Something to Sidetalk About

nigelthezebra writes "The N-Gage is at it again, what with the news that the price is being dropped and that the redesigned handheld is going to be redesigned again. In "Something to Sidetalk About," AllRPG.com's Richard Goodness recounts his experiences with the N-Gage QD. To put a long story short, it's very obvious why the system is failing. When you can't even figure out how to turn something on, you know it's time to go back to the drawing board." From the article: "I've always been a big proponent of the axiom, when in doubt, see if Mr. Casual can do it. Games ought not to need big instruction booklets. They should be simple enough to figure out by picking up and fiddling for a moment or two. Turning a system on, that goes without saying."

Comments

They can't even get the phone buttons right.

[AtariAmarok]

They did not even get the phone buttons right. On the N-Gage (as with too many current Nokia phones) they are not in a straight, right-angled 9 x 3 array. This negates any "touch typing" and forces you to look at the keys. There is no good reason for this, it is a triumph of form over function. A regular 90-degree-angle array of phone buttons would have easily fit in the space on the N-Gage. Why make it difficult to enter phone numbers???

The power button problem is common to many other devices, including the iPod. The power and ease of use of the on-off switch has been lost on many designers.