When the original N-Gage launched late last year, Nokia struggled to establish its brand in the marketplace and the results of that are still visible today. The gamedeck was an ambitious hybrid of many things which ultimately lead to too compromises and several key design flaws. Changing games took over 70 seconds, using it as a phone required you to hold it in an incredibly awkward angle and the games simply weren't up to standard. The potential was there, but with the media and retail largely ignoring it, it wasn't going to go anywhere fast. Six months have passed and the Finnish giant is back with a brand new gamedeck named QD and it shows Nokia's real desire to learn from its mistakes and evolve.
The most immediate difference between the QD and the original gamedeck is its distinctly reshaped body. The QD has shrunk in width and become slightly fatter, resulting in a more compact, bulkier frame. Clad in a black rubber rim, the edges provide more grip than previously, with covers for various sockets set flush against it for protection. The buttons have been completely redesigned and moved around the face of the gamedeck, with most of them now residing in a cluster on the right. Now more pronounced than on the original, the d-pad feels more comfortable, with a new 'accept' button residing alongside it to simplify menu navigation. The patterned fascia of the first gamedeck has gone, replaced by simple black and grey tones, with a sleek oval logo on the rear of the device. The QD certainly looks and feels better than its predecessor, but what about those design flaws that plagued the original?
One of the first things Nokia did when they redesigned the N-Gage was to alter the way it's used as a phone. The old model forced you to use the device at a right angle to your head like a giant plastic ear extension (named "sidetalking" by some), but the QD does away with this and reverts to the standard convention of holding the device flat against your ear. The reduced size and curved shape of the console also makes it noticeably more comfortable to use as a phone and compact enough to pass off as a standard phone.
The second major criticism that many had of the original N-Gage was the way in which games were changed. You had to power down the device, remove the back plate, remove the battery, take out the game, put in a new game, put the battery back in, slide the backplate on, power up the system and then play the new game. The QD makes light work of the same task though, with the game slot easily accessible on the side of the device and the power not needing to be turning off to swap media cards. Sacrifices have been made to reduce the size of the console and adjust its layout though, with the MP3 player, USB connection and FM radio all absent from the QD, although these aren't the greatest losses admittedly.
As a phone, the QD is even more accomplished than its predecessor, sporting all the features you're likely to find in any of today's top handsets. There's the usual calendar, images, web browser, calculator, clock, composer and so on, with the interesting additions of a video player and a peerless help section. What's even better though, is that the new layout and modifications that the QD has makes the N-Gage much useable as a phone. The large screen, together with the device's layout make functions like text messaging incredibly easy. Whether deliberately or not, Nokia's alteration of the gamedeck design has made the N-Gage even better than most normal devices at some tasks. 'QD' stands for 'Quaque Die' which is Latin for 'everyday', and you know, I can see people actually using this as their primary phone; I certainly will be.
Phone or not, it's the games that count here and that's exactly what the platform is lacking at the moment. The first wave of titles were almost exclusively ports from other consoles and most weren't nearly as enjoyable as they should have been. It's not that the games were bad, it's that they're weren't good value for money - at around £25 (or $30 in the US) a piece, you're going to want something with plenty of replay value. Nokia have developed few games themselves and that's an issue that they need to pick up on and fix. Nintendo would collapse if it didn't make its own games because people buy their hardware simply because the first party games are of a high standard. Software sales drive hardware sales, not the other way round.
That said, it appears that decent games are beginning to filter onto the platform over the next year or so. Call of Duty, Ghost Recon and other well known brands will be appearing on the N-Gage soon, but more notably, brand new titles like Pathway to Glory and Requiem of Hell are on their way later this year. What would be nice to see is some compilations of simple but fun games, like we've seen with Warioware on the Gameboy Advance. It's games like that which embrace the whole concept of playing in short bursts when you're on the move that will do well if crafted with care and imagination. It's just a real shame that the device is so low down on developers' priority lists with the PSP and DS grabbing all the attention and support.
I was genuinely surprised by the QD; it shows such fighting spirit on the part of Nokia and a willingness not to give up. They made a mistake with the original gamedeck, but more importantly, they've learnt from it. The new N-Gage is more focused on gaming, with a significantly better design which makes all the difference. It's even good enough to be considered as a serious replacement for your standard phone and this appears to be the exact spot in the market where Nokia wants to be. Their mission seems to be accomplished in that aspect, but there's still a lot of work to be done in the software department, persuading developers to start creating exclusive and entertaining content for the platform. The N-Gage has had a shaky start, but the QD is a step in the right direction and one that shows that there's a lot more to come from Nokia's platform in the future.
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