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N-Gage QD - Worth It At $99?
Thanks to GameSpot for its article discussing the possible pricing for Nokia's enhanced N-Gage QD mobile phone/game deck combo, which "will arrive in the Western Hemisphere on June 29, where units will sell for a list price of $199." Although "Reports from Europe and Asia--by way of CNN--indicate that foreign mobile phone networks are heavily subsidizing the QD in exchange for extended service contracts", the U.S. price is not yet known - the article points out: "When the QD was initially unveiled, Nokia publicly stated that it expected a carrier-subsidized $99 price point to be common." What price would you consider picking up an N-Gage QD for?
...in order to Sidetalk, but then I'd probably put it back down again.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
I still won't consider an N-Gage. I don't have or feel a need to have a PDA or cell phone, and all my on-the-move gaming needs are quite well handled with my (non-SP) GBA.
Next question, please.
What price would you consider picking up an N-Gage QD for? They'd have to offer me at least 100.
No
I hate cellphones, so I certainly won't be touching one of these. But the gaming side of it doesn't seem all that bad. Why does everyone have such loathing for the thing?
... yes, I know. I must be new here.
I mean, I thought Sidetalking was *funny*, not a reason to murder Nokia executives in their sleep. The remove-battery-for-game-switching was a mistake, but I fail to see how it makes someone want to boycott all future products with that name. Is it really that offensive? I know that back before I decided cellphones suck, I would've *loved* to have a cellphone built into my Palmpilot, with text message support and a programming interface and all that goodness. Seemed like an obvious enough combination to me. I don't see how a cellphone and a gaming device are that bad a combination either. Cellphone games are quite popular. An attempt to replace "Scrabble" and "Football Champion" with some more top-end titles just doesn't strike me as something that should evoke such hostility and zealotry.
Random and weird software I've written.
I want Nokia to go back to a design like this
nokia 8290.
It is a no frills phone. Doesn't have a camera, doesnt have a gamepad.
It's small and I love it.
-Grump
Is it true that more people vote for the winner of American Idol, than vote for the president? -Ali G.
I can only assume that they are trying to make money from selling cellphone game cartridges, and in order to attract developers there has to be a large enough market. What's the easiest way to build a market? By giving out the console for free/selling at a loss. Nokia is a giant; they can probably follow the path of Microsoft and the Xbox.
Yawn.
Honestly, you'd think with the bashing they got when they released the first one that they'd give up. It doesn't look like they've changed much except the sidetalking, and that was as much endearing as it was annoying. This new N-Gage is probably going to do as bad or worse than the original.
..yet anyone can code for it, it can be used as a decent IRC or IM from anywhere device and you can even browse pr0n from it, hell, you can even post to slashdot. Nokia just can't win, huh? they could have integrated a gameboy advance into it and people still would complain somehow, if not anything else then that they already have a gameboy.
I could have of course posted "no!!!" as well for some easy karma but hell, n-gage + 256mb mmc with 100mb of cames and 125mb of music is a pretty packed entertainer and when I get home I can tinker with some code for it(also who needs easy karma with a system that keeps you at maxed anyways after the first few months..).
It's a shame they released so much crappy games as "n-gage" games during the launch, when there's actually quite a bunch of pretty good shareware/on-demand-OTA games for it(that are a: handier since you can put them on any mmc you wish and b: cheaper).
nobody who I know who has a gba ever keeps it with him anywhere he goes.. the guys who have n-gages(or other s60 phones, none of the stuff aside from the n-gage exclusive games are limited to just n-gage) non-surprisingly DO keep the devices with them.
And yeah, people do have bough n-gages and are having fun with them as well(well, one couldn't guess that from slashdot though. then again slashdot != the world). Maybe the phone network is 3rd world grade it's less useful though(yeah, USA's networks seem to be really in the dark ages, with all the stories about people who can only call if they go to the backyards ).. one other thing as well: Nokia was pumping steady profits during the past few years when some other mobile phone makers weren't, they're literally loaded with cash they have a need to put into use.
and the final thing: gameboy advance was HORRIBLY BROKEN IN DESIGN DUE TO THE CRAPPY SCREEN and the fix took quite a while(I know quite a few gba's which are abandoned in drawers because of this, the owners just can't play with them like thought they would be able to, in a bus & etc). at least with n-gages(perfect for shooters like sky force ) screen you can actually SEE the screen.
I got my issues with n-gage as well though, mainly the mmc changing. however, with the mentioned 256mb mmc that rarely is a problem.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
That's about all I care about. So what will it take to get me to buy an N-Gauge? I don't know if it fits the above specifications, so I'll give it my standard test for a new phone that doesn't fit the features I want. I will buy it if...
If the phone is free and there is no contract (ie I pay month-to-month, not that "and my 1st born for the next two years" stuff) I'll take one. You'll make the money off me from me buying games (if you make good ones available) and cell phone fees.
