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Topic: Should all handhelds in future have a cell phone built in?

Posts 21 to 40 of 73

Robo-goose

cheapogamer4life wrote:

Tasuki wrote:

After the disaster that was NGage I dont see it happening again anytime soon.

/ remembers the day his n-gage fell out his lap while getting out a vehicle never to be seen again....

That sucked

I think by "That sucked " you really meant "THANK GOD!"
No offense.

Edited on by Robo-goose

"I'm a heartbreaker...
My name... Charles." -The Greatest Man In Driftveil City

Bass_X0

Well Sony is doing it now.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/26/the-playstation-phone/

Engadget wrote:

Untitled
It's hard to believe that what we're looking at is real -- but we assure you, the picture above is in fact the PlayStation Phone you've long been waiting for. As we reported back in August, the device you see is headed into the market soon, likely boasting Android 3.0 (aka Gingerbread), along with a custom Sony Marketplace which will allow you to purchase and download games designed for the new platform. The device snapped up top (and in our gallery below) is sporting a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 (a chip similar to the one found in the G2, but 200MHz faster), 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and the screen is in the range of 3.7 to 4.1 inches. Looking almost identical to the mockup we hit you with this summer, the handset does indeed have a long touchpad in the center which is apparently multitouch, and you can see in the photos that it's still bearing those familiar PlayStation shoulder buttons. For Sony buffs, you'll be interested to know that there's no Memory Stick slot here, but there is support for microSD cards.

The particular model in these shots is still in prototyping mode. As such, the unit doesn't have a custom skin (not even SE's Timescape design seen on the Xperia devices), and is said to be rather buggy. We're digging into more facts as we speak, but it's likely that much of what we reported earlier is still accurate, and though the device could still be headed for a 2010 release, 2011 is looking much more realistic. Still, there's a lot of time between now and the holidays... so keep your fingers crossed!

Edgey, Gumshoe, Godot, Sissel, Larry, then Mia, Franziska, Maggie, Kay and Lynne.

I'm throwing my money at the screen but nothing happens!

Bass_X0

Ah, well I just read about it today from that article and didn't know anything else about it.

Edgey, Gumshoe, Godot, Sissel, Larry, then Mia, Franziska, Maggie, Kay and Lynne.

I'm throwing my money at the screen but nothing happens!

Bankai

Why are people mentioning the N-Gage?

Haven't any of you heard of the iPhone? I know it's easier to make an example of the one that failed, than the one that's doing well, but still.

But Nintendo shouldn't, anyway. It's an unsuitable match-up. Nintendo doesn't understand the mobile phone market, having never tried it before, and aesthetically Nintendo consoles have never looked appropriate for mobile phones.

Sony's a different story. Sony knows mobile phones - it owns Ericcson. Sony's PSPGo, too, is a games console that would work, aesthetically, as a phone.

I reckon Sony should head down that path, but I think it's beyond Nintendo.

Edited on by Bankai

jangonov

Ok, Ill be the different one here. Yes

...oh you are still reading?
I think if they baby step in, it would work. Now, I'm not saying this will happen with the 3DS, just if they were going to do it, this would be the smartest way

Make all of the systems capable of connecting to cell towers via standard connection (no 3G or 4G)
All systems have blu-tooth
Allow for pre-paid cards to be added to the system (to purchase both minutes and texts or an unlimited plan done in monthly payments via said pre-paid cards like metro pcs)
Allow for parental controls, to limit the talk time, number of texts, and a notification system for them to check how many they have left.

The only hitch here is that they would have to sign a deal with a major cell company to "piggy back" on their spare towers. Much in the same way that pre-paid phones do now (virgin has sprint, boost has verizon I think, etc etc.)

If this was allowed, parents could buy the kids ONE device, and they wouldn't lose their phone if it played their games. The kids also can convince the parents that instead of buying two things, they can buy just one handheld and have it do both. Let's face it, kids make the decisions and parents have the wallet sometimes. If it offers a good thing to both sides, it will market itself.

Wii : 5234 3442 0233 5325
3DS: 2664-2106-1671
I have A LOT of games, if you want to play something, just email me jangonov&#...

Bass_X0

V8+Ninja wrote:

I leave you with this image:

Untitled

That is all.

EDIT: And if you didn't get it, that's a NO.

That guy pulling that face could make you think the Wii is the stupidest console ever created if he was playing it.

Edited on by Bass_X0

Edgey, Gumshoe, Godot, Sissel, Larry, then Mia, Franziska, Maggie, Kay and Lynne.

I'm throwing my money at the screen but nothing happens!

LzWinky

Bass X0 wrote:

V8+Ninja wrote:

I leave you with this image:

Untitled

That is all.

