One of our favorite uses for the mobile is to kill time. When you spend hours waiting in queues at the bank, the movie theater and the grocery checkout, it’s a relief to have a pocket-size device that lets you chat up your friends, listen to some tunes or amuse yourself with a mobile game. Your friends aren’t always available, but the games are always there. No need to tag along a PSP or DS when you’ve got a mobile that’s capable of playing your favorites.
As video technology for mobiles has gotten better, so has the selection of games available to play. If you’re an avid gamer with a taste for high end graphics, mobiles aren’t quite at that level yet, but they are getting closer. And there are literally hundreds of games available for download to your mobile on the 3G networks or through your favorite game supplier. Here’s what you need to know about playing games on your mobile.
Standard Games
Most mobile handsets come with a few embedded games that you can play right out of the box. Those games may include sudoku, Snake or JewelQuest – they vary from network to network and mobile to mobile. Check your model to find out which games reside on your mobile and are free to play. Do keep in mind that playing will drain your battery, though.
Games for Download
There are a number of websites that offer free and low cost mobile games that you can download to your phone. You’ll need to be sure that a game is compatible with your phone, but most web sites will tell you which phone models can play their games.
Costs
Most mobile games are pay-once-play-forever, though trials may only work to a certain level, or for a specified number of plays before you have to pay to unlock the game and continue playing. There’s also a growing number of play networks where you can play multiplayer online games against other network users. Those can quickly get expensive, especially since you’re also using transfer allowance.
Phone Compatibility
A Java enabled phone will be capable of playing some games with surprisingly good graphics, but there are games available that will run on a phone that’s not enabled with Java. In most cases, if you download your games from a web site, you can enter your phone model, and you’ll only see the games that are compatible with your mobile.
Memory Needs
Games do take up storage space on your mobile’s memory, but those memory needs are getting smaller and smaller as the technology gets better. The more processor intensive a game is, the more memory it will require to run and store your stats.
Battery Life
Playing games will drain your battery. Keep that in mind if you plan to play mobile games for any length of time. Right now, save the mobile gaming for those hanging in line wait times rather than for the hour long commute to work – unless you plan on charging the mobile as soon as you arrive.
All of that is changing rapidly, though, as technology gets better and better. With improvements in data storage capabilities, video capabilities and longer battery life, it won’t be long before your mobile will be a suitable substitute for your mobile gaming system.
