Nokia N-Gages Again - the QD

The N-Gage QDNokia today announced the N-Gage QD game deck, the latest addition to the N-Gage platform featuring many upgrades and improvements over the original N-Gage and, surprisingly, a few downgrades too. Our main complaints with the original N-Gage were the need to remove the battery to change a game card, and the infamous side-talking "feature", which has spawned numerous jokes. Thankfully, both these issues have been fixed in the N-Gage QD, but not much else has changed over the original N-Gage. The QD still has a 4K screen, although Nokia claims the new one is brighter, and is only slightly smaller than the original. Battery life has increased in the QD by bumping up the battery from 850 mAh to 1070 mAh, which should help counter the short battery life of the original, especially when playing games. The QD is also dual-band now, with 2 versions shipping - one for Europe with 900/1800 bands, and one for America with 850/1900 bands. Most disappointingly, Nokia has removed the FM radio and MP3 playback functionality of the QD and made the handsfree port mono only. This may have been to bring the focus of the N-Gage back to the games rather than its other functions since a lot of people bought the N-Gage as a cheap MP3 player. Finally, I was surprised to hear that this new N-Gage wouldn't have a camera. Considering how popular they are in the youth market, it seems strange that Nokia would leave it out.

One benefit of removing the radio and MP3 player will be that the QD will be available at a lower price point than the original, with a price tag of about €199/$199 untaxed. This should be lowered with a contract to around €99/$99, which should put it within reach of most teenagers. Nokia plans to release the QD in May in Europe and June in North America.

Importantly, this new N-Gage will be compatible with games made for the original. The list of N-Gage games continues expanding even with the release of cracked versions playable on other Series 60 devices.

We can see from the specifications that the N-Gage QD is not the rumored "N-Gage 2", but more of a "N-Gage 1.2". Also, it isn't a replacement for the N-Gage, but a separate device which will allow users to pick a game deck based on the features they'll use. With the main issues of the original N-Gage rectified and a lower price, could the QD emerge as an unexpected hit?

Specifications for the Nokia N-Gage QD
Band	Dualband GSM (900/1800 or 850/1900)
Data	GPRS
Size	118mm x 68mm x 22mm, 123cc
Weight	143g
Battery Life	240 hours standby time
	3.5 hours talk time, 5-10 hours game time
Main Display	4k color TFT, 176x208 resolution
Sub-Display	None
Camera	No
Video	No
Text Messaging	MMS/EMS/SMS
Email	Yes [(POP/IMAP/SMTP)]
Browser	WAP v2
Bluetooth	Yes
Infrared	No
Java	Yes (MIDP v2.0)
Polyphonics	MIDI and WAV ringtones
Radio	No
Memory	3.4MB, hot-swappable MMC memory card slot
Other	No side-talking, Series 60 OS.

More high-res photos are available on the following pages.

 

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