobs Attack and they're both really fun games. PSP games look gorgeous. The battery charges fast and lasts quite a while. I'm not sure if it's just me but downloads also seem faster on the Vita than on PS3.

Worst: I don't think I've fiddled around with it enough to say. Though I'm not really used to holding the Vita, especially while in bed since I never owned a PSP. It feels like I have to crush the sides which is different from when I would just rest my DS on a finger while I hold it up above me in bed. Also the screen is so huge that it's hard to find a place to put my finger (since my index finger doesn't naturally go to the shoulder buttons while lying down). I keep pulling up the PSP game menu while playing because my finger rests on the touch screen.

From my few hours of playing around with it, it feels like the ultimate gaming machine. I'm sure the cracks will start to show with a bit more time, but they probably won't detract too much from all the awesome things.

You might need to register it. I had to do a similar thing for my 3DS@FluxWaveZ

Best: The OLED screen.

Worst: Not being able to enter comments on Facebook. Also can't watch any videos.

Best: Welcome Park

Worst: Welcome Park

After using it for a day, i still don't know how 'near' works. Espessially on the wifi only model. Is it like the 3ds where it works even when it's on standby/sleep mode.

The best thing about it would have to be the product itself. It's high quality, very easy on the eyes, and the picture is amazing.

The worst thing - launch lineup. I just can't find a game to really get into. Uncharted is good, but not amazing and I already played the hell out of Rayman on the console. I just wish there was an RPG or something with a lot of substance that came out on release. The games are good, and definitely better than the 3ds launch, but they aren't amazing.

Best: The hardware is really really nice, and being able to download all my games digitally is awesome.

Worst: Clicking an app then having to click start to confirm that you actually want to go into the app.

The best thing about it would have to be the product itself. It's high quality, very easy on the eyes, and the picture is amazing.

The worst thing - launch lineup. I just can't find a game to really get into. Uncharted is good, but not amazing and I already played the hell out of Rayman on the console. I just wish there was an RPG or something with a lot of substance that came out on release. The games are good, and definitely better than the 3ds launch, but they aren't amazing.

Best thing : the screen, its beautiful

the worst thing : the size, its just way to big. these things should fit in my pocket. oh yeah and £30-£40 for handheld games if fucking ridiculas

Best: The overwhelming number of games I already own for the system.

Worst: That I can't put multiple profiles on the system in any real, functional way. It's upsetting that I can't share it with my girlfriend the way we do with the PS3. Each has an account, each has a set of scores. Not on the Vita.

Best: The screen and the quality of the graphics. Games look amazing on this thing.

Worst: The UI is totally jacked. Near won't sync to my location? Also, I had to look up on the internet how to update the software. You would think it would just do it like the PS3.

Best: Lumines and Near

Worst: I think that the OS is absolutely horrific. There's no justifiable excuse to make Settings into a separate app that you have to launch (and wait while it loads) each time. It's also ugly as sin and seems to lack any AA in the icons. The screen resolution is high but not high enough to hide the jaggies.

My biggest problem, however, is how poor it's usability is. Here's an example:

I downloaded 8 things from the PSN store. Each time I downloaded something I had to wait several seconds while it started the background dl process (just like the PS3) then a few more seconds while the store refreshed (why?). Once downloaded I was greeted with a message of the app telling me that it was installing itself. I could not do anything, but merely had to fucking sit there and wait. Not so bad for one thing, but stack 8 on top of each other and I was ready to throw my Vita against a wall.

THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DESIGN FOR A HANDHELD! Take some fucking clues from iOS for fucks sake. Games and apps should be able to download in the background and INSTALL in the background. At no point whatsoever should you render my system completely useless for several minutes while shit installs! It doesn't help that if you put it to sleep, the boot it back up you still have to wait for it to install since for some fucking reason it can't do it in the background.

This is not 2005. We have already solved these issues. It boggles my mind how backwards and shitty this OS is. Hopefully it will improve with time, but as it stands right now, it makes me dislike my Vita. And frankly, that's a crying shame.

@SlightConfuse: Yeah, if only I could figure out how to do that. Oh well, at least I know it might be a possibility so I'll keep on looking.

I would have preferred if some basic functions weren't treated as separate apps that require an additional tap to start.  Things like your friends lists and system settings  It's a minor quibble, but I haven't done a lot with the system yet outside of playing Killzone: Liberation.

Best:Good People Die is even better than 999

Worst:Switching to the Japanese PSN is a bitch.

@FluxWaveZ: If you have a phone or laptop that can connect to your school's wi-fi you can create a hotspot and connect to that.

Im very pleased with the system and I do have a couple things that disappoint me, its nothing big.

Near confuses me. It doesn't explain the private zones to me well and im just having a hard exploiting it well.

