Nokia N93 - first Nokia with HW accelerator

[jkemp]

Nokia's first handheld with graphics hw accelerator - Nokia N93 - will blow away our socks at E3Expo 2006 Nokia stand.

If you attend, remember to check it out. Alternatively, use http://www.n-gage.com/e3 link to follow the blog.

/Jarkko

 

[Lazy8s]

System Rush Evolution is a pack-in game, though not connected to the future next generation service.

 

[Ailuros]

Looking at that pick it still seems quite uncomfortable to handle a mobile phone like that for gaming.

I realize those aren't pure handheld gaming devices, yet if phone manufacturers really want 3D gaming to succeed on mobile phones they should come up with more practical layouts/ideas.

 

[Simon F]

Looking at that pick it still seems quite uncomfortable to handle a mobile phone like that for gaming.

Surely the 'unnatural' pose in that photo would be just so that the photographer could get both the device and the large screen in the same image?

 

[Guden Oden]

That phone will never succeed as a gaming device based on pure ergonomics alone. Besides, its design looks like a POS as well. I don't understand why Nokia simply can't just give up this hare-brained idea. They'll never break into the handheld gaming market anyway.

 

[roninja]

That phone will never succeed as a gaming device based on pure ergonomics alone. Besides, its design looks like a POS as well. I don't understand why Nokia simply can't just give up this hare-brained idea. They'll never break into the handheld gaming market anyway.

In 12 months time you will see the majority of Nokia devices having 3D accelerated graphics capabilities in different form factors.

Anyway the N93 is about more than gaming, just like your PC is about more than gaming (or spreadsheets?) and shows the versitility of OMAP 2420.

 

[Ailuros]

Surely the 'unnatural' pose in that photo would be just so that the photographer could get both the device and the large screen in the same image?

http://www.nokia.com/nseries/index.html?lang=en&country=US

http://www.mobilewhack.com/reviews/nokia_n93_cell_phone.html

I didn't judge its ergonomics only from that the pic Lazy8 posted. Suppose someone would want to use both hands to handle a game, the lens on the left seems to be in the way. Of course there's a difference between judging something from a few pics and holding a device in one's hands, but that doesn't look convincing.

 

[jkemp]

One - Who's Next? Remember to check out the video.

 

[jkemp]

Remember to check out the video.

And yes, it runs 30fps on real device. Who ever encoded that video ought to be subjected to one of those finishing moves

Meanwhile, if you wish to have a glimpse what this N-Gage inside-your-phone really means, check out this video.

 

[Sdw]

Looks cool! What's the res of the screen? 320x240? Any spec on how fast the 3D accelerator is? What API is used to program it (OpenGL ES?)

 

[Kristof]

K-

 

[Loewe]

@Kristof

Nice shots!

2x2 FSAA is on by default?

Now we only need the confirmation that this is OMAP2420!

BTW, have you played with this device? You konw I don't like the Axim for playing and I am not sure that this Nokia devices so much better.
The norm here is the PSP.

 

[jkemp]

Looks cool! What's the res of the screen? 320x240? Any spec on how fast the 3D accelerator is? What API is used to program it (OpenGL ES?)

Yep, QVGA resolution. Runs on OpenGL ES 1.1. Some HW specs (also posted to http://www.khronos.org news):

"N93 is capable of rendering millions of triangles per second, while maintaining high image quality by supporting free bilinear filtering and full-screen anti-aliasing. N93 device is currently under conformancy review and is expected to fully conform with OpenGL ES 1.1 specification."

Expect to see some benchmark results closer to shipping of N93.

 

[Loewe]

Looks cool! What's the res of the screen? 320x240? Any spec on how fast the 3D accelerator is? What API is used to program it (OpenGL ES?)

Yes this is 320x240.

How fast is a OMAP2420 with MBX + VGP, if this is an OMAP2420!
At the moment there is nothing faster in this segment.

Yes, AFAIK this are all OpenGL ES games.

 

[Ailuros]

One - Who's Next? Remember to check out the video.

That looks like some nicely done Polybump Magic; kudos to the devs.

 

[Lazy8s]

The fighting choreography with all of those counter moves and dynamic interaction presented well for the real-time trailer. Hopefully, fighting games will really get to that level someday.

The audio was probably created separately and added for the trailer to accompany the graphics demonstration, but the effects are commendable regardless of whether they're actually from the game for sounding so clear and fittingly brutal along with the fast-tempo music track.

 

[Kristof]

Another great movie showing 2 more games on N93 including TV-out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfShxdbAJS8&search=nokia

K-

 

[roninja]

so Kristof this phone must have ATI chip inside or something!

sorry my English is so poor all of a sudden, I meant a TI chip..... ;-)

I see some new FOMA 902i handsets announced today. FIFA 2006 World Cup available as well.

 

[Grall]

Cellphone gaming as a phenomenon seems fairly unlikely to me, regardless of the actual hardware specs/superiority. Phones simply aren't associated with gaming devices, Nokia isn't a gaming company, they don't have any popular software titles and franchises, and so on.


Then there's also the aspect of do people really want to drain their phone batteries by sitting there gaming on them, squinting at a small screen and fiddle with tiny buttons?

*G*

 

[Lazy8s]

Gaming on cellphones is already very popular, despite the currently unrefined ergonomics, with the simple titles installed on these devices. Since people spend so much of their lives having to wait around -- in lines, for appointments, in cars/buses -- and since they have their cellphone with them throughout the day, gaming is inevitably going to be a primary way to pass the time. Now, Nokia is building the next generation of gaming into tens of millions of those phones every year automatically.

An extra battery for a phone is a lot more practical than an extra dedicated device with its own battery.