Introduction

In the first six months since the original N-Gage was released, Nokia realized it had made some mistakes due to lackluster sales. As a result, it has recently announced the release of its improved version of the first-generation N-Gage phone / multiplayer gaming system, called the N-Gage QD.

Nokia has stressed that the new N-Gage QD isn't N-Gage 2.0, but rather still based on the original platform. The 2.0 platform will not be expected to surface until 2005 at the earliest. The N-Gage QD is built upon the existing N-Gage platform but has some improved features that should have been on the original.

Since we will be comparing the original N-Gage and the new N-Gage QD quite extensively, it can be quite confusing distinguishing which one is being referenced. For simplicity's sake, further mention of the original N-Gage will be "N-Gage" while the recently released improved N-Gage QD will be called "N-Gage QD" or simply "QD."

Design

One of the first noticeable changes was the design of the N-Gage QD. The original N-Gage's microphone and speaker were located on the top. This forced users to hold the phone on edge. Due to the N-Gage's shape, the term "taco phone" or "elephant ear" came to be synonymous with embarrassed users talking on the N-Gage. Many people complained about it's awkward shape and even more awkward design as a phone.

Nokia listened and created the QD to have the earpiece and speaker on the front allowing for a much more natural way of answering the phone. Additionally, the dimensions are slightly smaller at 118 x 68 x 22 mm, compared to the 133 x 70 x 22 mm of the N-Gage. But unfortunately, that makes the N-Gage QD slightly harder to grip.

The N-Gage QD keypad has been altered as well. Many consumers have complained that the original N-Gage's keypad was too stiff to be used comfortably. Fortunately, the QD has been redesigned to include a more responsive keypad.

The directional keypad has also lost the ability to be pressed down. Instead of a 5-way keypad, the QD has a 4-way keypad with an extra button below. As to if this is better or not will depend on the user. Some may find it frustrating to pick up their thumb to press the button, while others may find the change refreshing.

Although some changes were cosmetic, others are functional. A major concern about the N-Gage was the hassle of changing games. Users needed to turn off the unit, remove the back cover, and then take out the battery in order to finally get to the game slot. Since this made swapping games difficult and time consuming, Nokia has designed the N-Gage QD have the ability to hot swap through a side compartment.

Basic Features

The basic features of the N-Gage QD are mostly unchanged from the original. However, the phone is now either dual-band GSM 850 / 1900 (Americas) or GSM 900 / 1800 (Europe, Asia, and Africa). The original N-Gage was tri-band 900 / 1800 / 1900.

Now the QD will not be able to used worldwide. However, this is not necessarily a drawback. For U.S. consumers, the addition of the 850 MHz frequency allows the QD to work across Cingular and AT&T's mixed networks where the original could not before.

The QD's operating platform is the Symbian 6.1 OS, not 7 like other Nokia phones. Nokia has also managed to increase its battery life from the original 6 hours of gameplay, to the new QD's 10 hours by bumping up the battery from 850 mAh to 1070 mAh.

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