I have a GBA. I plan to buy a PSP and a DS. Nokia was NEVER on my radar as anything seroius. They have to make it VERY attractive to me to get me to own one (see requirements above), and if a cellphone I like better exists that is acceptable to me, I'll pay for it if I like it. Nokia has basically no hope when it comes to me.
The N-Gauge is a "cute" idea that was half-baked from the beginning. If they had released the QD origonally, they would be in a bad place. But they put out the origional, so they are just a joke.
The ONLY hope of survival for the N-Gauge at this point (IMO) is to turn it into "technology" instead of a product. Make MANY phones that play N-Gauge games. Let OTHER cellphone makers make phones that are "N-Gauge compliant". They would all play the games, and they would all play them the same (not phone X is faster than Y, which has a bigger screen). By making it a standard and charging a nominal licensing fee (on games and on phones) they can survive and make money.
Otherwise, you're sunk Nokia (as far as the N-Gauge goes. I know the company won't go bankrupt over this). Do what I said above, or give up and try again in a few years (and with a different name). You didn't succede with the N-Gauge, and you won't with the QD. Give up, cut your losses (my strategy above), or fail. That's how I see it.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I have a cell phone already and it's with Nextel. I don't need a game device/PDA/cell phone. That's just annoying.
I'd rather buy a Gameboy that has games I know and enjoy and that my friends and co-workers own so I can bum the games off them with no intention of returning them.
You are joking right? Alright lets try a different consumer article since I doubt you ever play games. Imagine that to change the video cassete you had to first remove the power suppy from your vcr. Imagine that to change channels on your tv you first had to unplug it. Imagine that to install a piece of software you had to reboot.
Getting the picture? It is not so much a mistake as a sign that the designers just didn't have a clue.
It is not like it is simple to remove the battery, it involves removing several very easy to loose components before you can play a different game. Not something you would want to do while in a moving train.
So if this very simple thing was so totally and completly mishandled why would they have done anything else right?
Why people hate them for this blunder? Because they insulted the gamers. They thought we were stupid enough to buy this piece of crap. I consider that reason enough for a very deep hatred and never ever to consider buying a game console from nokia.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
We take the poorly designed N-Gage device, remove all the features that made it a cool cell phone (tri-band, movie player, radio tuner, mp3 player), but keep the crappy game play features and make it easier to swap carts (only really done if you play games, but since there are 0 good games anyways...).
No. When you redesign a unit, you should keep what's good and ditch the rest. As Nokia has no good software, it should've made the N-Gage QD something more like the P900. I mean, at least they could licence iTap from Motorola so their happles users wouldn't have to deal with the ShittiestTextEntryEver!
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Insulted the gamers? Give me a fucking break. Nokia had NO experience with handheld gaming, or even gaming in general. It's a failed first attempt. Get over it.
'Standards' in computing only impress those who are impressed by things like 'standards'.
I'm not sure a lack of experience is an excuse for a design flaw that severe. If Nokia lacked experience, why didn't they have an R&D team study the design of competing handhelds to get a feel for what gamers would expect? It smacks of a rushed product, and most consumers will feel insulted if offered an obviously rushed product. Why shouldn't gamers feel contempt and distrust for Nokia at this point?
The intensity of the gamer-culture backlash is unwarranted, of course, but gamer-culture has never really had a reputation for being rational or mature.
honestly I would get one if it was 20 dollers. I dont believe NGAGE would be worth paying more than that and even then it would just be to add it to my collection right next to my Virtual Boy and Atari Lynx.
I'd pick up the old side-talkin' version for cheap, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. They really needed to put the same features in the new form-factor!
So, if i told you that the Hindenburg was just a "first try by a new design team" Would you be first in line for a ticket for the maiden voyage of Hindenburg 2.0?
I figure with the $99 bucks Nokia would have to give me to go pick up a N-Gage, I can take that and buy a GameCube. So yea, I'ld probably pick one up for $99... ... ... That's what you meant right?
I'd pay about $0.02
Just my $0.02
This is hardly surprising; Nokia have said all along that they don't intend to go with the "put out a new product every couple of years" cycle that has characterised the handheld market in the past.
It's going to be very interesting. In the past, there's been an almost complete Nintendo monopoly on the handheld market. The competitors have sufferered either from hideous design flaws (Sega Game Gear) or a complete lack of worthwhile games (Atari Lynx). Now, however, we have two major competitors moving into the area.
