" Hi Mike,
I wanted to share my experiences with (very-unexpectedly) mac-compatible Nokia N-Gage phone.

As a little background, Nokia released this phone a couple of years ago as a combination mobile phone/gaming platform. However, it wasn't very successful primarily due to a couple of design issues, namely (i) to be able to use the N-Gage as a phone, you had to talk into it from the side and (ii) to play different games, you had to turn off the phone and take out the battery to be able to swap out the MMC card with the games on it. The issues have been addressed by the newer N-Gage QD, but that device lacks the multimedia capabilities of its elder sibling.

I'm not a gamer, so (ii) was never an issue for me, and I got around (i) with the use of a headset. But what the original N-Gage did have going for it (and the reason I bought it) was for it's multimedia capabilities. It has built-in radio, and reception and sound quality are pretty good for a device in which that is not it's primary function. It also plays MP3s and as far as I can tell, you are limited only by the size of MMC card you can put in the MMC slot (I presently have a 64 MB in there, but I've chatted with a couple people who said they've used 128 MB and 512MB cards in there without problems. I haven't verified this personally, but am planning to soon). (See his later Update w/512MB MMC Card tests) You can access the card by removing it and using it in a card reader, or you can plug the phone directly into a mac via a (supplied) USB cable. The USB card shows up in Mac OS X (10.2.8 is the system I currently run) as a disk mounted on the system. You can copy files to/from the MMC card/phone, and I have yet to come across any negative issues with that operation.

The one real downside/disappointment I've had is with AAC compatibility. The phone's software will not play iTunes AAC files (no surprise there, due to Apple's DRM issues), but it doesn't play regular (i.e. non-DRMed) AAC files either. (Update see the reader tip below on non-protected AAC file playback-Mike) Some research on the web turned up the fact that Nokia's Audio Manager (PC compatible only) software encrypt's AAC files and updates a database on the phone whenever it is used to put AAC files on the phone, and this type of AAC file is the only type the phone's software will recognize and play. No such issues with MP3 files, so I guess I will be using those for the foreseeable future.

One really big plus with this phone is its 3GPP compatibility. I took a 10 min (~100 MB) Quicktime movie, exported it to 3GPP format at a screen size to match the N-Gage's (a bit under 200x300), and the movie played. I didn't mess around a lot with frame rates or other options on the 3GPP export options, but the resulting movie was about 5MB (fitting on the MMC card very easily) and was playable on the N-Gage LCD screen (audio track included). Video quality is not super great, but considering the versatility of the device, I was extremely happy. I use Quicktime Pro, and I can't remember if the 3GPP codec is available under the free version of Quicktime.

The phone also has an offline mode in which the "phone features" are turned off, but you can play games, music or movies. It then becomes your mobile MP3 player, or even video player, and is now usable on an airplane.

The final section of the multimedia capabilities is its abilities to view pictures (only tested GIFs and JPEGs). The are scaled down to be able to fit the screen, but again, reasonable quality.

The final part of the puzzle, and again an unexpected bonus, was the presence of Bluetooth on this phone. I have an old Powerbook 2000 Pismo laptop, so I got myself the D-Link adapter, configured everything, and the phone and the powerbook were able to talk to each other. I have not checked if iSync works, as I tossed it from my system many months ago, when I did not have a Bluetooth phone, and wasn't think of buying one. But the phone DOES work as a GPRS modem (via T-Mobile's system) through the Bluetooth interface. I even tried it as a non-GPRS modem (i.e. dialing a 56K modem bank) and that also worked. If anything, I've had better connection quality and speeds with this phone versus my old setup (a Nokia 6610 connected via a Prolific USB serial adapter modem cable). I think that might be due primarily to being able to put the phone in a place where I have better reception (due to the wireless Bluetooth link) versus it having to be next to my laptop when the link is via USB cable.

