What Is The Nokia N-Gage

You might wonder what this is. The Nokia N-Gage is a PDA combining features of a telephone and a handheld game system. This device was announced on November 4, 2002 and was released October 7, 2003. It runs the original Series 60 platform on Symbian OS v6.1. It has a 2.1-inch display and an 850 mAh battery and a 3MB storage. Its original development codename was Starship.

N-Gage attempted to lure away gamers from the Game Boy Advance by including mobile phone functionality. But this did not work out because some of the buttons designed for the phone are not functional if used in games. And because of its taco-like shape, it was mocked and gained the nickname “Taco phone”.

Introducing The Nokia N-Gage

The N-Gage service was a mobile gaming platform from Nokia that was available for several Nokia smartphones running on S60. N-Gage provided numerous games with 3D graphics into an application featuring online and social features.

Upgrades On The Nokia N-Gage

Nokia “upgraded” the classic N-Gage by introducing the N-Gage QD in 2004. The company fixed widely criticized issues and design problems. The new model, however, did not make an impact. And with only 2 million units sold in its two years, the N-Gage and its QD version were failures in the market. They were unable to challenge their Nintendo rival.

This device was created with the purpose of it being a handheld gaming device. Its mobile phone features was just probably a secondary priority.

The N-Gage was discontinued in 2005. And Nokia moved its gaming capabilities into selected Series 60 smartphones. This was announced as the N-Gage platform or the “N-Gage 2.0”, in 2007. It carried on the N-Gage name.

Feedbacks

Despite the classic N-Gage and its QD version being a commercial failure, those who have bought these devices have good feedbacks. Others say that the N-Gage is a great phone. For some it is the best Game Phone ever.

Regardless of its status in the market, we can conclude though that the Nokia N-Gage and N-Gage QD have served their purpose. Based on the public’s comments and reactions, if we talk of game phones, the said devices are good.