At first glance, Nokia appear to havw succumbed to both of the mistakes that have sunk handhelds in the past; the original N-Gage was an appallingly bad design and, while some of the games are pretty good, there just aren't enough of them. However, if the design is continually updated and refined over the next year or so, then the first of these problems can be overcome. Moreover, Nokia's future games-lineup looks pretty exciting in places and the technical capabilities of the handset are decent. The initial launch of the N-Gage has been poor, but in a bizarre way, their failure to make much of an impact on the public consciousness counts in their favour; I doubt that most of the non-hardcore-games out there really know much about the N-Gage and they're not going to decide not to buy a later version of it on "moral" grounds because the initial version sucked. Incidentally, I've noted this argument coming up already in the comments - it's quite possibly the most imbecilic statement I could imagine in this context.
Nokia aren't a gaming company; as people have already remarked, they don't really understand the market at the moment. However, they also aren't a stupid company and I strongly suspect that the intial N-Gage was always intended as a learning experience. Last time a major non-gaming electronics company tried to move into the games market, it worked pretty well. Just look at what the Playstation went on to achieve.
The PSP is perhaps coming into the market from the other direction. Sony are now very much a gaming company; their Playstation brand has incredible mainstream recognition. Their major strength in the "normal" console market has been their ability to get the best developers on board and to get the best range of games out at the most attractive prices. Their machines can be a little more expensive than their competitors (witness the PS2 price compared to the technically-superior Gamecube and X-Box), but a serious gamer knows that he will quickly make back the price difference if he buys a good number of games, as (in the UK at least), there's a clear price difference between big-name PS2 games and those for the X-Box and, to an even greater extent, the Gamecube.
So where does this leave Nintendo? They've got a vital struggle ahead to maintain their monopoly. Whatever you think of their "normal" consoles, the simple economic reality is that they're on course to be forced out of this market as serious competitors after the next cycle. They're approaching the end of this cycle roughly level-pegging with newcomers Microsoft, but MS just have more resources to throw into the arena and the tide will undoubtedly continue to turn. I suspect the Nintendo DS is a (rather belated) recognition that Nintendo haven't driven the handheld arena forwards as far as it could have. The GBA is a nice enough machine, but the apparent ease with which Nokia and Sony have unveiled handhelds which, in the technical respect, trounce it is quite scary. It's not all doom and gloom for Nintendo; they still have a powerful brand-name in the handheld market and their preferred style of games (quick, simple, shallow) is generally better suited to the handheld market, where players tend to play games for shorter sessions, in situations where they don't have access to other facilities. However, I suspect they're going to need to drastically refocus their business practices and get onto a faster technological cycle if they want to stay competative.
It would have to cost me nothing, but I would have to be paid in order to want to play it.
I'm thinking if Nokia gave me the small sum of $1million, that would get me interested into using it.
The N-Gage (non-QD) has these features:
* Bluetooth (better than t68i)
* Good Java
* Color screen
* Ability to make my own ringtones, etc (use midi, mp3, a recording of someone's voice, custom per incoming phone number or in general!)
* Able to use a laptop with it (over BT) to access the 'net
It lacks this feature:
* Camera phone (1mp or so) would be very nice
I haven't been able to get it to GPRS or BT / PPP link to my Linux machine for browsing, though. I've read some of the few tutorials floating around (which usualy assume something based on PalmOS), but have only found frustration.
It's a non-provider locked phone, and is about 250$ CDN cheaper than any equivalent phone in my market at least.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Do you have to get the N-Gage with a service plan, or can you just buy it and match it to whatever service you already have?
On a similar note, why isn't this possible? Or is it? I want to be able to go to Best Buy or something and pick out my dream phone, then go call up a service provider and get them to give me service on it.
Kind of like modems & dial-up services.
WeRelate.org - wiki-based genealogy
I might be interested if I could get an N-gage for $50 with no contract. Otherwise, my plain-old-phone and GBA SP are doing just fine. I'd love to have an all-in-one, but it better be ALL-in-one, not "crappy substitutes for everything in one."
There's too many big phone + crappy camera + lousy PIM + poorly-designed controls + bad screen orientation devices already.
Imagine that you have to turn off your phone in order to change games.
Sorry, but my phone's primary purpose is being a phone. If it wants to double as a gaming device, that's fine. If the gaming feature involves disabling the primary feature temporarily though, then it's a useless feature. Am I supposed to carry a seperate phone in case I get paged or called from work while I'm changing games? The fact that it's not merely turning off the device, but disassembling it too is just insult on top of injury.
Seriously, I think the majority of nay-sayers are totally full of shit on this one. Yes, the original N-Gage was a donkey - ugly, awkward, expensive and therefore by necessity marketed wrongly at the 25-35 demographic. The slinky, reasonably-priced N-Gage QD is going to have a much broader appeal. And so what if it can't render 13 billion multi-shadered dynamically-lit triangles per clock-cycle? That's only really necessary for one type of game. There are plenty of other games that 2D will be just fine for, and they're fun too. Seriously, crack yourself away from the spec sheet for the latest transistor-pr0n from NVidia and ATI and look at all the puzzles, dance games, RPGs, adventures, and other stuff that just don't need stellar specs to be fun.