EDIT: And if you didn't get it, that's a NO.

That guy pulling that face could make you think the Wii is the stupidest console ever created if he was playing it.

Or a PS3

Current games: Everything on Switch

Switch Friend Code: SW-5075-7879-0008 | My Nintendo: LzWinky | Nintendo Network ID: LzWinky

sonic_brawler95

No, because that means Steve Jobs wins. >:/

3DS FC: 5412-9891-8712

dangermouseuk78

I dont think its a good idea keep them as they are as if they become combined the mobile providers will no doubt try and keep them contract exclusive and put them on there highest tariffs.

dangermouseuk78

jangonov

agian, this is why I say it should be a pre-paid set-up so while it is locked into a carrier, it isn't REQUIRED to use as a phone. Just an option.

Wii : 5234 3442 0233 5325
3DS: 2664-2106-1671
I have A LOT of games, if you want to play something, just email me jangonov&#...

This is what I think: All future handheld gaming devices should come in two models: One with a phone, and one without, so that way if someone doesn't want to carry around two gaming phones they don't have to. But, in a direct answer to your question, no. That would isolate a significant portion of handheld gamers.

Exactly.
My Birdloggery

3DS Friend Code: 2105-8643-6062

Bankai

vonseux wrote:

the Iphone is not a console that makes calls... its a telephone thak play games

HUGE difference

Not really. The iPhone is a device that lets you make calls, check your emails, do some basic working tasks and play some games.

In other words, it's a tiny, limited power computer that also makes phone calls.

If you wanted to turn your iPhone into a gaming console that also makes phone calls, you can. Download enough games apps and that's exactly what it becomes.

The beauty of the iPhone, and the reason it's so popular, is it's not restricted by any real constraints. It's literally what you want it to be - phone, business tool, portable music and movie player, gaming console - it does all those equally well.

LzWinky

What ever happened to just having a phone?

Current games: Everything on Switch

Switch Friend Code: SW-5075-7879-0008 | My Nintendo: LzWinky | Nintendo Network ID: LzWinky

sykotek

As a former N-Gage owner, I will admit, having to hold your phone like that to your ear does make you feel pretty stupid the first few times you use it and it probably looks weird to other people who just so happen to be superficially staring at you while you're talking to someone (weirdos), but overall, I have to say I was pretty pleased with it as a phone that plays games.

It was solidly constructed, so there wasn't much to complain about when it comes to the phone itself. It was a market failure, but besides that it gets a lot of undeserved hate from people who only see a picture like the one above and judge themselves too cool for that having never actually experienced using it for any extended period of time. Besides, they fixed it with their second revision, the QD which made it more gamer friendly and the games were graphically impressive in comparison to what was out at the time, cheap too. Also, it was a machine you could easily pirate games for (guilty), all you'd need to do is copy files to the MMC card, no other special hardware required, everyone knew it too, so in retrospect its no wonder it failed.

I ended up buying all the games when it went on clearance everywhere and everyone else I knew that had one was happy with theirs too. The screen was about the only thing that could've been better because of its weird aspect ratio and fondness of certain companies that ported GBA games to it. The games designed for it were pretty good though.

Anyways, it gets a bad rap. I eventually gave both of mine away, one to a friend that lost his and the QD to my girlfriend at the time along with all my games. They didn't break down like so many of my garbage Motorola phones at least. Anyways, that's my rant.

As for a gaming handheld with mobile support, it can be done definitely and it can be done right, the ideas have been kicked around for years, but it would likely be expensive to the end consumer. There are other things to take into consideration with companies like Sony and Nintendo moving into the handheld gaming cell phone business besides the price of their device such as prices of content and method of delivery (marketplace), size of downloads due to most unlimited data plans going away causing further costs (legacy games are huge in size comparison to newer minigames) and 3rd party re-licensing (one of the huge issues with PSPgo). Continued support also will hinge on adoption rates, will enough people buy the PSPhone to justify further development and releases on that platform. Also, Sony has a new PSP coming out. I don't think now is the right time for it personally.

TL;DR - N-Gage wasn't perfect, but wasn't as bad as most people made it out to be. Read the last paragraph if you're considering getting Sony's new gaming phone, take everything into consideration.

What is the meaning of life? That's so easy, the answer is TETRIS.

Bankai

lz2010 wrote:

What ever happened to just having a phone?

If I applied that philosophy, I would walk around with a laptop and 3G dongle, phone, folder of documents, camera, games console, e-reader and MP3 player.

That would be very inconvenient and heavy. I use all of the devices above for work or play.

But on the road I only need my iPhone to get decent enough functionality of all those to get by until I can get back into the office/ home.

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