Nokia Ireland defends N-Gage
14-11-2003
by Dick O'Brien

Nokia on Friday defended criticisms of its new N-Gage gaming phone and said the device was on track to make an impression in the pre-Christmas market.

The N-Gage has been criticised in the technology press for the fact that the phone's battery has to be removed to change games. In addition, the phone has to be held sideways to make and receive calls.

According to Gavin Barrett, entertainment and media manager at Nokia Ireland, the phone was too far advanced along its development cycle for any changes to be made when the issue was raised. "We had the choice of launching a quality gaming device immediately, or waiting for a year to make more changes and it was decided it was strong enough to launch immediately," he said.

Barrett confirmed that the N-Gage was the first generation of Nokia gaming devices and that further devices would come in time. He also stated that the firm had no plans to license the platform to other manufacturers.

N-Gage launched in October, without the support of the major mobile networks. Nokia said it has since become its best selling SIM-free handset in Ireland. Network support has now come, with O2 selling the device for EUR299 with a pre-pay package. Nokia expects Vodafone to announce its price within days. Barrett said that the number of N-Gage games will rise to 10 by the end of the month and the firm expects to have 15 on the market by Christmas.

Barrett was speaking at a media briefing in Dublin which offered an insight into forthcoming product launches by the firm. Nokia's novel 6800 handset, with a fold-out full keyboard, will receive an update next year with the arrival of the 6810, which will add Bluetooth and tri-capability amongst other capabilities. Also scheduled for launch is the 6820, which will include the same extra features along with a built-in camera.

The company also gave a preview of the new 7700 media phone, which was launched recently. The phone is a touchscreen device with no keypad, which will include features such as a full Web browser, music and video playback and streaming, an integrated VGA camera, an FM radio, multimedia messaging support, Bluetooth and e-mail support.

In the fashion category, Nokia also provided a look at the 7200, the company's first "clamshell" phone. Along with a colour screen and camera, the phone features changeable fabric covers, something of a first in mobile phone design.

Despite promises of a Communicator announcement from Nokia executives earlier this year, the company still had no news on this front and Barrett said that something should be expected early in the new year.

Elsewhere, the company confirmed that it was developing Wi-Fi products and the technology may appear in devices next year. Regarding 3G, it had no news other than to confirm that it continued to work with Irish networks on 3G development.