# The Nokia 3310 Returns



## skyscraper101 (Feb 24, 2017)

Quite a bit of hype being stoked up about the return of this old favourite ahead of its unveiling at MWC.

Apparently, it's not android, it will be a 'feature' phone, and mostly staying true to its original design, although it will be slimmer and more light-weight, come in two variants, a classic 'black and white' display, and a colour display at low resolution to maintain long battery life.

Details, including apparent leaked images have been released on a Chinese site.

Anyone interested in this?


----------



## salem (Feb 24, 2017)

Seems like a bit of a nostalgia-fest to me. It isn't the Nokia 3310, it's going to be something that's made to look a bit like it.


----------



## bi0boy (Feb 24, 2017)

What's next? Orange monochrome PC monitors? Black and white tellies?

Oh yeah there's that thread about cassette tapes. I blame hipsters and old folks getting nostalgic

Buying one of these phones won't bring your childhood back.


----------



## 2hats (Feb 24, 2017)

bi0boy said:


> Buying one of these phones won't bring your childhood back.


But Trump and Farago promised me…


----------



## Pickman's model (Feb 24, 2017)

bi0boy said:


> What's next? Orange monochrome PC monitors? Black and white tellies?
> 
> Oh yeah there's that thread about cassette tapes. I blame hispters and old folks getting nostalgic
> 
> Buying one of these phones won't bring your childhood back.


it will when you're enjoying your second childhood


----------



## skyscraper101 (Feb 24, 2017)

I can see a few markets for this: Hipsters. Old people. The retro kitsch market. Kids to young to be trusted with a smartphone. People travelling abroad who want a second phone to put their SIM into. People who want a general backup phone with long battery for emergencies. People who just want two phones but only need the basics (dealers, small businesses, etc).

Because its so familiar, I think the nostalgia thing could make it a success again. Not in seismic terms like the iphone but at least in some of the above areas.

Problem with cheap smartphones as second phone devices is they very soon start to crumble under the weight of updated OS's and grind to a slow and buggy halt. The great thing about the old nokias and the like is you could use a 3310 today and it will still be as zippy as it was 17 years ago. Perhaps all they need is a bit of slimming down and a relaunch with some good marketing.


----------



## 8den (Feb 24, 2017)

skyscraper101 said:


> I can see a few markets for this: Hipsters. Old people. The retro kitsch market. Kids to young to be trusted with a smartphone. People travelling abroad who want a second phone to put their SIM into. People who want a general backup phone with long battery for emergencies. People who just want two phones but only need the basics (dealers, small businesses, etc).
> 
> Because its so familiar, I think the nostalgia thing could make it a success again. Not in seismic terms like the iphone but at least in some of the above areas.
> 
> Problem with cheap smartphones as second phone devices is they very soon start to crumble under the weight of updated OS's and grind to a slow and buggy halt. The great thing about the old nokias and the like is you could use a 3310 today and it will still be as zippy as it was 17 years ago. Perhaps all they need is a bit of slimming down and a relaunch with some good marketing.



Actually considering what American Customers and Immigration agents are doing with Passengers phones, having a good backup phone to take with you to States may become a must. 

Your smartphone is now the most dangerous thing you own. Don't take it to America


----------



## Lurdan (Feb 24, 2017)

I use Nokia feature phones - generally whatever eol bargain I can pick up when the old one dies. The rumoured price for this one is about £50 which is considerably less than half the original launch price of the 3310. But still well over double the price of the current basic model 105. So when my battered 2600 (which cost £33 in 2005) finally goes to the toxic landfill in the sky I probably won't be looking at one of these.

The whole retro-nostalgia thing escapes me. (And while it wouldn't be a red line I've never really taken to the look of the button design on the 3310). If anything other than price is a factor in my future phone purchases it will probably be because I need to move on to one with nice big buttons I can see - preferably coloured white. But I'm not really into phone culture I guess. I mean what next - will people start expecting me to ring them ? You can fuck right off with that.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Feb 24, 2017)

Lurdan said:


> I use Nokia feature phones - generally whatever eol bargain I can pick up when the old one dies. The rumoured price for this one is about £50 which is considerably less than half the original launch price of the 3310. But still well over double the price of the current basic model 105. So when my battered 2600 (which cost £33 in 2005) finally goes to the toxic landfill in the sky I probably won't be looking at one of these.
> 
> The whole retro-nostalgia thing escapes me. (And while it wouldn't be a red line I've never really taken to the look of the button design on the 3310). If anything other than price is a factor in my future phone purchases it will probably be because I need to move on to one with nice big buttons I can see - preferably coloured white. But I'm not really into phone culture I guess. I mean what next - will people start expecting me to ring them ? You can fuck right off with that.



I have a Nokia 1100 which is a solid device. It isn't ideal though because it isn't 3G and so lacks compatibility with networks abroad. 2G will eventually be switched off here too. Also the SIM slot needs an adaptor if I'm putting my iphone SIM into it. It'll be interesting to see if the new 3310 addresses either of those things.


----------



## Lurdan (Feb 24, 2017)

skyscraper101 said:


> I have a Nokia 1100 which is a solid device.


