The back of the vita is also a pretty bad design. I touch the rear pad at times I don't want to hit it.
The R button is hard to keep pressed in while playing a racer.

I think the analog sticks were better when they were more like the 3ds analog sticks.
And maybe also placed above the buttons instead of under.

Once again, you're wrong. I suggest you speak to someone who studies languages, either a teacher or preferably a scholar.

Here's what counts as a fact:

-the psvita has two thumb sticks.

-the psvita weighs 260 grams. 

-one of the thumb sticks is below button x.

-button O is closer to button x than the right thumbstick.

What is NOT a fact:

"The buttons and sticks are way too close"

What you consider as "way too close" is not close but just right to someone else (or even not close enough).

Two people describing the same story could give two different descriptions. Eg. Two guys standing next to each other:

Person A:  "B was standing way too close to me. I could even hear him breathe."

Person B: ""A was quite far from me. I couldn't even make out what he was writing down"

The only fact here is that they were both in the same area/room. What is considered "close" by one is reported as "far" from the other. In other words, "close" is relative. 

 
As somone who writes artciles for peer reviewed journals (only mentioning it because of the relevance to the discussion), I've been told and noticed that everyone in Academia avoid the word "fact" like tha plague, because if you use it incorrectly, it becomes a huge deal. Now feel free to use the word in any way you want. It's still won't change the fact that it's wrong. 

As for my opinion, I couldn't be happier with the way that the psvita is designed.  

Having small Asian hands, I have no issue with the Vita (nor with the 3DS) but I do find the Start and Select buttons on the Vita horrible on the original version. Haven't gotten my hands on a slim version to compare.

The funny thing is also that he thinks that relative terms used in an absolute sense can be considered facts.

"Too much" is relative.  Same for "difficult."  I agree with your point.

My only gripe is that the right analog sits exactly where I like to rest my thumb to access the face buttons. Aside from that, it's all good. I prefer the nub to the sticks but I'm probably in the minority.

Heh, finally finished the campaign on 2048 a few weeks ago (and got the beat Zico trophy!)

I did accidentally u-turns, but honestly it wasn't more than like 4-5 times during my whole, full playthrough (Elite pass on every event). And even then you never actually fall behind in the "race" :P

But Studio Liverpool should mapped that feature to another button yes.

And I think PSP's design left a bad taste in my mouth, my brand new PSP 3000 had a creaky analog nub day 1. Never bothered to repair it though. Still the start/select buttons on Vita are both too small and badly placed.

I know what a fact is and I know what an opinion is.  The system is, well, it's not advertised, but if it was, it'd be aimed mostly towards teens and adults.  If  the average teen can't hold the system regularly and depress the buttons with the very center of your thumb without grazing the analog stick then it means the sticks are too fucking close.  Touching the analog stick when you don't mean to effects gameplay, and if it's because it's built that way and nothing you can do about it, then it's a design flaw.  When the analog stick is close enough to where you slightly touch it and it does infact effect gameplay, it means that it's too close.  There's no opinion about that, the analog sticks are too close to the buttons.  That is a fact.

If the sticks are too close and you feel it your obligation to hold the system different than you normally would, maybe bend your thumbs at the joins which still grazes the button, or  come in and press the buttons from a near 90 degree angle from both sides, that's on you.  Doesn't change the fact that holding the system normally and playing normally you'll touch the analog sticks on occassion which should happen. 

Even people in this thread have stated that the same has happened, but either it doesn't bother them or they've learned to deal with it.  Learn to deal with it, fine, doesn't mean it's still not an issue.  

To each his own I suppose.

I never really warmed to the PSP personally and in particular, I hated the analog disc.

I will say that the right face buttons on the PSV feel too close to the right analog stick though. However, moving the analog sticks lower to the bottom of the handheld would result in a less comfortable grip.

While it's a personal thing, in general, placing sticks at the bottom of a controller as opposed to closer to the center of mass is not something that's done by anyone really. It's awkward.

The face buttons on the PSV are also smaller in the interest of moving the analog stick closer to center. Same with the d-pad. I prefer console controller sized buttons. The PSV d-pad is smoother though. Different mechanism than soft carbon contact switches? I haven't bothered to look it up.

Honestly, short of adding grips at the bottom, which would torpedo portability, at best the designers could have moved the analog stick down maybe 2-3mm. I don't know how much of a difference that would have made.

Does anyone carry around a 3DS with the dual analog grip attached that's not carried in a bag? It's really awkward.

We'll see what they do with future redesigns though. As much as a like it (better than any other handheld I've owned over 30 years), there's still room for improvement.

They lie almost flush with the surface of the handheld and are very small. Have to agree. Making the tops convex might have fixed that. 

Well here's a comparison between a PSP 3000 and a PSV 2000. They did make the start/select buttons larger and easier to push, which is nice.I do prefer the larger buttons on the psp and I'm not sure why they made them smaller on the larger Vita. I also prefer the d-pad on the psp, but since I mostly use the analog stick on the vita, it's not too much of a problem.

(I had to use the flash on my phone as everything besides the screen were turning out dark.)