Nokia Corp was to unveil a stripped-down, cheaper version of its N-Gage yesterday that eschews value-added features in favor of basic functions -- gaming and telephony.
The hope is that that new N-Gage will improve on the disappointing sales of the original model, which was launched five months ago amid heavy hype only to encounter a litany of complaints.
Gamers largely dismissed the original for its large size, small screen and impractical way of loading games.
The world's No. 1 cellphone company sees its target market for the new N-Gage as "people who are active, are out there and want to play games," Ilkka Raiskinen, Nokia's senior vice president of games, said.
Raiskinen said that while the original N-Gage was priced at US$299 in the US, the new model, dubbed the QD by Nokia, will retail there for US$199 -- with lower prices when combined with a mobile provider's service.
Major changes include the way games are loaded. The first version required the battery to be removed and a multimedia card installed. Now, the card is hot swappable and game play can start at the touch of a button. The MP3 player is also history.
So is the USB port. Instead, Nokia will rely on Bluetooth wireless technology to connect to a computer.
The QD does retain its gaming mission, though, increasing the number of colors on its screen to more than 65,000 from the 4,096 of the original and increasing the battery life to a full 10 hours of playing time, or weeks of standby.
Raiskinen said several games are being developed for the new device, and most will be compatible with both the original N-Gage and the QD version.
Ewan Spence, who co-owns the All About N-Gage Web site, said the more games available, the better.
"Most of the N-Gage gamers will have already played the original version of Tony Hawk to death," he said. "If you're going for a gaming machine, you need games."
The original N-Gage has more than 10 games already available, with more coming. Another 50 are in development for QD and most will be compatible between the two devices.
Sales of the first N-Gage reached 600,000 worldwide from October to January, but that was boosted by subsidized packages offered by some telecoms.
In December, the device's popularity was questioned after Arcadia Research, an independent marketing research firm, claimed only 5,000 units were sold in the US. Nokia reported shipping 400,000 to US retailers.
In January, chief executive Jormilla Ollila conceded that sales had not met expectations. The company won't offer projected sales figures for the new N-Gage.
The QD will be released in Europe, Africa and Asia next month, and a month later in North and South America.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique