Still from ’Nokia 3310’ video. Image: Nokia Mobile
The latest tranche of Nokia smartphones has been revealed at Mobile World Congress, with the nostalgia-inducing 3310 making a revamped comeback.
Nokia’s popular 3310, the phone that represents the pivotal time when mobile went mainstream, is making a comeback – 17 years after its first release.
Given the speed at which technological devices become obsolete in this digital age, bringing back a phone from the turn of the millennium is perhaps akin to re-releasing the Ford Model T.
However, nostalgia goes a long way and, if priced right, Nokia might be on to something. That price, according to the company, is €49.
Made by HMD Global, the phone replicates the old model with a few tweaks here and there, pitched at people looking for burner phones. So, just like old times, ringing and texting people – as well as a few sneaky games of Snake – are the applications that the phone is built for.
The screen is 2.4in, slightly curbed to make for “better readability”. The general design is pretty close to the 2000 original.
The standby battery life of the new 3310 lasts, according to HMD, for one whole month. This is certainly providing something different to an industry that looks quite ‘samey’.
The 3310 was revealed at Mobile World Congress alongside a new Nokia 3, 5 and the 6 that emerged earlier this year.
HMD Global chief executive Arto Nummela is pinning his hopes on the range’s brand name, operating on Nougat 7.0 from the get-go.
“Nokia has been one of the most iconic and recognisable phone brands globally for decades,” he said.
“In the short time since HMD was launched into the market, the positive reception we’ve had has been overwhelming; it seems everyone shares our excitement for this next chapter.”
The phones will be made available in the second quarter of the year, with the re-release of the 3310 the latest of many attempts to get the Nokia brand back to the top of the phone market.
Nokia is no longer the company of old, with HMD’s involvement part of a general fragmentation of the Finnish firm’s formerly giant operation.
Instead of focusing on infrastructural operations, Nokia’s recent moves include a new worldwide IoT network grid, what it claims is a “one-stop-shop, full-service model”, providing international connectivity “to address the transport, health, utilities and safety markets”.
The company is also buying Comptel for €347m, bulking up its software services business portfolio and attracting telcos in the process.
