Am I the only one who is less than impressed by the N-Gage? I mean, the battery life for gaming alone doesn't even come close to a Gameboy and if you're using it for something else like, I dunno, making phone calls or something, then less than about a day is the best you can expect!!
Dimensions? What dimensions? My GBA SP fits in my pocket with no problem. The N-Gage turns itself sideways and gets stuck in my pocket, so I almost need a tug of war to get it out again! I thought the point of new technology was to reduce the size of products. I thought the term "brick" was long gone, but it appears to be alive and well in the form of the N-Gage. Nintendo have managed it! But then, they know what they're doing, don't they?
Then of course, there's the one stupid memory card slot. I bought the phone (or "gamedeck" as Nokia prefer) before any useful information was known about it (within days of its release). I was expecting one slot in the side for a memory card and one slot for games. I didn't realise I'd have to go through the lengthy process of turning the phone off, removing the cover, removing the existing card, inserting the new card, putting the battery back in, replacing the cover, turning the phone back on, waiting for it to "boot up", cancelling the Symbian error message when it does, sometimes having to turn it off and on again, etc. etc. It's just stupid. When the N-Gage was designed, someone else was definitely wearing the "designer's hat". I could have done a better job and I'm not even in the business! As it is, I can't even play a game and have MP3 ringtones at the same time. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to turn the phone off and on again. The Sumbian OS takes so long to sort itself out, it makes the whole process tedious and very irritating. For goodness sake, my Windows XP boots quicker than that - and that's made by Microsoft!!
Anyway, I think that's my soapbox time done for now. I'm very disappointed with the N-Gage and if I wasn't tied into a year's contract, I'd get rid of it tomorrow.
Originally posted by 600rr_biker
The Sumbian OS takes so long to sort itself out, it makes the whole process tedious and very irritating. For goodness sake, my Windows XP boots quicker than that - and that's made by Microsoft!!
Just a small correction... It's not the Symbian OS that is to blame for the slow boot up, blame Nokia. 😉
Originally posted by Raven
Just a small correction... It's not the Symbian OS that is to blame for the slow boot up, blame Nokia. 😉
I stand corrected! Many thanks!! 😃
Well, what can I say, not everybody can like N-Gage. I like it because it has gamedeck + phone inside. I don't need carry two devices with me (phone + gamedeck). Size doesn't bother me, fits fine on my pocket.
And I recharge my phone everyday, so it doesn't matter if the battery only lasts one day...
how many times do we have the same argument?I guess its like marmite, you either love it or you hate it. If you don't want to have to change the gamecrads, its apparently ok to crack the games, as you long as you own them, and put them on one mmc. And the reason the gameboy advance sp is smaller is it doesn't have half the features of the ngage. and don't forget that the first gameboy advance was pretty big, bigger than the ngage. So maybe when nokia release ngage2, it'll be more of a fair argument about dimensions.
One more thing, i'm all for people saying what they think, but you're not very likely to get many people agreeing with you on a n-gage forum that the thing they just paid �200 is rubbish
Originally posted by energy
Well, what can I say, not everybody can like N-Gage. I like it because it has gamedeck + phone inside. I don't need carry two devices with me (phone + gamedeck). Size doesn't bother me, fits fine on my pocket.And I recharge my phone everyday, so it doesn't matter if the battery only lasts one day...
Indeed, thanks for your experiences. I'm trying to follow Nokia's guidelines on battery usage, i.e. letting the battery completely run out before charging, but it always seems to run out just when I don't want it to.
I like playing the games on it (got Super Monkey Ball and Puzzle Bobble) and I totally see your point about carrying one device instead of two. My problem is that half the devices seems to equal half the usage time.
IMO, if Nokia expect the N-Gage to seriously compete in the hand held games market, they need to sort that battery length out. For my money, the N-Gage heralds back to the days of the Sega Game Gear for battery life. The GG took six AA batteries and constant playing saw them last no more than around a day. The same seems to be true of the N-Gage.
Originally posted by sco2001
how many times do we have the same argument?I guess its like marmite, you either love it or you hate it. If you don't want to have to change the gamecrads, its apparently ok to crack the games, as you long as you own them, and put them on one mmc. And the reason the gameboy advance sp is smaller is it doesn't have half the features of the ngage. and don't forget that the first gameboy advance was pretty big, bigger than the ngage. So maybe when nokia release ngage2, it'll be more of a fair argument about dimensions.
