For the first time since N-Gage 2.0 was launched, the client has been updated with new features. All the updates till date have usually been just bug fixes or for adding support for the new devices.

The latest update bring the client up to v 1.40 (1557).

The additions / new features in this update are :

Start Up Animation

I would certainly not call this a new feature, but now every time you start N-Gage, it plays an animated start up video with a funny little tune. Though it might seem cute for the first few times, it gets on your nerve later on. You can skip the video anytime by simply pressing any key.

A first start welcome image

Prompts for installing the games from the PC

The client includes prompts to let the user know how he can install the games from the PC.

One Click Downloads & Installations from the Showroom

This has got to be the biggest improvement in the client since the launch. In the previous versions, every time you had to download a trial from the showroom, N-Gage would first ask you where should it download the game to, and once downloaded, it would again prompt you to choose the installation location.

Following the Ovi Store client’s lead, even the N-Gage client now supports one click downloads & installation. All you have to do is start the download, the client will install it on your preferred storage (memory card by default) automatically without any further user intervention.

Although this is a commendable effort from the N-Gage team (which should have been actually been implemented in the first release itselft!), the client is still far from perfect. The online profile & social part of the client are extremely shoddy and deserve a proper post which shall come later.

Download – Open the Options in your N-Gage client and select “Check for Updates” or you can download the setup directly via this link.

A special thanks to CJ over at www.zomgitscj.com for the screenshots.