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Nokia N-Gage: fun but flawed
by Oliver Chang
the Carillon
A toy for those with cash to burn
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Nokia N-gage is a high-quality, interactive, mobile gaming device with excellent phone features. It offers users the ability to play games, featuring Bluetooth wireless technology. Bluetooth enables local multiplayer gaming, and GPRS, which offers the possibility for gaming over a wide area network. Other key features such as a large color screen, a digital music player, a FM stereo/radio and a variety of other options including e-mail and text messaging.
Nokia seems to have the perfect concept when it comes to an all-in-one device for gamers who enjoy playing games with their friends online and talking on the phone. Unfortunately, it is not without faults.
It is an expensive hand-held with a price of US$299, including a radio and an MP3 player. Both the radio and the MP3 player are impressive. The only oddity is that you’re forced to use the headset to listen to the radio. Set-up of the cd player and radio can be complicated. The quality of sound is less than on a regular cd player. This can be uncomfortable and annoying.
It also has a high-end cell phone, which itself is a quality piece of equipment, that users can expect from Nokia. Unfortunately, the N-Gage requires owners to use the headset during phone calls. The short length of the headphones wires forces users to hold the N-Gage awkwardly against their chest as they speak.
Pricewise, if users are strictly looking for a cell phone, the N-Gage will probably not be their first choice. The N-Gage is targetted towards a consumer looking for the MP3, video-game and cell phone three-in-one device. The $299 price of the N-Gage can be prohibitive compared to the Game Boy Advance which is only $99. Definitely, N-Gage has some options that provide the biggest competitive advantage over other hand helds. The Bluetooth wireless communications technology is a good example because it allows users to play video games anywhere.
But the problem is a collection of inconvenient design flaws that eliminate the machine’s efficiency as a mobile device. Users can play games outside, but if they want to change the game or insert a new memory card with MP3s, users will need to turn the N-Gage off, remove the back cover, the battery and change the game cartridges. This is a complicated process.
The salesperson of the N-Gage presented these procedures step by step. He completed the game/battery/cartridge change in about 90 seconds. It really freaked me out. It would take alot of practise to pull off. If a user was on a bus it could be a tricky process. Games are on MMC cards (multimedia cards) which are wafer thin and about one inch long. If one was to drop one of these cards in a crowded environment, it could be difficult to find. At $30 per game, it can be quite expensive. Another shortfall of N-Gage is that the screen is vertically oriented rather than the standard horizontal configuration. The salesperson of the N-Gage showed me one of the games. I found that the figures in the games moved sluggishly and seemed overly dark on-screen.
The Nokia N-Gage still has a long way to go. I am looking forward to see the new design of the game that overcomes these problems.
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