Disambiguation: This article is about the hand-held telephone. For the model railway N gauge see N scale.

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 faced problems as a cell phone. Besides the clumsy form factor, it was initially sold primarily through specialty game outlets instead of through cell phone providers, which only called attention to its high pre-subsidy price, lack of games, and clumsy interface. Once cell retail outlets started carrying the phone, which wouldn't become a widespread practice until well after the release of the N-Gage QD, it still faced problems. The N-Gage and its successor, the N-Gage QD, worked only on GSM networks, meaning that it was (and still is) incompatible with the then-largest US cell service provider, Verizon Wireless, as well as all of Japan's cell networks (which did much to cut off any significant Japanese developer support.)

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" or "sidetalking". 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 3650 (it does not have an integrated camera, however). Thus, it is able to run all Series 60 software, and Java MIDP applications as well. Its main CPU is an ARM compatible chip (ARM4T architecture) running at 104 MHz, same as the Nokia 7650 and 3650 phones.

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 more-convenient cartridge slot on the bottom of the device, 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, further aided by the fact that it is generally sold with a cell phone service contract and the corresponding subsidy. MP3 playback, FM radio reception, and USB connectivity options have all been removed, presumably to cut size and cost. The QD can still play MP3s with third-party software, albeit only in mono). Instead of using the N-Gage with generic USB removable drive drivers, a user would use either Bluetooth or a separate MMC card reader to transfer files (for example, pictures, movies, or mp3s) onto an MMC card for use in the N-Gage QD. The telephone portion no longer supports all four GSM frequency bands; instead it now comes in several dualband variants, one each for the American, European, and east Asian markets. (Each dualband variant comes in different colors, to aid in identification.) The hardware specification of the N-Gage QD is otherwise the same as the original N-Gage.

Recent developments

As of September 1, 2004, Nokia has shipped more than 1 million N-Gage game decks. The "N-Gage" brand name still has a very poor reputation, due to 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 arrival of the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS consoles. As of January 2005, Nokia has 32 games available for retail on the system, with at least 14 more expected sometime in the year.

While the N-Gage hasn't had any significant financial successes, it does have a handful of critical successes. Pocket Kingdom: 0wn the W0rld received a handful of glowing reviews when it was released, and Pathway to Glory is Nokia's first self-published success. These games haven't had much effect in improving the perception of the N-Gage hardware itself in the eyes of consumers of press, unfortunately.

While the N-Gage QD hardware itself, sold unlocked and without a SIM card, has held steady at $250-300, the price with a contract in the US has continued to decrease. In the US, T-Mobile initially offered it for approx. $200 with contract, then sold it for between free and $150, depending on the promotions and contract. As of April 2005, the N-Gage QD retails for $99 at EB Games without the need for a contract.

In January 2005 UK sales-tracking firm ChartTrack dropped the N-Gage from its regular ELSPA chart, commenting that "The N-Gage chart, though still produced, is of little interest to anyone. Sales of the machine and its software have failed to make any impact on the market at all." Although only directly reflectant of the UK market, this was interpreted by some as a serious blow to the N-Gage as a viable gaming platform. Despite this, Nokia has reaffirmed their commitment to the N-Gage as a platform, to the point where a new version of the hardware was rumored after GDC 2005.

See also

• List of N-Gage games

External links

• Nokia's official N-Gage site
• Community site for the device
• Console Database
• Open directory N-Gage
• Sidetalkin' (A sarcastic site about the original N-Gage's sidetalking)