Photo: Evan-Amos · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Nokia N-Gage
Nokia · Released Oct 2003 · Original (2003)
Nokia's bold attempt to fuse a phone and a games console — awkward and commercially doomed, but a fascinating chapter in mobile gaming.
Pros
- +Ambitious phone-and-console hybrid
- +Bluetooth multiplayer and Symbian apps
- +Real 3D games on a phone in 2003
- +A genuine curiosity of mobile-gaming history
Cons
- −Awkward 'taco' shape and side-talking design
- −Original required removing the battery to swap games
- −Commercial flop with a thin library
What can it play?
Emulation performance by platform, based on real-world testing.
Full specifications
Hardware
- Chipset (SoC)
- ARM920T (Symbian)
- CPU
- 32-bit ARM9 @ 104 MHz
- GPU
- Software rendering
- RAM
- 16 MB (3.4 MB usable)
- Storage
- MMC card MMC + phone storage
- Weight
- 137 g
- Dimensions
- 133 x 70 x 20 mm
- Cooling
- Passive
Display
- Size
- 2.1″
- Resolution
- 176x208
- Panel
- TFT colour LCD (portrait)
- Refresh rate
- 60 Hz
- Touchscreen
- No
Battery & Connectivity
- Battery
- 850 mAh
- Real-world life
- ~6 hours
- Wi-Fi
- None
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth
- Ports
- MMC card, GSM (phone), Headset
- Expandable storage
- Yes (microSD)
Controls
- Analog sticks
- 0
- D-pad
- Yes
- Face buttons
- Yes
- Analog triggers
- No
- Gyroscope
- No
- Hall effect sticks
- No
Software & custom firmware
Ships with: Symbian Series 60
Also plays natively: N-Gage game cards, Symbian (Series 60) apps
No third-party custom firmware tracked for this device.
Our verdict
The N-Gage tried to be both a mobile phone and a handheld console, complete with 3D games and Bluetooth multiplayer running on Symbian. Its 'taco' shape made you hold the edge to your face to take calls, and the original model required removing the battery to swap game cards. It flopped, but as an ambitious what-if it remains a beloved oddity.