Nokia to revamp flawed N-Gage

Mobile-phone giant Nokia is set to announce the first major revamp of its N-Gage game player, addressing many of the design and business issues that have limited sales of the current version.

The N-Gage QD is set to go on sale in the US in late June, priced at $199. The new version is about 20 per cent smaller than the original and has been redesigned for more comfortable use as a mobile phone.

Nokia introduced the N-Gage last year as a high-end multifunction device with basic mobile phone functions, advanced graphics for games and a built-in MP3 player.

The device met with wide-ranging criticism and consumer apathy, however, and Nokia executives have acknowledged that sales have been at the low end of expectations.

Criticisms have focused on the device's physical design, which forces users to hold the N-Gage on edge to use it as a cell phone and to remove the battery to swap out game cartridges. The new QD has its speaker and microphone mounted on the front, so it's held flat when used as a mobile phone. It also has an easy-to-reach multimedia card slot for game cartridges.

Nada Vsina, general manager of entertainment media for Nokia's American division, said: "We've gotten a lot of learning with the N-Gage over the last few months. We took that feedback from consumers and really worked to address those concerns."

The current N-Gage also has been rapped for offering few games that exploit the device's connectivity options - only three games currently offer multiplayer connections via GSM phone connection. Vsina said Nokia expects to have 50 new N-Gage titles on the market by the end of this year, 75 percent of which will offer multiplayer sessions via the N-Gage Arena service.

David Becker writes for News.com