For some, the PlayStation Vita is an enigma. While it's primary function is to play games, it has alot more to offer in the form of apps and services that allow it to do things normally associated with tablets and phones. Now this begs the question, is it trying to replace those devices? The answer is... yes but not in the way you think. The Vita obviously can't hold a candle to sheer number of apps that a tablet can access but it has most of the important ones that people typically like to have on their tablets.

The way I see it the Vita is like a tablet that cuts the crap and gives you most of the apps you actually want and will use often. So how do you get the most out of this nifty little system even though it lacks a large app store? Heres how:

1. BUY PLAYSTATION PLUS

This should be the #1 priority of anyone who either has a Vita or is planning on getting one. The value of a $50 PlayStation Plus is undeniable, it nets you tons of free games on both PS3 and Vita all the while giving you access to lots of discounts on games. Not anly that but it also gives you 1gb of cloud storage for save game data and allows you to automatically download updates like patches and firmware updates. If you were to buy PS+ right now these would be the games you could download free of additional charge.

• Knytt Underground
• Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge
• SoulCaliber: Broken Destiny (PSP)
• Tekken 6 (PSP)
• Wipeout 2048
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• Gravity Rush

Now there is one thing that hinders PS+ on the Vita and that would be, memory. Memory on the Vita is expensive and not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to drop $100 on a 32gb memory card. But even if you only have an 8gb card you can just put every game on to your download list for you to download later when memory becomes affordable.

2. USE THE VITA'S AVAILABLE APPS AND SERVICES

Like I stated before the Vita does not have a huge app store full of apps that allow you to make fart noises and punch kittens but it does hoave apps which include:

• Wake-up Clube (free)
• Colors! ($6.99)
• Treasure Park (free)
• NicoNico (free)
• Skype (free)
• Paint Park (free)
• Foursquare (free)
• Flickr (free)
• Twitter (free)
• Netflix (Monthly Subsciption)
• Music Unlimited (free trial/ Subsciption)
• Youtube
• Facebook
• Near (pre-loaded)
• Email Client (pre-loaded)
• Google Maps (pre-loaded)

Now most of you can agree that everyone should use apps like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Skype and Netflix if you have accounts to access them but I want to highlight a few that people tend to push under the rug.

First is Wake-up Club. Wake-up club is of course an app that turns your Vita into an alarm clock and timer. You can customize the clock in various themes like Gravity Rush, Journey, and Tokyo Jungle plus you can change what kind of an alarm will wake you up. The real reason you should use this app, however, is how effective it is at actuall waking you up. Instead of pressing one button to turn it off you have to unlock your Vita by swiping the screen then you have to tap the screen a billion times to "cheer" on other players and after you do that it plays loud fanfare. This makes you have to wake up and think about how to turn the damn thing off which for me is the only way I can wake up before noon. Needless to say I use this instead of my actual alarm due to it actually waking me up and you should too.

Next we have Music Unlimited. Music Unlimited it a paid service (allows you to download free trail) where you have access to MILLIONS of songs without ads or commercials. While you do eventually have to pay for it ($9.99 a month) I can say that it's worth it to be able to search for a song or album, save it to a playlist, and add it to offline music so I can listen the songs whenever I want without ads or interruptions. Plus you can listen to music while your playing your games. If you have a Vita and haven't tried the 60 day trial, pick up you Vita and download it now and see for yourself.

Lastly we have NEAR. NEAR is an app that is pre-loaded on to the system as soon as you buy it from the store. Its function is to connect you to people in your area who have a Vita (which is apparently over 100 where I live) and see what games they are playing and how they like them. But the Thing that makes me actually use NEAR are the game goods you can find. Game goods range from actual items you can use in game like Treasure Maps to use in Treasure park to challenges from ther player to beat their score on a LittleBigPlanet level. These goods give you incentive to play certain game like the before mentioned Treasure Park because in Treasure Park you can rack up big points by finding other peoples treasure and advance in class. While NEAR can be a bit weird at times it still should be used daily to see who's playing what and what game goods you can use in your games.

In conjunction with all these apps you can also take picture/screenshots, transfer downloaded music you already own to the system, and buy movies and TV shows to download straight to the system for you to watch at any time (like Persona 4: The Animation lol). Also I should mention the Web Browser which you can use while your playing games to look of FAQ guides and watch walkthrough videos along with visiting VGchartz!

3. BUY GAMES!!!!

People absolutely LOVE to say that Vita has no games or no games worth playing. That is %100 WRONG, Vita has plenty of great games available right now that range from free downloadable games to full size retail titles. Those free titles include:

• Frobisher Says!
• Jetpack Joyride
• TOM Bltiz 
• PlayStation Home Acarde
• Zen Pinball 2
• Cliff Diving (AR game)
• Fireworks (AR game)
• Table Soccer (AR game)

Now as for the paid games I'm going to limit it to games I've actually played otherwise this already large post will be WAY to big. I will also note the price for download only games:

• Persona 4 Golden 
• LittleBigPlanet Vita
• Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• Gravity Rush
• Sly Cooper: Theives in Time
• Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed 
• Wipeout 2048
• Soul Sacrifice
• Uncharted: Golden Abyss
• Disgaea 3 Absence of Detention
• Modnation Racers
• Unit 13
• Smart As (for around $20)
• Assassin's Creed III Liberation
• Metal Gear Solid HD
• Rayman Origins
• PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale
• Guacamelee ($14.99)
• Mutant Blobs Attack ($7.99)
• Sound Shapes ($14.99)
• Super Stardust Delta ($9.99)
• Retro City Rampage ($7.49 as of this post)
• Plants VS. Zombies ($14.99)
• Knytt Underground ($14.99)
• Escape Plan ($14.99)

There are plenty of others I could add to this list but again i'm limiting it to games I've actually played and could recommend to people if they asked me what games are good enough to warrant a purchase.

