Nokia is ceasing production of its N-Gage 'game deck,' a device that combined an awkward pastie-shaped phone with an awkward, sparsely supported gaming device.
Blighted at first by lousy looks and usability, even a successful redesign couldn't help catch gamers' attention. Too big for phone lovers and too small in the screen for gamers, the device sold just a third of the projected six million units.
Despite discontinuing the unit, Nokia will continue to support its online portal, known as Arena, and new games will still appear for the time being. The device may even have a couple of decent gaming years left – the company plans to integrate gaming into its Series 60 phones, but not until 2007.