I see your point sco, but surely Nokia should have learned from Nintendo's example and produced a smaller and more accessible unit in the first place? I'm sure, as with all electronic products, it will become smaller, but I find myself wondering if the technology is already available for that to have been done with the first version.
Ref to your point about putting the games on one card, I wasn't aware this was possible. Is there a site you know of that explains how this is done?
Thanks!
right lets get facts straight here.
The battery life is 6 hours of gaming nonstop.
the normal phone use for battery life is 3 days not 1
radio can be played for 15 hours nonstop until battery goes.
so your wrong there.
Dimensions? its smaller than the gba. and slighty bigger than a sp.Unless your 8 it should fit in your pocket fine.
The changing games part takes 8.5 secs for me. If you don want to keep changing games backup them on a mmc card that can have loads of stuff on it so you wont have to change.
You can play radio and plays games at the same time somehow.
maybe you just dont want to like it or maybe you dont even own it. Because 100% of people i have seen who own it are very happy with it.
no, but i think it can only be done on linux. Wouldn't be able to post it here anyway.I'm sure you'll find out if you search hard enough
Originally posted by 600rr_biker
Am I the only one who is less than impressed by the N-Gage? I mean, the battery life for gaming alone doesn't even come close to a Gameboy and if you're using it for something else like, I dunno, making phone calls or something, then less than about a day is the best you can expect!!Dimensions? What dimensions? My GBA SP fits in my pocket with no problem. The N-Gage turns itself sideways and gets stuck in my pocket, so I almost need a tug of war to get it out again! I thought the point of new technology was to reduce the size of products. I thought the term "brick" was long gone, but it appears to be alive and well in the form of the N-Gage. Nintendo have managed it! But then, they know what they're doing, don't they?
Then of course, there's the one stupid memory card slot. I bought the phone (or "gamedeck" as Nokia prefer) before any useful information was known about it (within days of its release). I was expecting one slot in the side for a memory card and one slot for games. I didn't realise I'd have to go through the lengthy process of turning the phone off, removing the cover, removing the existing card, inserting the new card, putting the battery back in, replacing the cover, turning the phone back on, waiting for it to "boot up", cancelling the Symbian error message when it does, sometimes having to turn it off and on again, etc. etc. It's just stupid. When the N-Gage was designed, someone else was definitely wearing the "designer's hat". I could have done a better job and I'm not even in the business! As it is, I can't even play a game and have MP3 ringtones at the same time. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to turn the phone off and on again. The Sumbian OS takes so long to sort itself out, it makes the whole process tedious and very irritating. For goodness sake, my Windows XP boots quicker than that - and that's made by Microsoft!!
Anyway, I think that's my soapbox time done for now. I'm very disappointed with the N-Gage and if I wasn't tied into a year's contract, I'd get rid of it tomorrow.
Seriously, your arguments are totally nonsense.
Nokia N-Gage is a PHONE, it's a S60 phone and has same hardware and SAME BATTERY of 3650 and 6600 ... if you use it only making phone calls it's ok, battery last for a few days ... of course you CAN'T expect it could lasts more than a day if you use radio, mp3 and games at the same time! What possibly they could have done, put a small nuclear energy generator inside it?? Of course GBA lasts longer, it's only a handheld console! Even my 3310 battery's last longer, I only make phone calls and send SMS with it, it's so obvious I can't understand where's the problem ...
than there's the MMC problem.
First of all, buy a 256 meg card and you won't change it FOREVER, no matter what are you doing, listening to mp3 or games ... I can say N-Gage it's SUPERIOR to GBA because i don't even need to carry around additional cartdriges! Maybe they could do a more lasting battery and an external MMC slot but hey ... the PRICE, guys. The more complex a device is, the more does it cost. Here in Italy a 3650 costs 280 euro, a 3300 320 euro and a 6600 499 euro ... N-Gage is at 299 which make it very CHEAP! I didn't want to buy a handheld console, I wanted a Symbian phone with a mp3 player ... that's all. N-Gage gave me what I wanted and then some, with the radio fm and the ability to play games, some very good and some really crappy but who cares ... I didn't payed an extra price for it, compared to other phones.