Now heres where things get interesting, you don't have to confine yourself to just Vita games! There TONS of PS1 classics and PSP games to choose from that you can either redownload if you have already purchased them on a PSP or PS3 or buy them for the first time. PSP games can be a bit pricey but PS1 games can be bought for less than $10 in most cases. The thing I like about having these games available on my Vita is 1. I can take PS1 games where ever I want and 2. It gives me a chance to play great PS1 and PSP games I may have missed in the past. Here are the PSP/PS1 games I have on my Vita:

• Wild Arms
• Final Fantasy VII
• Destruction Derby
• Patapon
• Persona 3 Portable
• GTA: Vice City Stories
• GTA: Liberty City Stories

As you can clearly see there are a shit ton of games available on the Vita with more on the way so instead of complaining that it has no games just look at this these lists of games and i'm sure you can find at the very least 5 that you would actually enjoy playing. And for you people who don't like to pay a little more money for actually good games you can find games on PlayStation Mobile for less than $5.

Well there you have it! I could go on more on how to get the most out of you Vita but I've already spent 2 hours typing this so I'm tired. Besides I think these are the most important things you can do to actually use you Vita to its full potential.

I myself use my Vita probaly for at the very least 3 hours everyday just playing games, surfing the web/social apps, watching Netflix, or listening to music like i'm doing right now! Its quickly not only becoming my favorite game system of all time but my favorite tangable item of all time! Once I get my hands on the Jak and Daxter collection and a Gran Turismo title is out it will officially become my favorite system. Thank you all and good night!

P.S. Forgive me for any spelling or punctuation errors

Vita is a great console - If u dont have PS3/ great smatphone. Vita needs new games asap. Killzone Mercenary, GT, GoW etc.

I have a PS3 and a smart phone but I still use my Vita more than both of them... combined... and 10 times over lol

Good points but...

I still can't justify a Vita purchase. It's not money or lack of interest, it more time and situation.

First, While the games do interest me, (Uncharted GA, LBP V, AC 3 L, and most of all cross play with MLB the show) I have no time. When i do have time I would rather play their equivalent on the PS3 then on a small handheld.

Two, I have few opportunities to game during travel. If I had long train rides every day or was a consultant traveling twice a week a vita makes sense but that opportunity doesn't exist for me.

Third, it's great that the Vita has those apps and features but honestly I can't see myself using a Vita for that when I already have an iPhone and iPad.

Honestly, the Vita looks like a great gaming device with a pretty good looking library so far but from my perspective it's target market is a market that has little time for it - young professionals with limited time for gaming. If I managed to finish my PS3/360 backlog I might consider a Vita but till then I just don't have the time or situation for it.

I have both and I game on my PS3 the most during week-ends only (when I have long streches of time to game). Smartphones has nothing worthwhile and no buttons so they're useless for gaming.

Some interesting well thought points, but I like to ask a couple questions to you:

1.I see your a 3DS owner as well, which system do you prefer overall?

2.You talked about the game library of the Vita in some detail, do you prefer it over the 3DS's library?

3.Do you think Vita gets sandwiched little in between 3DS and the cheaper tablets because as you mentioned it tries to be a sort of hybrid of a dedicated gaming device and a tablet?

I've got both Vita and PS3, but prefer the Vita. Probably because the almost instant boot when I turn it on, and the fact that I can play anywhere in my house, without engaging the TV.

I agree with point 2 and 3. About PS+, I'm not so sure. It's 50 dollars/euro per year THIS year. The next year we don't know. The memories cost a lot (as already pointed out) and you don't own the games. You cannot resell them, nor lend them to a friend while borrowing a game of his/hers in exchange, nor collect them.

I understand the advantages of PS+ offer, but I'm not 100% persuaded.

1. I've only owned a 3DS for a few months but in my opinion as a whole package it doesn't even hold a candle to the Vita.

2. I do prefer the Vita's library but again I haven't play too many 3DS but out of the ones I do own (Luigi's Mansion, Fire Emblem, Mario Kart 7, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon) Fire emblem is the only one that keeps me playing my 3DS and even then not that much sadly.

3. It does to an extent but the biggest problem is nobody outside of dedicated gamers knows what a Vita is and what it can do. 

Soul Sacrifice, P4G and Unit 13 are the only games on the platform that appeal to me. I bought a couple of others but they mostly turned out disappointing compared to the hype they generated.

No offense but if you can't see the value in PS+, then you're missing something. Maybe you don't understand its value.