So, you’ve had your PlayStation Vita since launch day. You’ve played the various launch games, tried the various apps, and even watched a number of movies on Netflix. But now what?
While the Vita is first and foremost a gaming console, people these days need to be connected to their friends, family, and extended networks about 60 percent of the day. And lets be honest, not that many of us care to learn the intricacies of the Vita’s NEAR and PARTY apps. We’d much rather be using apps like Facebook, LiveTweet, Foursquare and such.
But what about other apps that the iOS and Android handhelds have like Youtube, WordPress, Pinterest and others? As it stands, the Vita’s app selection is bare-bones at best. Horrid at worst.
Because of that, I’ve listed the top apps that should be on the PlayStation Vita. (Sony, I hope you’re reading this.)
Youtube
It’s the app that most iOS and Android users take for granted since their machines come pre-packaged with it. There are times in the day when we need to watch our daily dose of Fail videos, game walkthroughs, and even web shows. We can’t do any of those on the Vita because it doesn’t support Youtube as an app, or on it’s built-in web browser.
We can’t exactly blame Sony on this one, Adobe has pretty much cancelled development and discontinued support for Flash on mobile devices earlier this year. There is still some hope left as Sony is still in negotiations with Adobe to get Flash support on Vita.
WordPress
Everyone’s got opinions. Everyone’s starting to have their own blogs too. While it’s much easier to write your blog on a PC, it’s really convenient to be able to blog on the go using the WordPress app for iOS and Android. With it, bloggers can create new pages, blog posts, and even track their blog progress through an in-depth tracking/metric system. Hell it even allows users to approve, remove comments if they want to.
Given the Vita’s larger screen and easier to use on-screen keyboard, I think this app should be a no-brainer. There’s no better advertising for Sony than a million bloggers talking about how cool the Vita’s new WordPress app on their blogs. Hell, if they can get Kevin Butler to blog from his PlayStation Vita, then Sony may just have themselves a blogging revolution.
Crackle
Crackle is supported on various Sony Blu-Ray players, smart phones, and even the PS3. Why isn’t it supported on the Vita? Sure we may have Netflix, but Crackle’s got some really great shows and movies available for stream anytime.
I recently watched Resident Evil: Degeneration on my iPod Touch, and the entire time I was wishing that the damn Crackle app was on the Vita. I’d much rather watch movies and shows on the Vita’s screen than a puny iOS screen any day.
From Sohrab Osati:
What’s even more silly about the lack of Crackle app for the PS Vita is that Crackle belongs to Sony!
Skype
The PlayStation Vita is capable of video-chat everyone knows that. But as of right now, there are no apps that support it. Skype (or even Viber, Google Talk, and Yahoo Chat) can alleviate this missing link, however for some reason or another Sony keeps telling us that it’s coming soon. Knowing the company, soon may be next month, later this year, or even next year.
Can you imagine? Pausing a game to video-call your friend to brag about your latest game achievement? Or even (if the Vita allows it) use Skype as your party’s chat channel for your team during a heated multiplayer battle on Call of Duty Vita. The possibilities are endless, but only when Sony releases the Skype app for Vita.
Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media services in the world and allows users to organize and share the stuff they find on the web. This one’s a really good app to have in order to push the Vita as an “all purpose gaming machine” to even casual gamers.
Heck, people even use Pinterest to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, organize their favorite recipes. Pinterest users brows other “pinboards” for inspiration and interact with a broader community that may share their interests through their pins.
Doesn’t the PS Vita have front-and-back high resolution cameras? What’s the point of having them if we can’t use them for games or apps? And what better app to use them on than Instagram? Instagram is a free photo sharing social media service that allows users to take photos, apply digital filters to it, then share it with not only the Instagram community, but Twitter, Facebook, and other social media avenues.
With Instagram on the PlayStation Vita, pretty much every gamer can pretend to be a professional photographer on the go!
Discuss:
What apps or services do you think the PlayStation Vita needs in order to stay relevant in the industry?