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N-Gage Hardware and Software Price Dropped
GamesIndustry.biz has the news that Nokia is dropping the price on N-Gage Hardware and Software. They also reconfirmed the thought that the deck may recieve another redesign. From the article: "Despite putting significant weight behind the launch of the original device, and responding quickly to consumer feedback by launching the much-improved N-Gage QD handset within a matter of months, Nokia has had very limited success with N-Gage - selling only 1.5 million units of the platform worldwide to date."
How do you get an Ngage SDK. I may be interested in making games for it. Nothing like good ol 2d for something easy to code.
God spoke to me.
I've got an Ngage-QD, and I'm quite happy with it as a phone. The interface is nice, the screen is bigger and brighter than most phones, and it has features like an MMC slot and Bluetooth that you have to spend more to get with any other phone. I got it mostly because it was the cheapest symbianOS phone with bluetooth that I'm aware of. I use it with Bemused to control XMMS and slimserver. As a portable gaming platform, its clearly inferior to my Nintendo DS, but its always in my pocket, and its not bad. Also, you can copy games from the MMCs they come on to a single larger card. (and for the warez d00dz, you can download them all too)
It would make a lot more sense if they dropped it completely. They're doing that alchemy thing, where you turn lead into gold. Or... at least they're trying to. Noone's ever been able to turn lead into gold. Especially not Nokia.
Nokia had a lot going against them in the market. Poor product reviews, terrible product design and a fairly high price tag are not going to sell systems.
This possible redesign should be a product overhaul. It's not as if they can turn a blind eye to customer response to the problems with the current product and expect to succeed.
Their competition has increased, and there are a total of four major handhelds fighting for market share, GBASP, DS, NGage, and the PSP which has yet to arrive but isn't far off. The new handhelds offer a lot, and if the NGage isn't something great Nokia can expect that their time in the handheld department has come to a close.
Is there some technical or licensing reason that the Series 60 phones that use MMC don't also use SD? I have a 3660, and I'm doing okay with the 16MB MMC that it came with (though I guess that's primarily because I've yet to buy a Bluetooth dongle and IR is slow and feels so insubstantial), but I can't just go to Wal-Mart and pick up a new one. Most physical stores I've seen don't carry MMC. Pretty much everything that uses flash memory of that form factor tends to use SD... except for Nokia phones, and some cheap MP3 player I saw a couple of years ago.
Honor Among Slackers. A veri
For me, it isn't a price issue. I would love to buy an Ngage, however, only one cell provider offers it as an option. And that isn't my carrier (verizon). The fact that so few carriers picked it up really hurt it more than anything.
The N-Gage has been written off as a failure by most gamers since before its release, but Nokia is still pushing it, still supporting it with new titles and redesigns.
This kind of faith in a product is a bit unusual, but refreshing. They're still trying to make it work, and while general opinion doesn't match mine, there's still no guarantee that it won't catch on eventually.
If Nokia decides to remain in the gaming industry after the N-Gage is gone, I see potential for great things. After all, if you try this many times, you'll be bound to strike gold eventually. :)
Goo goo g'joob.
Now you can get that piece of hardware that nobody wants and nobody owns for less money that still nobody wants to spend.
Call be back when they'll pay me to take one.
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
So how does this "price drop" actually work?? Nokia sells the phone to the carriers, they determine the price and sell the device. Which from what I've seen it ranges from -$200 to $150 with service and $200 with prepaid service.
so is their new marketing program going to say "Now Sucks For Less"?
Given that you have Wal-Mart, I'm guessing you don't have Dick Smith Electronics. Have you got a Radio Shack or Tandy near you? I had no problem walking in to a DSE and buying a 128MB MMC card for my N-Gage.
My original question stands, though, of whether there's any technological or business reason that N-Gage, 3660, et al. only use MMC.
Honor Among Slackers. A veri
I owned an original N-Gage, and was overall pretty happy with it. Then they announced the QD, and I was shocked to find that they offered no upgrade path for existing users. They responded to my email stating that the QD wasn't an "upgrade" but rather a whole seperate product. Yeah, right.
So, when I decided to upgrade my phone, I didn't get the QD, and you can be assured I didn't buy a phone from Nokia.
So here we are, and Nokia's scrambling for adopters of their mediocre technology in the face of Sony's new PSP and other cell phone competition. Surprise, surprise.
I wonder how many people were like me and found the fact that a new user could get a QD for half the price of an existing customer and early adopter just a little disconcerting.
Nokia refused to reward customer loyalty, now I'm no longer a customer at all. Good riddance. In my opinion, the device was so-so (some good things, some bad), the software library appalling, and the customer service insulting.
I'd recommend against spending your $99 here, a Nintendo DS or a Sony PSP and a quality cell phone are a much better setup. Before you make your decision, I'd also recommend scouring the review sites for the games. There's less than a handful of actual quality games for the Ngage, check the ratings out there and you'll see, the majority of them are just bad games.
Buyer beware!
(Did not intend to post anonymous, but I'm having a wierd IE issue tonight, I've posted all over Ngage forums my same opinion with a username)
Another redesign?/i?
Isn't that like polishing a turd?
I think it's a licensing issue rather than a tech one.
"and responding quickly to consumer feedback by launching the much-improved N-Gage QD handset within a matter of months,"
Considering that most of those complaints were lodged well before the system was actually released, I'm not sure if the "quickly" adverb applies here. Complaints about the location of the cartridge slot and good ol' side-talking were made before the unit ever went into serious production, and yet they went ahead anyway.
From TFA: " Nokia's director and general manager of the games business, Gerard Wiener" He replaced Anwar Boobie early last year.
College Humor at it's best
Cingular has them for $50 now, with a two-year contract (at a minimum of $30 a month for cell service.) Since I have no plans to switch providers, I picked one up last week.
I love mine. I have eMAME, Vboy, and the Mobipocket eBook reader installed, and while I kind of wish the MP3 player was still included, I have to say I haven't been this attached to a gadget since a friend installed an Afterburner light in my GBA. And unlike my GBA, I *always* have it on me.
For emu fans, the N-Gage is a must-have.
... when the article's title will go from "N-Gage Hardware and Software Price Dropped" to "N-Gage Hardware and Software Dropped"
With the DS and the PSP around, who is gonna pay $200 for a sub-par gaming handheld like the n-gage? That said, I have to replace my mobile phone soon and I'm definitely more inclined to buy the n-gage now with this price drop.
Now that you can get it for anywhere from -$50 to -$125 on Amazon (rebate just ended but will be back soon i'm sure) it's kind of tempting. why?
RIFTS!
check out the preview on gamespot, it looks really sweet.
and the shadier aspects of the system (emu's and where's) make it even more tempting.
My girlfriend hates my Sidekick, wonder how she'd feel about me having the nGage... hehe.