Nonstop gaming and chatting with N-Gage

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id

Lately, the Japanese have been worrying about the future of their nation. The reason? Their youths spend their time on the subway playing digital games.

In the past, the youngsters would spend time reading books. Today, their eyes are fixed to the display screens of their cellular phones or PDAs.

In South Korea, Internet cafes have to be patrolled by the authorities. Otherwise, youths less than 18 years old would stay up until the morning playing endless computer games. But at least in Korea, game development has grown into a giant industry, earning the country a huge amount of foreign exchange.

Up north in China, the same industry is currently enjoying a boom period. The All China Sports Federation, as reported by www.china.org, has officially recognized video games as a "sanctioned sport".

Whether we like it or not, game addiction is spreading like wildfire. But when Nokia launches its N-Gage game deck this week in Indonesia, I will not be too concerned.

First, this is a device with a price tag that is beyond what most people can afford. Second, those who can afford to buy it would be able to buy a fast personal computer with a fast graphic processor and a lot of graphic memory as well. The N-Gage will just extend their gaming activity while they are away from their PCs.

More play than talk

A quick observation will immediately tell us that the N-Gage is not a "cell phone first and a game device next". Nokia has not intended it to be so. In fact, it is the other way around. The Finnish company calls this device a "game deck" instead of a cell phone. So think of it as a game console with full-fledged cellular phone capability.

The unit itself is very well built. The round, five-way rocker button feels sturdy and quite responsive. It has to be, because it functions as the joystick for the games that are played on it.

While the rocker button is on left of the screen, the keypad is on the right. The keys are arranged logically, so unlike the original Nokia 3650 -- there will be no problem entering text on the N-Gage.

The buttons for the music player, the radio and the menu are located on the left. One peculiarity that users will have to get used to is that the Clear button is on the left. On almost all other Nokia cell phones, this button is for the right thumb.

My demo unit came with Tomb Raider already installed. Although I am not a game junkie, I should say that the 3-D graphics on the game were simply stunning.

Talking about the display, it is as good as the other high-end cellular phones from the same company, only larger. In fact, it is quite a bit larger than the screen on my N6800. How I wish all cell phones had screens this size.

The upcoming Media Device N7700 will have a very large screen, but it uses a different operating system and the characters will still look tiny.

N-Gage comes with RealOne Player. Unfortunately, there was no video or audio clip that I could play to see how well it performed. Downloading and synchronizing could be done with a supplied USB cable.

The headset still uses the old single-shaft jack, and the sound can be enhanced by increasing the bass. I like the sound of the radio. There is also a line-in jack, which allows you to record music from a CD or MP3 player.

This device already has Bluetooth. Strangely, it does not have infrared capability. I would say that we still need both, as not all notebooks are equipped with Bluetooth.

On the bright side, a Bluetooth can now be had for only about US$35. Incidentally, two people can play interactive games with the help of the Bluetooth.

Battery life may be the N-Gage's Achilles' heel, especially if the Bluetooth is left on all the time. Be prepared to recharge the battery every night -- or at least every other night -- when you go to sleep if you are a devoted gamer.

The cell phone

The N-Gage belongs to the Series 60 category, which means that its user interface is similar to Nokia's other high-end cell phones such as the classic N7650 and the new N6600.

It has all the common calling facilities, such as voice dialing and speed dialing, as well as conference calls. Because this is a game console, the speaker can produce a loud output.

It can be equipped with a memory card, too. Recording radio programs can only be done if you have a memory card.

Despite its comprehensive communications features, N-Gage is not for people who need to communicate a lot. Simply because of its size and weight and the fact that you normally have to hold it with both hands, it is not comfortable for your everyday communications.

However, as far as gaming is concerned, there is no doubt it is an exciting game device, and it has already attracted a cult of dedicated users.

Besides Nokia's own dedicated N-Gage portal, N-Gage owners can visit N-Gage World (www.ngageworld.com). This website has no affiliation with Nokia, but it is chock-full with N-Gage games. You will find tons of N-Gage news there, too, which indicates that N-Gage indeed has its own community of fans.

On a more serious side, Nokia has announced a competition for N-Gage game developers, which will run through March. Anybody interested?