Nokia 5320 XpressMusic takes N-Gage beyond Nseries
And that could take the games platform to a wider audience
A common way of explaining N-Gage is to describe it as a 'mobile games platform running on several Nokia Nseries handsets', since so far it's only been available on Nokia's high-end phones (sorry, 'multimedia computers').
However, we'll have to amend that description now. Nokia has just unveiled a new phone, the 5320 XpressMusic, which will support N-Gage when it goes on sale this Autumn.
In fact, it'll have dedicated N-Gage gaming keys, although it appears users will have to download the N-Gage application, rather than it being preloaded on the device.
It's a big step, showing Nokia's determination to spread N-Gage beyond its more expensive handsets. The XpressMusic range is pitched as more affordable phones for music fans, often available on prepay.
I got a quick hands-on with the phone this morning at a Nokia press event, although the N-Gage app wasn't on there. It's a stylish-looking, solid candybar handset, with broad appeal.
It supports HSDPA - the fastest current data speed for mobile phones - which'll make downloading over the air less of a pain (as long as you're on a flat-rate tariff).
The music features aren't half bad either - 24 hours of music playback battery life, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an audio chip for better sound quality, and HS-USB for sideloading tunes faster (this will also benefit N-Gage games transferred in this way).
Oh, and something called Say and Play, which provides voice-based navigation through your music playlists - you say the name of an artist or song, and the phone plays it.
I wonder if this feature could be used for N-Gage games too? It'd certainly make a conversion of Phoenix Wright more appealing if you could shout 'OBJECTION!' at your phone...
