Nokia seems to be in a serious mood to compete in the hand-held gaming market with Nintendo and Sony. The initial try with the N-Gage was almost a complete failure, it was a piece of “junk” as many called it.
Though the first N-Gage sold far less than what the company expected, there was loads that they could learn from the whole experience. The first device tried too hard to please everyone, it had a mp3 player, a FM radio, a gaming console and a cell-phone feature which looked like it was added up to the design in the last minute as an after-thought. Its use as a phone earned it the nickname – “Elephant Ears” for its awkward holding position.
The company soon learnt from its mistakes and followed up with the N-Gage QD, which was made with gaming as the first priority. Though it failed to spark up the market again, it was a complete makeover from its predecessor with many of the flaws fixed. By this time the games available for N-Gage had also increased, though there is not much of a variety to choose from. Another thing about the N-Gage QD was its pricing, it was the cheapest Symbian phone in the market. It was a good buy for many including me, who bought it for its PDA/Smartphone capabilities. My QD is nearing its 1st Anniversary this month, a long time use review is already in my drafts, will be published soon.
Nokia was silent about its future plans for the brand N-Gage for sometime, only giving out vague details. The only detail known about was that they are planning to retain the brand, but still there was no announcement about a new phone.
Recently the N-Gage Blog posted about a new phone in the offing and the pre-launch buzz is in the making. There are many rumours about the new phone in the WWW already. Personally I look forward to its launch, as I am a N-Gage lover, not for its games, but for its price and smartphone capabilities.
Hopefully it will have the Symbian 3rd Gen. OS, a better display and a better design. This is my only demand for the new phone. A camera would be nice too! But considering that they are concentrating on the niche market of gaming, this is unlikely. 🙁
Still, Go Nokia! I love your products!
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