Reg Review The trouble with Nokia's N-Gage, say the gamers, is that it's a phone, not a console. Likewise, handset specialists bemoan what cramming mobile phone functionality into a handheld console has done to the telephony experience.

Nokia, of course, can't win. In devising a device that attempts to leverage the growing demand from games in phones by bringing the games business to the mobile world, it inevitably runs the risk of failing to please either gamers or phone users, just as the first smartphones didn't meet the needs of PDA fans or consumers who want more from their handsets.

After giving the N-Gage a whirl, it's clear some of the grumbles are justified. The device definitely exhibits a kind of schizophrenia, not knowing what kind of device it should be. For example, it requires a SIM card. As a phone, the N-Gage needs one, as a console it doesn't. Nokia is adamant that the machine is first and foremost a console, but you can't play games without one.

And yet adding a new game card requires all the manual dexterity and device deconstruction that is needed to insert a SIM card into a phone. If PDAs can offer open, buffered SD or CompactFlash slots, why can't the N-Gage?

But do the inevitable limitations imposed by hybridising two distinct device types matter as much as many game players and handset reviewers have made out? Is the N-Gage fundamentally flawed, or has Nokia got the balance right?

The N-Gage certainly looks the part. On either side of the nice but small 176 x 208 LCD are the usual Nokia-look call and hang-up buttons (at the top), and menu buttons below the screen. On the right-hand side sit the numeric/text pad. Over on the left is the joypad and, to fill a space, buttons for three apps: Music Player, Radio and the application launcher. One of these really should run whatever game card you've got inserted.

Around the side of the device is the on/off switch (right-hand side), twin headphone sockets (underneath), and USB port and power jack (left-hand side). There's a microphone in there too, and a loudspeaker.

A smartphone, not a smart phone

As a smartphone, we enjoyed using the N-Gage more than we did Sony Ericsson's new P900. Much as we liked the P900's hardware, we didn't get on so well with its UIQ user interface. We weren't keen on its look and feel, and found it slow and unresponsive to use. The N-Gage's shares the P900's Symbian OS foundation, but uses Nokia's own Series 60 UI. It's not only more aesthetically pleasing than UIQ, but felt quicker to use.

We ran Apple's iSync to transfer nearly 300 contacts to the N-Gage via Bluetooth. The software detected the device immediately, and the sync was fast and free of the 'will it work this time or not' uncertainty we experienced with the P900.

Scrolling through the list of names was reasonably quick, but jumping to a letter made tracking down the right individual even fast. Select them, and up come their details. Scroll down to phone numbers - highlighted with telephone or mobile icons - or email address, and initiating a call or sending a message is a click away.

Calendar entries are similarly easy to read, cramming in not only appointment details, but day, week and month views that are pleasant to read. There's no need to squint. On the basis of the P900's UI, we decided we couldn't move from our trusty PalmOne Tungsten to a smartphone. Having tried Series 60 on the N-Gage, we're no longer so sure.

The N-Gage lacks a stylus, so you're forced to use the numeric keypad SMS-fashion to add entries and enter information like email account details. It's not easy - though we're sure frequent txt'rs won't have any problem - but once it's done, it's done. We suspect that Nokia believes - not unreasonably - most folk with a large contacts list will either have them in the SIM, or keep them on a computer.

In phone mode, the handset displays the time, date, network and phone-relevant icons for voice messages and so on. In place of a Nokia handset's usual Menu and Names on-screen options, you can go to Contacts or Messaging - the N-Gage's unified in-box app - but these two options can easily be changed.

You can't change what the N-Gage's physical buttons do. Pressing the launcher control displays icons representing available applications, some stored in sub-folders, displayed in a grid or as a list. You can quickly select any of them using the joypad, and you can move icons up to the main listing, into other folders, or change the order in which they're displayed. Alongside the PIM apps available are RealOne Player for video, Images (photos), Composer (write your own ringtones), plus apps for all the usual Nokia phone options, such a usage profiles, Bluetooth and so on.

Nokia doesn't get everything right. We've mentioned the SIM requirement. Similarly, Music Player quits if there's no memory or game card in place, whether they have MP3 content on board or not.

Games appear as an icon in the root directory. Once selected and launched, the game stays in memory until the N-Gage is turned off. Pressing the phone keys, or one of the application buttons takes you away from the game. Relaunching it from the application launcher takes you straight back to where you were, as if you'd left it on pause. This is a boon for gamers and infinitely superior to forcing you to start the game from scratch each time.

Some titles will let you save the game state too. We recommend you do so - the N-Gage isn't beyond crashing and taking your current game data with it.

