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N-Gage QD Review - No More Side-Talkin'
jasoncart writes "After the apparently poor uptake, and questionable design of the original N-Gage, have Nokia taken the hint when designing the next model - the N-Gage QD? Ferrago has a hands-on review."
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What was wrong with the original? Doesn't everyone like looking like they're talking into a taco?
Disconnect and self-destruct, one bullet at a time.
Now it looks like you're talking into a hot pocket.
Another games reviewer here. Got mine yesterday morning from the lovely PR people. It's a much nicer bit of kit than the original - almost all the design flaws are sorted and fixed, and there appears to be a wave of halfdecent games on the way.
I wrote a postmortem of the original N-Gage [google cache] which details what the QD fixes - I would add though that the QD is by no means a 'small' phone, it's almost the width of an old Nokia 1610!
Gamers Europe - Gaming News. Reviews.
Is Nokia just stubborn? There is no way there little thing stands a chance, even with this "revision". It's time to cut their losses.
So would I , if I'd ever have actuallly seen somebody buy one.
Mod point free since 2001
As a GBA SP owner I was really underwhelmed by QD as a gaming machine (I tried about half a dozen games). - Both by quality and by LOADING TIMES (up to 30 seconds before you can start playing)! However, for the price, I think this is really useful phone for people who want to surf wap/WWW and send/receive e-mails. And have cool ringphones. :) I would be happiest if it was a little bit smaller and without the cartridge-based games capability. Also, you cannot connect it directly to computer and it doesn't have IR port. So if you want to transfer data from/to it, you must do it using Bluetooth or internet.
--- Frantisek Fuka (Yes, that's my real name and you have no idea how it's pronounced)
"Nokia lost it's chance with both Nintendo and Sony having shown their offerings and strutted their stuff who will even care for an updated design to the N-Gage?"
There's still a niche market. If I could get a cell phone that plays decent games for under $99, I'd consider it. Now that they've gotten some of the major issues out of the way, it might be worth another look.
Would I sell my Game Boy Advance SP for it? Oh hell no. But I do enjoy the odd game on my cell phone from time to time. Why? For the simple reason that my phone goes with me everywhere. My Game Boy... well it sits around my apartment. Maybe I think to grab it if I know I'm gonna be waiting somewhere.
So no, I don't agree that nobody will care. However, I'm not optimistic enough to think they could reach millions of units sold. They're going to have to figure something out to make it that popular. Maybe that'll happen? They have the whole wireless thing going for it. Multiplayer gaming could be cool. Who cares if only 10 thousand are on the market, nation wide, you can still find somebody to play against.
The reality is that it's probably dead. Pity, they had some of the right things in place. One way or another, I do feel that cell phones will have more gaming capabilities down the road.
"Derp de derp."
When your travelling for a long time and you find yourself carrying a PDA and/or gameboy, phone, mp3 player, radio etc a device like this really makes sense even if it costs slightly more than the lot put together.
"When they can invent a phone with a 19" screen, 3D accelleration, a mouse and a keyboard that fits in your pocket easily, I'll buy it."
The answer is simple: BIGGER POCKETS!
I think the NGage suffers from the same problems of convergence as PDA phones and probably limits itself to a similar, albeit smaller, market slice. Meaning, the people who buy PDA phones are those who would like to have both features but aren't particularly tied to the bonuses that the individual products can provide.
I think PDA phones have it better in that the features provided are easier to do and less likely tot leave you wanting a stand alone device. Consider the gaming mentality though, gamers want faster, better graphics and more options. I definitely think this convergence device will (and has) have a hard time catering to that crowd.
So in follow up, can Nokia maintain the product with such a small market segment? Considering the price of development (anyone know what royalties Nokia is tossing out?) I doubt they can maintain any sort of decent game library.
--AlphaDecay
... I am a little sceptic to the new design.
Yep, I'm using an NGage. Not because of the gaming stuff (which does increase the gadget value) but because it has a lot of nice features and was cheap to buy. It works both in Europe and the US, it's got Bluetooth and runs Symbian applications. Most of all, I really appreciate the radio function and being able to record songs I like when I hear them.
Though I also find it funny, I have never experienced the "Dumbo effect". The phone comes with a nice handsfree and if that's not cool enough, you can always go for a Bluetooth headset.
Personally, I wouldn't buy the new phone and I think Nokia is shooting themselves in the foot beleiving people will buy a phone only for the gaming capabilities.