All in all, I've had a really good experience with this phone, and have been extremely happy with its "mac-friendliness" and all-round versatility, all without any external software or drivers. In fact, because of the Bluetooth connection, I was able to remove the Prolific driver from my system. I bought this phone for ~$150 over the web a few months ago, but people may be able to find better deals now.
Let me know if you have any questions about the phone, its capabilities, and/or mac compatibility. I wish I had digital pictures to accompany this, but I don't own a digital camera at this point.
Hope your readers will find this useful.
cheers, Vinai R. "

A reader with another model Nokia phone wrote with a tip for iTunes AAC playback (of non-protected files). I personally avoid AAC files (and not a fan of DRM ITMS files), but for unprotected AAC files, mac owners could also just convert to MP3, but quality may suffer with another conversion.

" Mike, Re your readers article about the Nokia N-gage.
I have a Nokia 6230 which supports Mp3, ACC playback stored on a MMC card.

The issue with playing iTunes AAC files is not encryption (unless they have DRM) (all ITMS files have DRM) but to do with the MPEG4 wrapper used to house the AAC file.
In the case of an iTunes AAC file that does not have DRM it will have a .m4a file extension which means MPEG4 audio file. This is essentially a container file in which the AAC audio is stored.
The only way I've found to remove the MP4 wrapper is available on the PC. Details may be found at:
forums.mobymemory.com/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=8&MessageID=130
-Daryl "

There's also a mac utility to remove DRM from ITMS files mentioned in the May 11th news page called Hear Your (ITMS) Music Anywhere, also referred to as HYMN - the home page is http://hymn-project.org/.

Another N-Gage Owner's Comments:

" Hi Mike, Thank you for posting an owner report (and the reader link to iTunes AAC -> Mobile AAC was extremely useful!), however it seems that Vinai has not have covered some of the best options for the phone, nor has he detailed some of the drawbacks inherent to its use with OS X. As detailed below:

1. Video Playback:
The Smartmovie Player (www.lonelycatgames.com) is capable of *far* superior quality to 3gpp using the Xvid codec. Up to 30 fps video (15 is perfectly adequate), improved resolution (holding the N-Gage sideways for full-aspect ratio) and sound-quality.
The Smartmovie Converter for DVDs, avis, etc is Windows (or Virtual PC) only, though the latest ffmpegX for Mac supports conversion to Smartmovie format as well. Approx >1MB per min of video, which is nearly enough with my 256MB MMC...

2. File Transfer (MP3, etc):
Transferring files to the N-Gage memory card will also transfer OS X hidden (._) files, 1 for each file transferred. This is a clear annoyance as the MP3 (or video player) will see each file twice (due to the extension) and these files then have to individually selected and deleted with a file manager program.

3. iSync:
Works fine after a restart, but subsequent syncs often result in a "device cannot be found" error. Can be fixed with a restart, bringing onto:

4. General Reliability:
Seems to be fine in use, but lengthy restarts can be temperamental in that the phone will often not boot, *at all*, unless booted in safe mode. Can usually be fixed by re-compressing (i.e defragging) memory, but is a trying process which usually occurs after new files have been added to MMC.

5. Software / Games:
Excellent resource: www.aivanet.com
Emulators available for MegaDrive/NES/GB/GBC/ZX/MSX

Many utilities are available, as expected with a Symbian device. e.g. Word viewer, Handybook, Citymaps, pdf, etc...

To sum-up, it's all good apart from the failure to start flakiness (quite significant), and the dual file transfer. If anyone can remedy one (or both), I'd be truly pleased. :)
-Sailesh P. "

Vinai later replied to the above. (As for the iSync issues, he already mentioned in his report he didn't use iSync and said that many bluetooth phones have been reported to have some iSync problems sometimes.)

" I don't have access to a personal Windows machine, so I can't test the programs mentioned (tip above for iTunes AAC file playback/conversion). Here are my responses to the other issues: (Saliesh's post above)

(Video Playback Tip) I've only just started using the phone over the last month or so. I just went with the software that was on my Powerbook, and on the phone. I have not yet downloaded any other software for the phone. I can check this software out also.
I will grab a copy of ffmpegX and test it out when I can. The inherent value of Smartmovie seems to be the ability to rotate the picture to use the screen of the N-Gage better. However, quality-wise, it sounds like Smartmovie is on par with 3GPP, as the small movie I encoded was 0.5 MB per min, and that was at 15 fps (I seem to remember 3GPP not letting you go any higher.)