See what I meant?
I get better battery life than one day. I'm used to routinely charging my cell phones anyway. I have a car charger as well.
But I haven't actually monitored it to any exact quantity. I've played games, talked on the phone and listened to the radio without needing to charge that day. I can get at least 3 days standby. I also have a T616, and I was keeping that charged about every 3 days. I personally am not noticing a huge difference between the two, but then again, this is not quantified.
Basically, the N-Gage seems to be a love it or hate it thing. Magazines mock it calling it a taco, etc, and yet I just saw it in a Stuff Magazine as one of the top 100 gadgets or something like that. So go figure. It's a personal preference, and people's opinions widely vary. I like it. It works well for me and has added functions that I didn't have before. I use it as a phone with no problem. It's different than any other phone out there.
It's too bad though that you're locked in since you dislike it that much. Unless you're able to exchange phones or something.
I can't see the problem using it sideways ... it's fun to see ok and I love that site, il really makes me laught but if you are that kind of person that mock the phone only because you're afraid people will laugh at you well, I think it's a big problem to care SO MUCH about what people may or may not think about you! I've read that using N-Gage it's "gay" ... I think that it's gay to have such superficial thought about a PHONE! It's only a device to call people, not a lifestyle ...
Thanks for feedback and opinions all.
I suppose I may have been expecting a bit too much from the N-Gage. I guess its somewhat reminiscent of those all-in-one printer/fax/scanner things that you can buy: they do several things, but none of them very well.
Whilst I fully appreciate that the N-Gage is a phone, I don't feel it should pretend to be something else if it can't do it as well. Yes, the N-Gage can play games and yes, it's damn impressive for what it is. But I can't help thinking about what it could have been if Nokia had spent a bit more time thinking about it first.
If they're going to squarely aim it at the GBA as a competitor, they've got to expect comparissons and that's where the N-Gage doesn't measure up IMO.
I don't profess to be an expert on mobile batteries - far from it. But if they're going to offer additional functionality in a device, they should at least do their absolute best to ensure all that functionality can be used for as long as possible; which they may have done, I don't know. If they've used the same battery as previous phones in the N-Gage however, I'm a little disappointed that some bright spark at Nokia didn't put their hand up in the development meeting and say "Please boss, if the N-Gage is going to do a lot more, shouldn't we give it a longer-lasting battery?".
Maybe I'm expecting technology to be top of the range AND affordable which, sadly, isn't going to happen. Cost is an inevitable consideration for all retail products, so unless we're millionaires, we'll still have to sacrifice true functionality for price.
Hell, maybe I should reject the new wave of "PC in your hand" phones and go back to a LCD screen!!
Hope anyone who wants an N-Gage for Christmas gets one!!! 😃
Originally posted by Vazkor
I can't see the problem using it sideways ... it's fun to see ok and I love that site, il really makes me laught but if you are that kind of person that mock the phone only because you're afraid people will laugh at you well, I think it's a big problem to care SO MUCH about what people may or may not think about you! I've read that using N-Gage it's "gay" ... I think that it's gay to have such superficial thought about a PHONE! It's only a device to call people, not a lifestyle ...
Hear hear!
I use the speakerphone feature usually, anyway. Damn, that must be what's using my battery up!! 😉
Say what?
The N-Gage can be a wonderful argument to hook up girls ( "WTF is ... THAT THING??" ) 😃
Just look it from the bright side 😃
Originally posted by 600rr_biker
Am I the only one who is less than impressed by the N-Gage? I mean, the battery life for gaming alone doesn't even come close to a Gameboy and if you're using it for something else like, I dunno, making phone calls or something, then less than about a day is the best you can expect!!
I think alot of people are making a mountain out of a mole hill here. It shudnt be expected that the battery last longer than a day. Surely it isnt that difficult to charge the phone every night or during any period of the day when the phone is not in use!
Also alot of people dont realise that have applications running in the background, which is cossuming the batery life and slowing the N-Gage down massively. I reckon you'll probably find at least one application running in the background if you check! (Hold down the menu key)
Originally posted by 600rr_biker
Dimensions? What dimensions? My GBA SP fits in my pocket with no problem. The N-Gage turns itself sideways and gets stuck in my pocket, so I almost need a tug of war to get it out again! I thought the point of new technology was to reduce the size of products. I thought the term "brick" was long gone, but it appears to be alive and well in the form of the N-Gage. Nintendo have managed it! But then, they know what they're doing, don't they?
