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Nokia's N-Gage: yeah, good luck...

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Nokia's N-Gage: yeah, good luck...

Old 07-21-03, 04:03 PM
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Nokia's N-Gage: yeah, good luck...

Does anyone else think that the N-Gage will flop miserably and be in the discount rack in 6 months? I really can't see this thing taking off at all. The $300 price point is the big factor. Plus I doubt it will get much support from videogame makers aside from the few who are already making games for it.
Old 07-21-03, 04:06 PM
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I think that going up against the Gameboy, and Sony's PSP. Nokia N-Gage will have a short life span.
Old 07-21-03, 04:06 PM
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Its a crappy phone and game system all in one.

Yes, it will flop.
Old 07-21-03, 04:10 PM
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The futon of portable gaming.
Old 07-21-03, 04:21 PM
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I guess it's been a few months since we've had an NGage bashing party... I'll join in - sure, why not?

NGage will flop... hopefully the companies making games for it will be able to port them over to other handhelds - it would be a shame for all those 1s and 0s to go to waste.
Old 07-21-03, 10:48 PM
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DOA
Old 07-22-03, 12:06 PM
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How fast do you expect this thing to get marked down from the initial $300? I give it 2 months before its becomes $200, then another 2-3 months till its $100.
Old 07-22-03, 01:20 PM
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Even at $100 it'd be hard to swallow. Being a phone, wouldn't you be forced into some sort of contract for anyone dumb enough to buy it?
Old 07-22-03, 02:26 PM
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For some reason, the phone does sound kinda cool. But the price will kill it. If this was priced at $150 (which is still kinda high), I might consider getting it. It does have a built-in FM Radio and MP3 Player (as well as BlueTooth). Still, games will be between $30 and $40, still too much. Also, the way to put in the games is to actual disasembel the phone! You need to take off 5 peices just to put a game in and take them out, Yikes!
Old 07-22-03, 02:48 PM
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http://dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread....ighlight=ngage

There's a link to the last thread discussing/bashing the N-gage.
Old 07-24-03, 05:52 AM
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I tried the N-Gage at E3 and was highly unimpressed. While Sega Tennis looked pretty cool, the ergonomics of the device are horrible! The directional pad is awful and imprecise and the action buttons are just standard telephone keys with no indication as to which are the ones for gameplay (and they are indeed too close together). Pretty lame...
Old 07-24-03, 09:40 AM
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I don't know. While I think it's flawed, and I think that the GBA makes a better handheld, I still want one.

Here's the skinny. Yes, it's $300, but when was the last time you paid full retail for a cell phone? Without it being Sprint? I know the cell phone I currently use had a $300 list price on it, and I got it for $50, with a $50 gift cert from Amazon, a $75 coupon from AT&T and a $30 rebate from Nokia.

In the end, you have to buy a phone anyway, and likely, this one will cost about the same as just about any other moderately cool phone. So, why not get it? I don't want a phone any smaller than the one I have now, and one that's a bit bigger wouldn't be bad. I'd also like having a phone with a crappy gaming system designed in rather than having one with no gaming system at all.

It's a cool phone. It won't cost you $300. It would be cooler if it had a GBA built in, but I'm sure that's not what Nintendo wants. Still, I'll wait until I see one in person before I make my final judgement, but I'm looking forward to it.
Old 07-24-03, 10:26 AM
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That's the thing - it's not a cool phone - it's a sucky phone - it's too big and bulky. It also makes for a sucky handheld because the A B buttons are incorporated into the number keypad. The only chance this has is if they make it NOT a phone and dump the price down to no more than 120 bucks and change the button scheme.
Old 07-24-03, 10:27 AM
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Good point on the pricing.

It's been a while since I saw a picture of the N-Gage, but isn't a little big for a cell phone?

I also believe it's not a flip phone, which would keep me from wanting one. I carry my phone in my pocket a lot, so I like small flip phones. They fit easy and you don't have to worry about buttons getting bumped (or screwing with locking the keys out etc.).
Old 07-24-03, 11:46 AM
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It's probably a bit big. However, as long as it will fit in my pocket, I'll be happy. Honestly, my 8260 is too small, I've never felt comfortable talking into it and I can't "cradle" it between my head and shoulder.

I like flip phones, but it seems like every one of them has an external antenna, which I cannot stand. I've broken far too many of them off.
Old 07-24-03, 03:44 PM
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I would rather spend money on a phone with a camera
Old 07-24-03, 03:51 PM
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camera phones are great, I think I have used mine like twice in the 4 or so months I have had it. I usually just grab a real digital camera when I really want a picture. I do agree that there will be deals out there for signing contracts and this phone will probably do decent enough. I've bought my share of crappy cell phones.
Old 07-26-03, 12:40 AM
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I got a pretty nice free hat from them, but the console is a piece of crap.
Old 07-26-03, 02:14 AM
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Sure, the console is a piece of crap compared to the GBA. But, is it better than 99% of the other phone + gaming systems? Yes.

Is it a perfect phone? No. Is it a pretty good phone, especially for someone like me? Yeah.

Pros:
Big enough I don't feel like a goober using it.
Small enough it should fit in my pocket.
I really don't want a camera phone.
It's a Nokia, so it should work at least decently.
It's a Nokia, so quality should be better than average, talk time better than average, and it shouldn't break.
No external antenna for me to break.
Best gaming system currently available in a phone that doesn't use Palm OS.
Not a flip phone -- I always feel like Captain Kirk phoning the Enterprise.

Cons:
Kinda odd.
Strange keypad -- not really great for phone, not really great for playing games
Might feel like a goober for being the only person to own N-Gage.
No cover for the keys.

I'm not trying to convince anyone they need or should get this phone. For me it makes a certain amount of sense, even as flawed as it is. If I can get it for a reasonable price, I'll probably buy it since I'll be in the market for a new phone when this one comes out.
Old 07-26-03, 04:58 PM
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Originally posted by einTier
I can't "cradle" it between my head and shoulder.
You won't be able to do that with the N-Gage, either. The phone part is on the narrow edge. You can see it if you turn the image on this page:

http://www.n-gage.com/n-gage/gd_spin_it.html

About your only option for comfort in using it as a phone will be to use an earpiece. Now, in its defense, it does come with a BlueTooth transponder built in, so you only have to pony up the extra money for the BlueTooth earpiece...but who wants to buy a phone and then pay extra in order to use it comfortably?
Old 07-27-03, 12:22 AM
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Hey thats kinda cool.

Not the N-Gage, that 3D thingy at the website. I didn't know webpages could do that, and with reflections too.

If it uses Bluetooth then you won't be able to use it while on a plane. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the FCC requires bluetooth enabled devices to be shut off while on planes. Is that true?
Old 07-27-03, 08:45 AM
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I would hope that if you were playing games that the dialing feature of the phone would be off by default.

Could you imagine your first phone bill if you were playing a button mashing fighter.

Oh the humanity!! :O
Old 07-27-03, 03:31 PM
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Originally posted by Outlaw
If it uses Bluetooth then you won't be able to use it while on a plane. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the FCC requires bluetooth enabled devices to be shut off while on planes. Is that true?
Ummm, I'm pretty sure that the FCC and the airlines require you to turn off your cell phones while on the plane. Whether or not it is Bluetooth enabled.
Old 07-27-03, 03:33 PM
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That is actually another knock angainst N-Gage, as if there isn't enough already.

If I want to play my GBA 10 minutes after the plane takes off, I can. But not the N-Gage or any other celluar device, because they need to stay off for the duration of the flight.

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