(File Transfer (MP3, etc)) I do remember this, but I also seem to remember being able to delete those from the command line before I unmounted the MMC drive. I can check to make sure...

(General Reliability) I haven't had any problems of this type yet. The phone usually starts up fine, but maybe as I put it to heavier use, I will run into this. I've only been using for 4 weeks or thereabouts, so it's very likely I haven't run into all the issues there are with this phone. You might suggest to this user about formatting the card with the software on the phone, and reloading his files ...
(I wonder if later phones have revised firmware or changes that might have improved things.)

However, I am still amazed it played as nicely with Mac OS X as it did, without any additional software, and I still think it is a neat, very functional toy !! ;-) If you like, as I encounter more issues with this phone and OS X, I can let you know.
cheers Mike, Vinai "

Follow-up/Update: (12/30/2004)
Vinai sent a follow-up to the above review:

" Hi Mike,
Many months ago, I sent in some info about how well the Nokia N-Gage (and probably any Symbian OS phone) plays with native OS X software and drivers, for the most part. First off, I'll try to address some unresolved issues and questions from my last post, and later on wrap up the capabilities of this phone + OS X.

First off - one reader complained of hidden OS X ._ files also being copied over when transferring files from OS X to the N-Gage MMC card. This is true when using the Finder to copy files, but not when using the command line in Terminal.app, or an xterm in the X11 environment. I've copied files back and forth from the command line, and have had no duplicate ._ files showing up. And since it is easier to see these files from a command line, I usually clean up any that manage to sneak in through the Finder :)

Secondly - with regard to this phone's stability, I've had maybe 3 times when the phone gave trouble to "boot", and have little, if any, other stability issues (knock on wood)...

As far as memory capacity, the phone will at least recognize a 512 MB MMC card, as shown in one of the attached pictures. The occupied space is taken up by U2's Joshua Tree album, and as you can see, the card still has lots of space to be filled.

This brings me to my next point. In my previous post, I had no luck getting this phone to play Quicktime AAC files. MP3s were fine, but the trouble (as one of your other readers pointed out) was the file format/wrapper QT uses for AAC files. I got around this using an open source project called MPEG4IP (at http://www.mpeg4ip.net/). This is another open source multimedia streaming suite of software. But in it is a utility, mp4creator. When this (command line) program is run with the -extract switch, it will extract the raw AAC file from its Quicktime container, and these files play perfectly on the N-Gage and its "native" software. mp4creator appends a .t1 extension to the name of the original file when it writes the new AAC file, so when I move the newly created raw AAC file to the N-Gage memory card, using the command line, I use that chance to change its name. This can probably be very easily scripted, but I know only a little shell script, and no perl ... MPEG4IP is developed for multiple platforms, and took a little doing to compile, but less so that most other UNIX/Linux code I've worked with. But one should be comfortable with doing things from a command line if they want to use this package.

The next issue dealt with Bluetooth capabilities. I knew this phone worked both as a GPRS, and 56K landline-type of modem, but that was only a small part of the Bluetooth capabilities. My Addressbook on Mac OS X syncs up perfectly, and bi-directionally, with the "Contacts" database on the phone, down to custom entries.

The only thing one must keep in mind is that you either have to disable the firewall on OS X, or leave a port open for Bluetooth connectivity. I don't know the exact port number off-hand, but it shouldn't be too hard to find. I also attached a photo with iSync communicating with the N-Gage and exchanging information.

The other feature related to this was file exchange using "Bluetooth File Exchange" in /Applications/Utilities. I realized I could install software on the N-Gage in this way. I wanted to try a PDF reader, so I downloaded the trial version of PDF+, sent it over with this utility and it showed up as a text/e-mail message in my phone's inbox. When it was opened, Symbian OS recognized it as an installable application, and proceeded to install it. The screen resolution was too low to be useful for viewing PDFs, but it was still a useful experiment. The last picture I attached shows "Bluetooth File Exchange" in the process of uploading a file. In that example, I had a music file, but the OS on the phone did not know what to do with that file format in a text message or e-mail, so it would not be useful for getting music on the phone.