In summary, the N-Gage QD will sell like hot-cakes. Everyone programming games for it will be richer than astronauts. I am right and you are all wrong.
And I'm going to be wearing this post round my neck until I die if I'm wrong :P
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors - Plato
Nokia is trying no one can denny that. First they "fixed" the unit in less than a year and now they are trying to sell it at a much lower price. I have to confess at that price a lot of not tech savy people will pick it up rather quickly, I mean, is a color xga cell phone AND a videogame handheld at less than $100 check around thats not pretty common.
,screen and processor are still substandard for a handheld. considering the ngage is competing against the GBA, GBA SP, DS and PSP and they are all far superior. I would have to say :no deal.
Unfortunately as a tech savy person I know 2 things:
1.-If I get any other cell phone I can download free (or very cheap) java based games and applications upload them with a PC interface (usb or infrared) instead of buying cartridges at $40-$50 a pop. Considering the quality is just about the same Im not getting ripped.
2.-Is not a very good phone or handheld, too large to be comfortable as a cell phone and the buttons
Better luck next year Nokia. (hint: maybe you should hire someone who actually worked in handheld design for your next model) however like I said Im a tech savy person someone who is not will consider your offer.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
I would get one for about $-150.00. And thats if I didnt have to subscribe to their wireless service...
The screen is still not right and I don't plan on switching away from nextel anytime soon.
=1000101
Effort starts with an E, not an A. You don't get A's for effort. You get A's for results.
I just know that Motorola has a wicked text entry system, but that they don't have any phones available that meet my price point/feature desires. They don't compete with Nokia it that pricepoint at all, so I don't see why it wouldn't be unreasonable for Nokia to be able to use iTap there with the aid of a licence of some kind (more money for Motorola since they have no phone there, more money for Nokia since more people buy that model of phone).
It's happened before in oligopolies. Personally, I just wish I could write my own text entry method for the phone, but then I'd probably need to replace part of Symbian, and that's another can of worms altogether.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
I know you're trying to make a joke of that, but your comparison is not entirely accurate. It would be accurate if all you had to do to change the game on the N-Gage was to turn it off, but it's not that simple.
You have to turn it off, remove the battery, and THEN you can change the game. A comparison to a console would be similar to this:
Imagine that you had to turn off your game console, unplug the power supply, video connection and controllers before you change the cartridge.
Gabriel Ricard
Damn right. The 8xxx series were the last decent phones Nokia made. I gave up and switched to a Sony Ericsson t68i, because I needed triple band and the Nokia 8890 was way too expensive.
I don't know what Nokia's industrial designers have been smoking recently. Stupid circular keypads, stupid slanting keypads, eight symbols on every button, an even dumber circular keypad, keys designed so you can't tell where to push, and what the hell is that? I don't want to make a statement, I want to make phone calls.
To make things worse, even today they still only have one small normal phone with Bluetooth, according to their web site. It's a camera phone, but at least it doesn't have swiveling keyboards, circular keyboards, or a big 80s style shape like all their other Bluetooth phones.
No wonder they're seeing a huge drop in sales. It just staggers me that the CEO can't see what the problem is.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
You're all missing the point. The problem isn't that you have to turn off the phone to switch cards, it's that you have to switch cards . If I want to play a commerical game from an MMC ROM card I have to take out my 128MB MMC RAM card with all my apps installed on it.
...the Tapwave Zodiac . Not only it's a decent game machine, it's a nice PDA too!
PSP, you ask? No way in hell I'd buy anything by Sony!
Circumcision is child abuse.
"What price would you consider picking up an N-Gage QD for? "
At $99, I'd have to be crazy to get one. You could buy a GBA and some games for that amount (even if it's second hand, but that doesnt matter. a game's a game, eh?) I don't have a phone at the moment anyway, so i don't feel the need to have a phone and a games console in one. I don't even feel the need for any mobile phone. Give me my GameBoy any day.
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"I consider that reason enough for a very deep hatred..."
Dude, get a grip on reality. It is just a frigg'n toy.
Please, PLEASE, use a spell checker!
It is VERTICAL. Maybe too many games have fried your brains?
I'd get one for whatever they sell for on eBay, minus fifty bucks so I can make a decent profit reselling it.
(Obviously I wouldn't bother if they come with a service contract I can't get out of.)
If you want a cell phone that can go all over the world, check out the Motorola v400 and v600. They're a bit pricey, but if you want the ability to use it around the world (although you will have to work something out with a provider in each region), they're the best. (Unless you want to get one of those sattelite phones.. but that's just crazy unless you're going to be climbing a mountain.) If you don't like those, just look around for Quad-Band GSM phones.