Source for this statistic?

My kid does.

Possibly, my kid isn't all that conscious about battery usage, she just wants to play shit.

Cool I guess, did anyone use a PSP mainly for music? I mean there are much cheaper and more portable options out there...
Remember, you can pick up an XBox 360 or PS3 for 250 on sale these days, 250 is a premium price and no one wants to have to shell out even more for add-ons just to make the item functional.
FWIW, I largely agree with you that the PS Vita is running a lot of hardware and that take juice. Also, I think it'll be a fun little machine. But remember, one of principal users of handhelds is kids, especially kids in the backseat that you just want to STFU so you can drive. Those kids probably didn't remember to charge it right before they left the house, and even if they did, we drive several hours oftentimes in the US. If the PS Vita can't last a standard weekend car trip parents will be rather annoyed and they're the ones buying it and paying for the games afterward (attach rate being a rather key factor in determining the success of a console). If the PS Vita doesn't cut it, they'll buy a new DVD for the in car player instead.

I've read that most portable games are played at home too. Can't recall where, unfortunately. This holds true for me, given that it's often hard to see the screen in sunlight, and that I'm usually not on buses that long, on the rare occasion that I use them.

With regard to road trips, car lighter adapters are pretty common for portable devices, and adapters that let you plug a normal AC device into your lighter jack are easy to find as well.

Well, I for one wouldn't let my kids play games for three hours a day. And I certainly don't give them a portable gaming device to make them "STFU" in the back seat, but so they can have some fun while I'm driving, since it's boring for kids to do nothing for long trips.

Oh, and the PSVita isn't aimed for kids.

With the processing power in the thing I'm surprised it lasts that long. I'd bet 3 hours is about what it can put out if you're running something like Uncharted on it. Maybe less. The only reason it can compete with the 3DS on battery time is that it's larger - it can fit a larger battery in the first place.

There will apparently be an option to buy an extra battery pack add-on for it, though. That'd maybe add two more hours for just $89.95.

The Vita isn't doomed. Handheld gaming is reaching the saturation point for battery life vs. processing power.

For example, the PSP with a more modern battery I'm sure could have put out 10-12 hours on a single full charge.

The question is what you want; to play the newest games with the nicest graphics (for a handheld), or to have the longevity of a cellphone?

Most people want the first, which leads to the slightly illogical situation of having to sit at home, in the sofa, playing your portable, while plugged in, if you're going for any longer streaks, or just want to be sure you won't run out of juice 15 meters away from that critical checkpoint.

Bottom line, I'm buying the Vita for the games, not for the battery.

Well the good news amongst all the DOOOOOOOOM is that the vita is confirmed to be region free so imports are a realistic and probably much cheaper option

Thanks for getting my hopes up. No Doom for Vita? That game's been ported to so many systems already, I thought it was a given.

http://iamportable.com/psvita-external-batterys-capacity-to-be-5000mah-9-15h-of-playtime-in-total/

well at least sony has a solution

Can't they just put them in the units the ship right away?

They couldn't look their fellow console producing compatriots in the eyes, if they didn't use every opportunity to get their customers to pay for additional accessories.

I like playing a portable console at home because then I can play in whatever position I feel most comfortable in and it doesn't hog up the only TV I have in my house so that my GF can watch the news while I play my portable. It's also great while on the crapper :P.

I honestly can't remember, but it's likely to that massive entertainment survey group that Joystiq is forever citing in their articles. I remember the statistic because it was interesting, though. Is it called Nielsen or something?

I did. >_____> Why buy an iOverpricedThing when you have a PSP that can do it already?
It's not likely to be the norm, but still, 9 hours for music isn't bad is my point.

It's functional without them, it's just functional for longer with add-ons (which have now been announced). Yes, of course it's not ideal, but I still think it's comparatively good value for money, given the PS3 and 360 aren't portable.

Well, it's not going to be ideal for all people or situations, this is true, but I think that it'll do very well for its target audience. I'd much rather it had a longer life too, but I'm just pointing out that the battery life hardly "dooms" the thing, which the thread title suggested.

In all honesty, no, the Vita probably isn't the right product for your daughter, a DS would probably be better suited as the battery lasts forever and a half, and there are tons of kid-friendly but also very good games on it, including GBA titles. I certainly don't think your daughter falls into the target demographic of the device from what you've described.

I don't want to come off sounding like a fanboy because I'm not, I was hoping for a much longer battery life, but to up and declare "oh, the thing's doomed" is silly in my opinion, and I wanted to explain why. :)

With that for long flights/trips, it'll be good enough for me. Still planning on getting the Wifi version as long as 3G support is the only difference between the versions. :)