Rumours had been brewing for some time regarding a nostalgic revival of the world’s most unbreakable mobile phone and now, at long last, it’s back. Nokia have now revealed the all new 3310 and although it does feature a number of modernised updates, it still continues to have an unrivalled battery life and everyone’s favourite time-waster, Snake II.
Most of the nostalgia for the original model comes from a generation who used the 3310 as their first mobile phone. Released back in 2000, the 3310 has grown to reach somewhat of a cult status online thanks to features that we can no longer boast about with today’s iPhones and Samsungs (only examples, of course). The original model could survive drops from a height that would undoubtedly shatter today’s modern devices but merely caused the 3310 to open up, both front and back, so that you could simply click it all back together again and carry on with your day. Yes, it was bound to get a few chips and dents here and there but unless you exposed the 3310 to water, it was fearless. Put it this way, it’s predecessor has a pair of huge boots to fill.
At first glance, the new 3310 doesn’t look at all like it’s namesake. One of the reasons for the 3310’s infallibility was it’s robust casing that in itself made you feel as though it would never let you down. The new model is smaller than the old, which should be something that we’d have expected considering the technological advancement of making our devices smaller. The new model is made from a more premium plastic (again, expected) and the navigation buttons have changed place slightly to adapt to the new software features that the phone offers. The new model has a slightly bigger screen, and it’s in colour, something that the original had not yet progressed to. Placing the old alongside the new, however, and you can see that there is a nod to the original in terms of the keypad.
HMD Global, the company who now own Nokia, have claimed that the new device will be just as durable as the original although with half the thickness of the 2000 version we remain unsure. When it comes to other aspects of reliability, the new model has 10 times the talk time (22 hours) and twice the standby time of the original at a rather unimaginable one month. It’s also fully chargeable via a micro USB, has a 2 megapixel camera, 16MB of internal memory and 2G connectivity so you can really feel as though you’ve stepped back to the noughties. There’s also a headphone jack at the bottom of the device but it remains a mystery as to whether or not you’ll be able to store songs on there. Maybe one or two. It’s still unclear, but rather unlikely, that users will be able to customise their new model with retro cases much like the 3310 of yore, but the new phone is available in glossy red or yellow or a matte finish dark blue and grey version. Plus, before you begin to panic, the new model does have an updated version of the classic Snake game which will adapt to the new colour screen.
It may simply be nostalgia that sees the drive in sales for the new model, but many believe that the sudden trend in so-called ‘dumb phones’ and a desire to stay unconnected may improve the 3310’s popularity. According to analysts, Nokia was the number two global manufacturer of feature phones back in 2016 with 3.5 million handsets shipped. With this most recent release, we can begin to wonder about the state of the current smartphone market. The mere idea that people are excited about the revival of a phone as basic as the 3310 may imply that developers are missing the mark when it comes to what consumers want to see from their devices. Whatever your reasoning for wanting to purchase it, the new 3310 is set for release in the second quarter of 2017 and is expected to cost around €50 (£42).