I think your hopefully exagerating a little. My N-Gage fits fine in my pocket, but for obvious reasons is either kept in my bag or my carry case. Yea the phones big, but like someone already said look at the size of the GBA SP and look at all the extra features that are packed into the N-Gage, which isnt far off in size.
The N-Gage is the first of many N-Gage's to come, and like the GBA, will eventually get smaller and have major improvements in the features.
Originally posted by 600rr_biker
Then of course, there's the one stupid memory card slot. I bought the phone (or "gamedeck" as Nokia prefer) before any useful information was known about it (within days of its release). I was expecting one slot in the side for a memory card and one slot for games. I didn't realise I'd have to go through the lengthy process of turning the phone off, removing the cover, removing the existing card, inserting the new card, putting the battery back in, replacing the cover, turning the phone back on, waiting for it to "boot up", cancelling the Symbian error message when it does, sometimes having to turn it off and on again, etc. etc. It's just stupid. When the N-Gage was designed, someone else was definitely wearing the "designer's hat". I could have done a better job and I'm not even in the business! As it is, I can't even play a game and have MP3 ringtones at the same time. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to turn the phone off and on again. The Sumbian OS takes so long to sort itself out, it makes the whole process tedious and very irritating. For goodness sake, my Windows XP boots quicker than that - and that's made by Microsoft!!
This doesnt prove a fault in the N-Gage, it proves laziness. It honestly doesnt take that long to boot up or to exchange mmc.
My N-Gage takes just seconds to boot up. Possibly you have alot of applications installed on the device memory, which could be slowing the process down.
Originally posted by 600rr_biker
If they're going to squarely aim it at the GBA as a competitor, they've got to expect comparissons and that's where the N-Gage doesn't measure up IMO.
The N-Gage isnt in competition with the GBA, bacause it cannot compare with the N-Gage.
GBA SP:
- Games Console
N-Gage:
- Games Console
- Radio
- MP3 Player
- Video Player
- Dictaphone
- PDA
- PHONE!
The list goes on!
I nearly decided to go for a P900 or a 7700, thank god i didnt! 😃
I enjoy showing off my N-Gage to collegues who have all the usual anti N-Gage opinions. Once they've seen it and what it can do they're all 'Wow that's really cool!' especially once they see movies running on it! - do that on your GBA 😊. I do get mocked a little when talking into the handset but most of the time I use the handsfree - it doesn't bother me anyway. It wouldn't surprise my if a few more appear in the office after Christmas.
Game on!
Pix.
I am an avid supporter of the sendo x but i just bought myself an n-gage for 130 pounds. All i can say is that its great may not be small but is the cheapest symbian 60 phone around that supports mmc cards. So i love it. I will be probably buying the sendo x later but this babe has certainly impressed me. Huraa for n-gage
[well,i really think u need to be informed that the n gage is the cheapest Symbian os till date(by Nokia),its has a good game deck and also an mp3 and an mmc which supports a 512card.....unlike sonyerricson p900, plus radio and on and on......
N gage was at 300$ and now nokia has reduced it to a drastic 200$ thats 33% in reduction.and about the mmc fiasco that u had written,how many times do u need to remove it.....😃
yes the sad part is ans the phone without the head set i.e the normal yaw,but u get to agree with me that even those guys have to find a way to put all this in a package so its kinda tough.moreover the size is not that bad if people can use the 9210 as a status symbol then this should rock.....
its like u have a HARLEY V ROD and others have a Honda' or a Y R1....😎
theres only 2 probs i can find with the n-gage
1) u cant talk on it by resting under chin (no hands style) like on other mobiles
2)it was designed by nokia wich means the os has some major errors as allways with nokia , i.e the radio that dont work without head being pluged in , i mean whats that about just lazy programming if u ask me , i could keep going with this list but i dont want to , there are to many errors in nokia coding
BUT all this said i love my n-gage its the nutts , but nokia strike again and are releasing a new one in the new year , so thanks again for that nokia ( and they wonder why i wont take there job offer lol)
I think this is to recieve the signal, acts as an aeriel.
The hands free is used as an inducatance loop so no aerial no radio.