Howdy people i received my N-gage this morning, i am now waiting for it to charge up (been messing around with my new toy all day, hehe) so i figured i might as well do something useful like post up a "first impressions" post. Here goes:
1. Before my nokia n-gage
Before deciding to purchase an n-gage i did alot of reserach (which everyone normally does). I must admit reading up about the n-gage was exicting as well as worrying, would the games be as good as everyone says? How long will the battery last? Will I look like a complete idiot holding a Taco to my head? and plenty more which i hope will become clear in this review. I had previously owned a 7650 and a 3650, could the n-gage hold up to both of these??
2. Opening the box and turning on
Something which struck me when i opened the box as i took my first glance of the n-gage was how slim it was, the phone feels MUCH slimmer then the nokia 3650, i think it might be cause the n-gage is more flatter whereas the 3650 is more curved. The screen looks much sharper (perhaps cause it was brand new and no scratches), the icons look more smoother (compaired to 3650) and the key layout was very nice. I had one immediate concern which was the D-pad (the navigation part), it was TINY (but i will go into that part later). Holding the n-gage was a very nice experience, fits well into my hands and pocket 😉
3. Making the dreaded call in public!
This was something which i wasnt in a hurry to do but i got a phone call wile i was at the shops, at first i had to check i was talking into the right bit, but to my suprise it wasnt as difficult as i had read on some reviews. You can hear perfectly and i didnt experience any ear ache which i read on some reviews. Holding the n-gage in that position felt weird but you get use to it straight away.
4. Games Games Games!
So whats the games like i hear you say. Ok first i must point out that i HATE tony hawks and Tomb rad on the PC so things were not looking good from the start. Both games were "ok" not really my cup of tea, i tried a few out, must were quite good, fifa 2004 is great fun when you get into the swing, splinter cell is very good and pandamonium is a clear fav (after fifa). I would like to make a point, just cause the games on the n-gage might not be your fav doesnt mean the n-gage cannot perform, i mean the game deck is only as good as the games allow, im sure we will see more better (in terms of graphics and gameplay) in the near future to suit all as game numbers increase. I also found out the Tiny D-pad was excellent in the games, i feared before that it might be too small but its a perfect size, not to small and not too big
5. General Phone usages
The n-gage is exactly the same as the 7650 and 3650 to use, if you liked them you will love this, if you didnt (dont see why you wouldnt) then you won't. I must admit when i first used the 7650 many years ago (well it seems like that) it took some time to get use to it. The keys are very nice on the n-gage but i feel there are two buttons missing on the top (like with the old SNES pad) but then i guess there would be no place to put speaker and mic (ill get to that in a bit).
6. Concerns from reseach
Wile researching i had some points which reviewer made a very big fuss about which i would like to explain.
6.1 Horzontal screen.
I read somewhere, this guy was complaining about the screen, saying how terriable it was to play games on screen as it wasnt conventional by mordern standards. Let me tell you, the screen works fine, you can't tell its tall rather then wide when your in the middle of scoring a goal in fifa so pay no attention to that
6.2 Another point about the buttons, when i was researching i found some concern about the buttons, yes the games use different buttons not just 5 and 7, different games use more e.g. fifa.
6.3 talking into a taco isnt that bad, i had intially planned using super glue on the hands free kit is i never intended to talk into the phone but i havent even taken it out of the box yet :P
7. Changes to the n-gage please
7.1 My main change i would make is the mic and speaker. I ideally would have liked to see it located on the back of the phone.
7.2 External MMC slot. It would have been nice to have an external MMC slot so you don't have to take apart the phone to change game
8. Final words
Ok my phone is nearly charged so i better end this sometime today!. Ok n-gage is a very good phone gets a 8/10 from me, games are great, nice size but like everything in this world, there is always room for improvement. At the moment i love my n-gage and look forward for some new games but there are plenty out at the moment to keep me out of trouble 😊
PS i have probably missed alot of points but my n-gage need some attention now its charged up :P i hope people considering to by an n-gage get some enlightenment from this review, any q's or comments feel free to post
ceanth