Transfering things between the Vita and PS3. The ps3 has to be online to do it. I don't Gabe internet alway available so it adds another step on my part I don't want to do.

However one thing I was really surprised about after hearing the press bash it. The UI. Its amazing, although I would like the option to not touch my beautiful screen.

Best: The OLED screen and software is top notch. Also the build quality is superb, and the button layout makes more sense than the 3DS or any recent handheld I have used.

Worst: The vita is probably too large for my liking, if I am wearing anything but baggy jeans, I can just barely manage to pocket it without hassle, but its obtrusive when sitting while pocketed, but that is nit picking. Also one minor screen freezing issue while loading Littlebigplanet PSP, but if you hold down the power button for 30 second, it boots up a safe mode than can shut down the device and restart.

All in all, this is a superb handheld device with the only thing holding it back is a library lacking first person shooters, because that is the obvious genre to be built on this device. I didn't mention the touchscreen, analog sticks, back touch or motion controls because I have use it so little right now to have an opinion, but in the case of liking those features, it all rests on the developers to use it smartly, and not as a gimmick.

Best: Near, the ability to take screenshots and post them on twitter quickly.
 
Worst: Games don't automatically update.

I spent some time with one at Target.
The best to me was the screen. It's beautiful.
The worst…handhelds aren't my thing so I don't have real answer.
The screen and graphics really impressed me.

Okay now that I've played with it for a day I have a worst thing. I don't like how some of the launch titles disable the network to save power and it's hard to tell whether you're online or not after it signs in and out a few times. Obviously things can't stay that way and it should be phased out in future titles, but it should have been an option in the first place not an automatic thing. It's just dumb.

The best things from my previous post still stand, and I'm used to holding the system now.

Best: All Vita games can be downloaded from PSN.
Worst: No internal memory+ proprietary memory card prices make it really hard to go all digital. It would be amazing if there were a model with 32GB internal memory and can read 64GB SD cards.

Best: It's a dedicated handheld gaming system. The Vita was made to be a dedicated handheld and it excels at that. In an age of $2 iPhone games with either limited scope because of the constraints of the platforms controls, or games that overextend what is possible on the platform because of the touch screen's limiting nature, a handheld platform with a beautiful screen that lets you play games with buttons and analog sticks is great.

Worst: It's a dedicated handheld gaming system. I'm not sure if having paid $299 ($249) for a handheld gaming system that more or less does exactly what my PC, 360 and PS3 do is the best value proposition. While the iPhone might be limited with most of its games, at least I always have it with me and it does much more than just plays games. I'm not going to carry my Vita around with me in my pocket, and because of its lousy battery life (Which suddenly has become excusable, it seems, because of the 3DS' similarly bad battery life) even if I do take it with me, I can't trust it be ready to always play games on the fly because "Oops, the battery is dead.". So while playing a dual-joystick shooter on a gorgeous 5" OLED is new and awesome and something I haven't done before, I'm not sure if it's something worth supporting as an industry when that exact game can be made for existing, more capable systems. Also, the asking prices for most of the systems games is pretty much inexcusable. Asking $49 for a sub-par Uncharted game when I can buy Uncharted 2 for well below that, or 3 for around that price, is ridiculous, and I'm not going to do it.

Best: Echoing a few others' sentiments, the UI and the screen are pretty great; the UI isn't nearly as bad as the press made it out to be. The OLED screen is goddamn amazing -- Super stardust, one of my favorite twin-sticks, looks gorgeous. The Vita's PS storefront is much better than the PS3s as well. ALSO, as someone who's using his PS3 less and less due to a growing obsession with PC components, it fills that void nicely. Near is pretty cool too, should be awesome for games like monster hunter & PSO. Way more people around here with Vitas than I thought there'd be. Lotta Blazblue goin' down around these parts, apparently. D:

Worst: Mostly small nitpicks. I'm never sure if I'm signed into the PSN or not, hitting both vol. buttons to mute the system is a hassle and the way the system just takes over your system to install stuff is strange. The Netflix app seems pretty busted too, it's really slow. The web browser sucks but that's expected at this point. Hmm...oh! No psx game support out of the gate sucks, but remote play kinda remedies that for the time being I guess.

@Bocam: How do you switch? You have to delete everything right?

Also.

Best: The Screen.

Worst: No news on Ys IV and we probably won't get Zero no Kiseki Evolution for years and years and yeaaaaaaaaaars.

@Yadilie: I just bought two Vitas

@FluxWaveZ said:

Also, different issue, but I can't understand why it won't connect to my school's public wifi network even though it manages to obtain the IP address.

Just a thought, I read the Vita doesn't support WPA2 Enterprise, which might be your problem. Enterprise is apparently very popular with school Wifi network configurations.