Wasn't one of these was it ?
Investigators Replicate Nokia 1100 Online Banking Hack

I can see a lot of demand if this new model replicates that functionality.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Feb 24, 2017)

Lurdan said:


> Wasn't one of these was it ?
> Investigators Replicate Nokia 1100 Online Banking Hack
> 
> I can see a lot of demand if this new model replicates that functionality.



 I never knew about that functionality. I'll probably have to go get it now from my Mum's to find out. $7.5k for one of those devices is insane!


----------



## 2hats (Feb 24, 2017)

Lurdan said:


> Wasn't one of these was it ?
> Investigators Replicate Nokia 1100 Online Banking Hack
> 
> I can see a lot of demand if this new model replicates that functionality.


You’ve been able to get up to those sort of shenanigans in software for years, no need for a retro handset. Underlying telco comms ‘security' fundamentally broken.


----------



## DotCommunist (Feb 24, 2017)

the true test of it will be its durability. The 3310 was inwincible


----------



## Dieselpunk2000 (Feb 26, 2017)

The world's most loved phone is back

Hmmmmmm.


----------



## Ax^ (Feb 26, 2017)

does not look like you could beat someone to death with it


----------



## mrs quoad (Feb 26, 2017)

I'm no longer convinced that modernity - and games / the internet on a phone, in particular - are particularly good for me.

Not sure I like the added features side of this, or the 2.5g. Otherwise, hmmmm.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Feb 26, 2017)

I have been thinking of bringing my trusty old 3310 back into service, because the low end smart phones I have have been rubbish on connectivity, battery life, usability, everything, and I don't want to fork out for a high end one, which will just end up an expensive procrastination crutch.

The new 3310 does look pretty decent, the MicroUSB and headphone socket both a step up, and the pricing seems realistic.

I still remember buying my original from Dixons with a payment docket scrounged off the dole - over a hundred quid for a PAYG phone


----------



## DaveCinzano (Feb 26, 2017)

DotCommunist said:


> the true test of it will be its durability. The 3310 was inwincible


It was the kubotan of the new millennium


----------



## skyscraper101 (Feb 27, 2017)

Bah... it's only 2.5G - meaning its basically useless in America, and many other places.

The whole point of these phones is they're supposed to last a long time because they're indestructible, have amazing batteries, and don't become obsolete through software updates which slow it to the point of useless.

But all that is pointless if you cant even get onto a cellular network 

Nokia just re-launched the Nokia 3310. But you won't get to use it


----------



## ViolentPanda (Feb 27, 2017)

DaveCinzano said:


> It was the kubotan of the new millennium



Does that make the "tactical pen" the smartphone of the new millennium?


----------



## mwgdrwg (Feb 28, 2017)

I wonder if the alarm works when it's switched off?

Probably the most annoying thing about modern smartphones compared to old phones.

I quite fancy one tbh.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Feb 28, 2017)

mwgdrwg said:


> I wonder if the alarm works when it's switched off?
> 
> Probably the most annoying thing about modern smartphones compared to old phones.
> 
> I quite fancy one tbh.



eh?  I'm sure my alarm wake my smartphone


----------



## mwgdrwg (Feb 28, 2017)

Throbbing Angel said:


> eh?  I'm sure my alarm wake my smartphone



From full power off? What is it?

I've never seen a smartphone do this!


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Feb 28, 2017)

mwgdrwg said:


> From full power off? What is it?
> 
> I've never seen a smartphone do this!



I'll have to check now, you've made me doubt myself, I'll let you know after this podcast has finished.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Feb 28, 2017)

mwgdrwg said:


> From full power off? What is it?
> 
> I've never seen a smartphone do this!




Well, fuck my hat, I didn't know that.  It didn't work/wake.

I must be thinking of someone elses phone


----------



## Virtual Blue (Feb 28, 2017)

it looks great but no-one I know likes talking beyond 2 mins on the mobile.


----------



## T & P (Feb 28, 2017)

DotCommunist said:


> the true test of it will be its durability. The 3310 was inwincible


I still have a broken-and-held-together-with-tape 3310 in my sock drawer. I can't even remember how I managed to break it. Though to its credit it still worked.

Incidentally, this new incarnation will presumably have Snakes? No point otherwise...


----------



## DotCommunist (Mar 1, 2017)

T & P said:


> I still have a broken-and-held-together-with-tape 3310 in my sock drawer. I can't even remember how I managed to break it. Though to its credit it still worked.
> 
> Incidentally, this new incarnation will presumably have Snakes? No point otherwise...


it had better have. My 3310 survival story (every owner has one) is lifting up a bed to hunt under it for something. Phone slides out of shirt pocket. I then drop the bed in confusion and it lands from waist height with the wheel directly on the face of the phone. It received a minor crack and was still in full working nick when I gave it away 4 years later.


----------



## girasol (Mar 1, 2017)

I actually bought a couple from ebay last year, as my son kept losing phones.  Clearly I'm a trend setter 

For teenagers they are great because when they get mugged those phones don't get taken away...  Or didn't use to.


----------