Coming out to play

We tried the N-Gage out with Tomb Raider, which for all its Tomb Raider 4 icon and title graphics is the first game in the series. Play felt fast and the control was responsive. The graphics aren't exactly Nvidia or ATI quality, but fine for a software renderer. Only the portrait display - rather than the landscape orientation we're used to playing games in, on a computer - felt odd, but you soon get sufficiently wrapped up in things not to notice.

The screen size is an issue, leading to bent backs and squinting eyes, but that's true of every handheld console we've tried, from the Atari Lynx onward. But the N-Gage's screen is smaller than most, limited by what the Series 60 UI can support. Again, Nokia's phone-centricity playing working to the detriment of the device's console functionality.

Dedicated consoles also offer more dedicated controls - aside from the joypad, the N-Gage simply uses the numeric pad for gameplay. Still, it's remarkably comfortable to use, though if every key is required, it can take some getting used to. The N-Gage sits nicely in a pair of adult hands, resting on second fingers, with thumbs over the front.

While the N-Gage feels good to hold when you're playing games or accessing the PIM apps, that's not the case if you're making a call. Perhaps if you're in the habit of using a headset - be it an overpriced Bluetooth job or a regular wired one - it might not matter, but we're not and it does. You can hold the N-Gage up to your ear as you would any other phone, but it's not comfortable. And which way up it goes is anyone's guess. The handset also operates as a speakerphone. That's handy when you're stationary but of little use if you're on the move.

The loudspeaker is activated on an application by application basis, and once turned on, you can largely get away without a headset. But powering down the device automatically turns each app's loudspeaker setting off, so have to turn it on again with each app you use.

The obvious answer might be to leave the N-Gage on. But you have to turn it off to change games. This involves removing the back cover, pulling out the battery, pushing down a catch and finally releasing the card that's in there already. Nokia seems to believe users will stick with one game until it's done, but our experience is that gamers like to mix and match.

The online dimension

We've talked a lot about the N-Gage hardware, and about the imbalance between phone and console features. Yes, Nokia hasn't got the balance right, but then neither would Nintendo or Sony, we suspect. But focusing on the hardware tells only half the story. Equally important is the device's online side.

Head-to-head Bluetooth gaming is a part of this, but not, we suspect, a key one. Some gamers will try it, a few might even do so regularly, but we suspect many won't. It works, but it's clearly dependent on knowing fellow gamers who own N-Gages too. We reckon more owners will use Bluetooth for headsets, at least for the immediate future. N-Gage LAN parties are some way off yet, we think.

No, what N-Gage offers that even the upcoming Playstation Portable lacks is an online community. We were dismissive of this when Nokia described it at the console's launch, but we found ourselves enjoying our attempts to race through Tomb Raider levels faster than a host of fellow gamers had managed it. Or watching replays of games, secret item locations, hints and tips, not only provided by Nokia, but by other users. Even their attempts at movie-making - balletic death leaps seem to be the 'in' thing - are fun to watch.

Nokia's N-Gage Arena doesn't yet provide head-to-head network play, but it will. And even the 'shadow' combat - playing against game sequences uploaded by other users to see if you can complete levels more quickly - has a real appeal. Yes, having engaged in many a fierce online real-time firefight, we were sceptical too, but it's surprisingly engaging. As yet, there aren't many players - we counted just 17 in the Orange Tomb Raider league, for instance - but more will come.

Verdict

As a phone, the N-Gage is hard to recommend. The software and user interface are excellent, but its console design makes the hardware unfriendly and clumsy to use for voice unless you pay extra for a Bluetooth headset.

As a console, the N-Gage is flawed, but a gem nonetheless. We expected to be disappointed, but ultimately enjoyed using it. It's really only screen size that lets it down. Like all console in their early days, there aren't enough games, but hopefully they'll come. N-Gage uses the Mophun games engine, also used by Sony Ericsson and others, so game developers are not working in a vacuum.

And, unlike its rivals, N-Gage does provide a true online, as opposed to simply a networking, experience.

But here's a word of caution. N-Gage has its merits, but we've seen too many entries into the mobile market being beaten by better alternatives or let down by a paucity of top-brand titles. Nokia is a worthy challenger, but it will have its work cut out competing against GameBoy's extensive software catalogue and the prospect of Sony's entry into the market - even the knowledge that the PSP is coming is enough to keep some buyers waiting before they purchase. It may also persuade games developers to target other platforms.

Nokia's advantage is that its future doesn't depend on N-Gage - the console is an experiment in handset diversification. Nokia may not have won the game, but N-Gage has certainly helped it clear the first level. ®

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