Throw way back
Baywatch and The Blob aren’t the only old hits up for a reboot. HMD, the Finnish company that secured Nokia’s brand licensing rights late last year, is rumored to release a reboot of the iconic Nokia 3310. The startup is expected to launch the Nokia 3310 alongside the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 at this year’s Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain later this month.
The original Nokia 3310 was released in 2000, following the success of Nokia’s 3210 phone which featured SMS messages and the first of its kind internal antenna. The 3310 quickly gained notoriety for its durability. Nostalgic owners often refer to the 3310 as the “indestructible phone.” In fact, you’ve probably come across the 3310 in memes alongside Chuck Norris or as the star in a series of crash test videos.
Snake is life
The original 3310 was extremely popular. Looking back 17 years ago, not everyone in my circle had their own personal phone. But it seemed like everyone who did had a 3310. It would be interesting to see if its core features can translate into the same kind of popularity in today’s market of smartphones.
Yes, some of the original 3310 features like its interchangeable cover and simple, but insanely addictive Snake game are laughable compared to today’s standards.
However, the 3310’s trademark features like durability and battery life, along with its affordability are like the LBD. They never go out of style.
Although HMD hasn’t released any details on specs or price point for the 3310 reboot, we do have a few predictions before the February 26th MWC unveiling (a Snake reboot isn’t one of them).
Predictions
In an interview with The Economic Times last year, CEO of HMD Global Arto Nummela and President of HMD Global Florian Seiche stressed the importance of keeping Nokia’s competitive pricing. HMD’s first feature phone, the Nokia 150 was announced back in December at $26. While I don’t think the 3310 reboot will go for that low a price, phone leaker Evan Blass believes the 3310 will be priced at €59, or around $63.
“We’re bringing in innovation where it matters the most for consumer, and removing the clutter.” Florin tells the Economic Times. While HMD has been secretive over any 3310 spec details, I predict the reboot is going to upgrade only in areas that matter most to today’s consumers, with connectivity as the top priority.
[clickToTweet tweet=”The 3310 may mimic some of the Nokia Asha phones with built in apps like Facebook and WhatsApp. ” quote=”The 3310 may mimic some of the Nokia Asha phones with built in apps like Facebook and WhatsApp. “]
Overall with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM capabilities I think the Nokia 3310 reboot will act as an affordable feature phone for several international markets.
Note from the Editor: We can’t in good conscience publish this story without the following horrific gif.
