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Such is the popularity of computerised game play that this activity can be carried out anywhere, anytime, on a multitude of devices. Hand-held consoles, PDAs and mobile phones are all capable of providing platforms for this form of entertainment on the go. Some would say that game players were almost spoilt for choice but not all these platforms could be considered equal with various plus and minus points. Take for example the mobile phone with over 1.7 billion units currently out there.

While mobile phones often come with a small selection of games installed by default, many users want the opportunity to make their own personal selection of game-playing thrills. Solutions are available. One option available to mobile phone game players is to make use of the iPlay service. iPlay has been involved in the mobile gaming environment since 1998. The company's sole focus is to develop and publish games that are easy, intuitive and fun for the mobile phone users.

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By making use of the technology built-in to modern smart phones and similar devices, iPlay is able to offer users the opportunity to download games either from its own website or other appropriate locations. Among the games that are currently available are The Sims, 3D Pool, Metal Slug, King of Fighters, Skipping Stones, Jewel Quest, 3D The Fast & the Furious, and 20Q (the old family favourite of Twenty Questions).

Downloading a game, using this service, is a three-step process. First you need to select your network from the list of available options. Once this step has been completed you can then scroll down a list of phone manufacturers in order to reveal the phones that support the iPlay platform. This list is fairly comprehensive and new phones are being added all the time. The final step is to select your chosen game. Once the process has been completed you will need to enter your mobile phone number and email address. The former is to allow iPlay to send you a WAP link to your game while the email address is necessary in order to receive the receipt for the purchase. Games have been priced at £5 each.

While the choice of games is growing and the purchase price for the games has been set at an attractive level, you do have to weight this against the phone's small screen size and the rather cramped keyboard layout. This is hardly what I would consider an ideal environment for playing games. The graphics quality is reasonable considering the available screen resolution while the audio effects add little to the game playing experience. I also found that I tended to hunch my shoulders when playing games on the demonstration Nokia 6600 unit. The environment certainly did not encourage long game sessions.

More information about the iPlay service and available games can be found at www.iPlay.com. You can also use this site to check out if your mobile phone is capable of using this service before making any purchases.

www.iPlay.com