This is all the info I have on this phone's utility at this time. My OS X system is a Pismo PB, running 10.3.7, with Bluetooth connectivity via a D-Link USB DBT-120 adapter. If you need any more info... drop me a note.
Thanks much again Mike. Take care, and hang in there.
cheers, vinai "

More N-Gage Feedback/Tips:

" I just bought the newer NGage QD about 2 weeks ago. One of the coolest things I have found with this phone is a version of MAME for it. Works great with many of the ROMS - not all but quite a few!
See: http://www.harmonicode.com/EEMame/
If you plan on doing anything with this device other than talking on the phone, you have to have buy an MMC card, and an MMC reader for your Mac. Sending large files via BlueTooth causes crashes, some unrecoverable (the WSoD - White Screen of Death as it is known...!)
-Todd "

Another N-Gage owner wrote with notes on Games, 1GB MMC card compatibility and notes that some added software can cause file transfer problems:

" Hello, I've had nothing but fun with my N-Gage and PowerBook G4. I've attached a screenshot of my memory card... it is a 1GB Kingmax MMC card. It is a only a few days old, so it is still relatively empty ;-)

I had some off and on issues with iSync, but have since discovered the problems were directly caused by software I had installed *on the phone*. If any of your readers encounter the following error: "App. closed! Apparcserverthread" they should examine any new phone software installed... in particular anything that may install automatic timers or other auto-launching stuff (daemons)

I can't recommend this phone enough to anyone that might enjoy the occasional NES game: http://vampent.com/ or some good ole arcade style gaming: http://www.harmonicode.com/EEMame/ ... of course there is a great driving game: http://www.n-gage.com/en-R1/games/gamedata/asphalt_urban_gt.htm and who can forget the sims? http://www.n-gage.com/en-R1/games/gamedata/sims.htm

The Bluetooth integration with my Jabra BT250 is simply excellent.

Also note, in order to listen to the built in FM radio with the Bluetooth headset, you have to attach the included headphone adaptor to the headphone jack. The radio won't launch without something plugged in there since it is used as the antenna.

Other things that really jazz me? Speaker phone, 3rd party software (like Opera! and Agile Messenger), RSS readers and its use as a GPRS modem. There is just a ton of great software for the Nokia Series 60 phones. http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/series60.php and http://my-symbian.com/main/index3.php?cat=3
-Michael S. "

Request for Help on PB Sync/Net Connections: (in reply to a N-Gage QD reader request for help in the April 4th, 2005 news page.)

" This email is in regards to your article about n-gage and mac review...
(this reader review of the original N-Gage model.-Mike)

Comment:
I have an n-gage QD from t-mobile and it does sync to my powermac G5 with mostly no issues. I also have a powerbook (Powerbook G4 I assume, but asked-Mike) which it absolutely will not sync to but is able to transfer files via bluetooth. In the powerbook, I think the issue has something to do with Checkpoint's VPN client, Secure Client. That client has security policies that get turned on whenever I connect to the office network which is fine but locks me out from being able to print to my home printer via ZeroConf which is connected to my powermac. So, when Secure Client is running and I try to use isync, I get that error about port 3004 needing to be open, which it is on the built-in os x firewall. If I disable the security policy in Secure Client and I can once again see my printer, isync just goes into a loop. isync indefinitely says "Connecting to N-Gage". When I say indefinitely, I mean it has been going for over 24 hours.

Question:
The people posting mentioned they could tether their laptops to the n-gage and get online using the phone's gprs connection. Could you post the steps of how to do that with a powerbook? If you don't have those instructions could you forward this email with my email address to those users so that maybe they could provide me the instructions?
(he later wrote with more details)
Powerbook details:
17" Powerbook 1GHz (1GB RAM) bought I believe April 2002 or April 2003. All patches installed up to 10.3.8 along with the firmware bluetooth update, 1.5.
My Powermac G5 (Dual 1.8GHz/512MB, D-Link Bluetooth adaptor), bought November 2003. Patched up to 10.3.8. I did NOT apply the bluetooth upgrade due to the Apple provided warning that if applied to the D-Link adaptor would make it usable ONLY with Macs.

