Direct from the stage floor at Mobile Word Congress, we go hands-on with the new Nokia 3310; does this revised take on a classic inspire?
Nokia’s original 3310 remains a classic device in every sense of the word, and is widely revered for its endless battery life and nigh-on indestructibility.
Under HMD Global, the Nokia brand has swiftly moved to recapture some of that magic with the rechristened 3310 – a device that brings a legend into modernity through the benefit of a colour display, 2-megapixel camera, and revised looks iterating upon those of its predecessor.
Read: This is Nokia’s new 3310, and it comes with a claimed 31 days of battery life
In the hand, the new 3310 closely references its original namesake; a numeric keypad remains while a colour display dominates a larger portion of the screen. Running on Nokia’s Series 30+ OS, the device isn’t set to take on the budget-level Android market anytime soon, but will contest the feature phone market.
In a market saturated with low-budget Android smartphones, the new 3310 will have its work cut out for it, especially considering the fact that the device lands without Wi-Fi, it’s camera doesn’t have autofocus, and automatic screen brightness isn’t supported.
In fact, one of the 3310’s most ironic competitors could be Microsoft’s Nokia 216 feature phone, which the former company debuted as its last hurrah in mobile technology before surrendering the Nokia brand name to HMD Global.
The revised handset was announced at MWC alongside three new Android handsets, dubbed the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and the formerly China-exclusive Nokia 6.
Read: What specs could Nokia’s new flagship Android phone have?
Take a listen to the latest episode of Bandwidth Blog On Air, where we spill the beans on our thoughts around the 3310’s resurgence; is this the first step Nokia needs to take to reclaim the throne?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryasmithSA
