The Playstation Vita is the latest handheld console announced by Sony at this week’s E3 convention. At first glance, it appears to be a revision of the classic PSP, as its design lines don’t fall far from the tree. A closer look reveals advances that Sony hopes will make it a forerunner in the handheld market.

While it still has the faithful dual analog stick control, D-Pad and action buttons, it now boasts gyroscopic Six Axis motion sensors, single front- and rear-facing cameras (for augmented reality games), a multi-touch front display, and intriguingly, a rear multi-touch interface (more on that in a bit).

I was taken through a series of five game demos over thirty minutes, the first of which was Little Big Planet. Gameplay was fairly conventional, using the analog sticks to move Sackboy around, but other environmental elements were touchscreen interactive, such as using the front screen touch surface to move blocks in place or spin wheels.

Next up was Virtua Tennis 4. Analog sticks and buttons were enabled for gameplay here, but you could alternatively play solely using the front touchscreen, tapping and swiping for serves and volleys.

Following that was a minigame collection called Little Deviants. This game really seemed to be designed from the ground up to showcase the unique features of the Vita. One minigame was an augmented reality shooter, using the rear-facing camera and gyroscopic accelerometer to place flying targets against a backdrop of whatever you’re pointing the camera at. Another minigame was a variation on whack-a-mole, but using both the front and rear muti-touch pad. Yet another game used the rear pad exclusively to guide a rolling character across a level by creating “bumps” in the playing field.

The rear pad was not instinctively intuitive and took a little finessing to master, but fortunately the calibration on the games I played was forgiving enough. I think the developers are hyper-aware of this learning curve, and adjusted accordingly.

Next I was herded to Sound Shapes (working title), a music-based platformer similar to Everyday Shooter. In addition to analog stick and front-screen multitouch, this game also used the rear pad, but its integration there felt forced and kludgy. Hopefully future titles will find more organic ways to use this feature.

Lastly was Uncharted: Golden Abyss, the Vita iteration of Naughty Dog’s award-winning franchise. The Vita’s advanced GPU was on full display, as the game faithfully recreates the high-end graphics that are the hallmark of the series. Here the front multi-touch and tilt capabilities of the Vita really shine, allowing you to guide Nathan Drake across treacherous ledges by merely swiping across the path he should take or tilting him toward the opposite ledge before a jump. Disarming villains stealthily is as easy as giving them a firm tap. All portable action games should take a lesson from these control mechanics.

Software will be available on as-yet-announced flash media, with updates and downloads available via WiFi or 3G, provided by AT&T as carrier. This also allows the Vita to sync with the PS3, so you can start a game on one system, and pick it up later on another.

Overall, Sony has managed to reboot its portable line keeping the familiarity of the PSP form factor, while adding massive computing power and features that have been developed for other portable devices since the PSP. The Playstation Vita will list beginning at $249, and will be available in Fall 2011.

One overarching question I was left with after using the Vita was: Given the advent of current smartphones, which more than allow for high-end handheld gameplay, is there still a pulse in dedicated handheld consoles? Are people still eager to carry a bulky device in their pockets, when their cellphone does all that AND makes calls and shoots video?

Andrew Sorcini is a film editor and social networking enthusiast who produces and hosts the technology podcast The Drill Down.