It's been pretty flat on the gaming front through January but finally there is some good news to break the lull. 

The latest word is that the PlayStation Vita Slim will be hitting shelves in the UK on 7 February so if you have some left over Christmas money from Uncle Bob, you may want to give it some thought.

The new PS Vita Slim promises to be thinner and lighter - and could possibly be the last handheld console from Sony.  Only time will tell on that one. 

Sorry Americans, the US release date has yet to be announced.  In the UK it's going to come in with a lower price tag than its PS Vita predecessor - £180 vs £229.

It comes in six color options - white, grey, yellow, pink, brown and black - and gone is the old annoying input charge, as the device comes instead with the Micro-USB port.

Also gone is the OLED display that the PS Vita had. In its place, Sony has opted for a cheaper and more energy-efficient LCD display that should also make the battery go much further than the last time, although that's likely to come at the cost of display quality.

Sony has said the battery in the new version will allow for up to six hours of gaming - up from the original's four and a half hours.

A full 15% has been shaved off the weight - the device is 216g and 15mm thick to be precise - making it feel much lighter than the PS Vita.

The finger grips have been enlarged to make the gaming experience more comfortable. That's complemented by rounder corners, which have the same thought in mind.  Soft edges equals happy hands. 

That's good news for anyone tempted to try out the battery life in one sitting, or addicts of catchy PS Vita games like OlliOlli - you know who you are people.

The handheld also comes with 1GB of built-in storage memory, which should save users from having to buy so many of the expensive Sony memory cards.

However, PocketLint.com is recommending buyers get themselves at least a 16GB card, especially if you are signed up to PS Plus and want to take advantage of the free games on offer every month.

The February 7 release is the Wi-Fi model so those wanting 3G data will have to stick with the PS Vita. It's also likely to be released only in black to begin with in the UK.

It remains to be seen whether the cheaper screen is too much of a compromise for the more particular gamer.

Hear Ben Law, Head of Hardware at PlayStation, talk more about the PS Vita Slim here:

Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/ps-vita-slim-2014_Games_review#ElSBtBMUuxle6b4Q.99