What the Nokia 5800 Tube means for mobile games
Both now and in the long-term
Well, the worst-kept secret in the mobile handset world is out. Nokia has finally unveiled its first touchscreen handset, the Tube (or 5800 XpressMusic, to give it its proper title).
Having got hands-on with it at Nokia's Remix London event tonight, I can say that it's an intriguing device. The touchscreen is lovely, it's packed with features, and it's the first mobile phone to come with a plectrum.
Meanwhile, its affordable price and impressive music features should give it wide appeal. So what about gaming?
It's disappointing that, for now, N-Gage is playing no part in the 5800. Nokia has been talking about integrating touch into the N-Gage SDK roadmap for a while now, but it seems the Tube won't yet be the handset to show it.
That said, the Nokia representative who demoed us the handset at Remix London said N-Gage support was "in the pipeline". We're hoping to hear more about Nokia's touchscreen N-Gage plans at its Nokia Games Summit later this month in Rome.
So, no N-Gage. But the demo we had of Guitar Rock Tour showed that the Tube can be a decent home for Java games with touch controls. And let's face it: the 5800 is going to shift a fair number of handsets, so publishers will be supporting it.
As a Java gaming phone, the Tube competes well with all its rivals from the likes of Samsung and LG. But really, its biggest rival is the iPhone, which has a bulging catalogue of native games, and a super-slick App Store through which to sell them.
Against that competition, the 5800 has some way to go. It's innovative in a lot of ways, but for now in the gaming sphere, it's just another touchscreen Java handset. One that's worth publishers porting their games to, admittedly. But we're hoping for more.