Up until yesterday I could sync with the G5. I did not heed the warning about not installing applications unless it is onto a MMC card. I installed the trial Opera browser. Now I get the app server or something error and the sync fails. Have not tried resetting the N-Gage with a soft or hard reset, yet. Just deleting the application does not help. I must say, that is being pretty picky. I'm ready to use SyncML and not bother talking to any desktop machine. There is a syncml app on the n-gage disk.

Really hope I can get instructions on how to tether my powerbook to n-gage and get onto net via t-mobile.
- Mark "

The reader that sent this original article on the first model N-Gage replied:

" Hey Mike,
I was the person who posted most of the material you have on your site for the original Nokia N-Gage (this page) and its compatibility with Mac OS X. I wanted to see if I could help your other reader get his N-Gage QD fully integrated with his powerbook.

First off - I'm not sure about getting his installed application off. I've not installed any extra software onto my N-Gage - just music and a movie or two via the MMC card.

He said also that he had been trying to sync the phone and mac, and it never connected, even after a day. I would advise him to look through his N-Gage's bluetooth settings. Make sure it is turned on, and also make sure the phone is set up to accept connections from his mac(s). I have a link "pre-authorized" on my N-Gage, so it does not prompt me to accept a connection from my powerbook anymore. One might want to be careful with this, with Symbian virus roaming about and spreading via Bluetooth. I normally have BT off, unless I am syncing...

About the modem setup - I have to admit, I don't remember exactly how I got the "USB Bluetooth Modem Adaptor" available as a network device in the "Network" Preference Pane. I believe when you are setting up a new Bluetooth device (from the "Bluetooth" Preference Pane), it should give the option to pair your BT connection with a mobile phone, which should allow the appropriate network device to show up. Once that has happened, go back to the Network Preference Pane, active the "USB BT Modem Adaptor", and then set it up as shown in the attached jpeg.

I used this both with T-Mobile's unlimited T-Zones service (and they'll give you the right settings to use for that. I haven't used it in ~ a year or so, and I don't know if my info is current). But if you put in your ISP's phone number, and your ID and password, you can also get net access, only there, you will be using minutes from your calling plan.

Hope this helps, and if your user would like, he or she can contact me at this e-mail if they need more help.
cheers mike.
-vinai "

Another reader with an N-Gage QD wrote that a firmware update helped with bluetooth reliability:

" I've got an NGage QD with a 512MB MMC card, and an iBook G4 800Mhz running OS X 10.3.8 (with all patches/firmware updates, etc.) - my NGage syncs happily enough, but I have encountered the "AppServer closed" error before. In my case, it appears to have been caused by installing either RealOne player, the Helix player, or the Smartmovie player on my MMC card. If any one or more was present, syncing to the QD over bluetooth would cause the error to pop up, requiring a restart to make the phone useable again. In the end, removing these apps (and then restarting the phone) solved my problems - I have no idea why, though.
The information I've seen on the net seems to suggest that "AppServer closed" problems are mostly caused by the installation of 3rd party applications. On a side note, when I first bought the QD (firmware version 3.something), bluetooth syncing was very failure prone, and would sometime lock up the phone. Getting the firmware upgraded to 4.15 made the bluetooth much more reliable.
Cheers, Giulio H. "

More Notes/Tips on iSync Problems:

" I have an N-Gage QD and have run into the syncing issue.
In general installing extra software to the expansion card is a good practice as some common software interferes with syncing. If you have your applications on a memory card try removing it prior to syncing. This appears to "unhook" some of the potentially conflicting applications. N-Gage QD has eject functionality, original N-Gage requires a shutdown although even on the QD rebooting is sometimes required to fix the syncing.

Even with the above tricks I once could not get it to sync. In that case I used isync "reset the device" on the N-Gage and then syncing succeeded (I was lucky in that I did not have any important iSync-able data on the N-Gage that would be overwritten with data from the Mac).
-Rod M. "

I welcome other N-Gage owner comments/tips, etc. (Don't have one personally.)

Related Links: (also see links in posts above)
For more info on the Nokia N-Gage and N-Gage QD phones, see
http://www.n-gage.com/en-R1/gamedeck/.