Best: The hardware is great. The front touchscreen is super responsive, and the d-pad and the buttons are both god-tier. Super clicky; although the face buttons are on the small side, you won't be able to hit one by accident.

Middling: The UI design issues have been mentioned, and I agree. I wish Sony would have thought a little more about what works better on a handheld, rather than using a bunch of the stuff that seems like it was a transfer of the PS3 design philosophy. Also, the first time I downloaded a demo my heart stopped when it thanked me for my purchase. I thought I had just paid for Asphalt: Injection.

Because of the screen size, and maybe my hands, the position of the analog pads isn't that great. It's usable, but a little hard to hold.

The memory cards are effin' tiny. Like pinky fingernail sized.

Worst:

I don't know how I feel about the rear touchscreen. It would be nice if they find a good use for it, but right now I can imagine it being cut out of the inevitable Vita revision. All I know for now is that Touch my Katamari uses on the fly rear touch, and whether because of sensitivity or positioning I'm finding it really hard to get right. I get unhappy when something gets in the way of my rolling.

I got the 3G bundle, and the AT&T deal is scummy. The whole "free month's use and free copy of Super Stardust"* (*with activation of account) doesn't say anything about paying for the first month any where on the box. Maybe that wording is commonly understood, but I would have thought that activating an account just meant signing up for an account, provided I hadn't already read the complaints. Also the sign up process is total garbage. For God's sake, don't let your Vita fall asleep when you're doing it!

The only thing thats bugging me about the Vita is it's weight. Does anyone else think it's too light? I prefer a little more weight in my hands. Probably just me though.

Best: A massive treasure trove of JRPGs I havent been able to play since I didnt get a psp.

Worst: Some of the forementioned RPGs still cost 35€ on PSN.

Trails in the Sky is totally worth it though.

@Giefcookie said:

Best: A massive treasure trove of JRPGs I havent been able to play since I didnt get a psp.

Worst: Some of the forementioned RPGs still cost 35€ on PSN.

Trails in the Sky is totally worth it though.

Was pretty bummed out when I saw most of the games I wanted were still full price, but I really want ZHP, so whatev. Supporting an awesome dev also helps.

Best = the abundance of games both bite sized (moterstorm rc) and full sized (uncharted)

Worst=my ocd to have an even number of tabs on each screen meaning i now have 6

@FluxWaveZ said:

Best: Yeah, it's most probably the UI. It's quick and intuitive.

Worst: Weird issue, but the fact that it constantly needs to load whatever's in the game card slot when you turn the Vita on. It's only a few seconds, but it compels me to remove whatever's in that slot if I don't need it.

Also, different issue, but I can't understand why it won't connect to my school's public wifi network even though it manages to obtain the IP address.

do you have to put in a password once you get into the browser? if you do you have to open the vita browser and then type the password. then you should be able to exit the browser and use the wifi for anything. if it's not that, i got nothin'

On topic: The best is probably the controls. Not just the touch screens which are nice, but the sticks. I didn't think I minded the single nub on the psp, but those sticks kick ass.

worst: Having to load the vita game cards when you put them into the system.

Also there's a weird pause when you hit the home button or power button after locking the screen for a while where the time updates, and you have to wait to unlock it. It's not bad, but I had to get used to it.

Like: As others have said, the UI is a joy to use. All controls have a nice feel to them including the sticks. Great selection of games in the store right from the get go. Dislike: Dpad is a bit too close to the left stick. Rear touchpad looks smooth but my finger doesn't slide on it at all, too much friction for my finger at least. Putting my fingers on the rear finger spots doesn't feel like a natural grip at all.

@ultimatepunchrod: Haven't tried that yet; it'd be really great if that worked.

Best - The damn dual analog sticks. Feel so natural. Also the form factor of the device is great - I'm not getting cramps like I usually do from handheld consoles.

Worst - Most games run in sub-res. I don't know if it's just the fact that the games were rushed for launch, or that the Vita's GPU just can't handle that resolution, or that it just can't handle the ridiculous shaders and effects they're trying to pull off (see Uncharted) but I didn't buy a Vita for blurry, jaggy games. I don't even care if they don't use AA (even though the Vita's GPU seems to be adept at this) as long as they hit native res.

Games don't need bloom, parallax mapping, and ridiculous poly counts to be fun. They DO however need to not offend the eyes of the player and perform at a steady framerate. When you try to run fancy shaders, but fail to up the resolution, you just make things worse. Where the jaggies on the PSP would blend in because they didn't use things like rim lighting and specularity, which make the rough pixels stick out like a sore thumb.

Sorry for the rant. And before someone calls me a graphics whore, note that I would be fine with playing a game with very low poly counts and no normal mapping as long as it ran at a constant 30 or 60 fps and didn't have terrible aliasing and blurriness from being upscaled.