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N-Gage

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Nokia N-Gage phone

The Nokia N-Gage is a mobile telephone and handheld game system designed using the Nokia 3650 as a base. It was launched on October 7, 2003.

History

In the early 2000s, gamers were increasingly carrying around both a cell phone and a Game Boy, the most popular handheld game system. Nokia spotted an opportunity to combine these devices into a more handy unit. The company also included multiplayer over Bluetooth or the Internet (via the N-Gage Arena service), MP3 and Real Audio/Video playback, and PDA-like features into the system.

Despite the large amount of attention gamers gave the system before it was launched, it has not been as commercially popular as Nokia estimated. Most gamers blame the sales performance on the poor selection of games compared to those available to the handheld-leading Nintendo Game Boy Advance while still costing (at launch) more than twice as much. (It should be noted that several other consoles, including the highly successful PlayStation and PlayStation 2, only had so-called "triple-A games" one year or more after launch, and were not, at first, considered full successes by the media.)

In addition to its problems as a game system, it also faces problems as a cell phone. The N-Gage is only carried by one or two mobile phone providers, because current distribution focuses on specialty video game retailers and big-box electronics outlets. (this information may be no longer current)

The original N-Gage has been criticized for its clumsy design: to insert a game, users must remove the phone's plastic cover and access the battery compartment. Also, the speaker is in the side edge of the phone, resulting in many mocking it as talking into a "taco phone". Because of this its comfort for longer calls has been criticized.

Besides its gaming capabilities, the N-Gage is a Series 60 phone, running Symbian OS 6.1, with features similar to those of the Nokia 3560 (it does not have an integrated camera, however). Thus, it is able to run all Series 60 software, and Java MIDP applications as well.

N-Gage QD

The N-Gage QD is Nokia's successor to the N-Gage. It revises the device's physical design, being smaller and "rounder", with a more convenient cartridge swapping, and speaker and microphone on the flat side of the device so that calls may be made like a traditional phone. The device retails at a lower price. MP3 and video playback and USB connectivity options have been removed (it can still play MP3s and video files through optionally installed software, though), presumably to cut costs (its launch price was lower than the original version's). The machine's MMC card can still be loaded with MP3 or video files via Bluetooth or a memory card reader for this purpose. The sound output has been reduced to mono only. The hardware specification of the N-Gage QD is the same as the original N-Gage. The telephone portion no longer supports GSM triband, and now comes in several dualband variants.

Recent developments

With the release of the "QD" upgrade of the system, sales of N-Gage units decks passed the 1 million mark but are still far behind other handheld consoles. The "N-Gage" brand name still has a very poor reputation, due to the the weakness of the system's first games and the original model's limitations; many gamers are unaware that the QD no longer possesses those, and refuse to consider the console seriously. The situation is not expected to improve with the impending arrival of the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS consoles. Nevertheless, by 2005, Nokia is expected to have more than 50 games available for retail on the system.

Pocket Kingdom: 0wn the W0rld is the first N-Gage exclusive title to consistently receive very positive reviews, but whether it will change the N-Gage's fortunes remains (as of December 2004) to be seen. Pathway to Glory has also begun to garner glowing reviews, and is a potential (if somewhat belated) killer app for the system.

N-Gage games

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