This year's Mobile Week Congress held in Barcelona, Spain saw the resurrection of an old favorite. Nokia 3310, the iconic mobile phone from the Finnish mobile manufacturer, makes its way back into the market in a revamped avatar.
According to BBC, The new version of Nokia 3310 will be sold under license by the Finnish start-up HMD Global, the company that also unveiled several Android smart phones from Nokia. More than 126 million Nokia 3310 mobile phones were produced before it was made obsolete in 2005. Nokia does not make phones itself anymore but manufactures telecom equipment, Ozo virtual reality cameras, and health kit under the Withings brand.
Experts say that it was a fantastic way to re-launch Nokia's phone brand. They say that the Nokia 3310 was the first mass- market mobile, comprising of a massive amount of nostalgia and affection. If HMD would have announced three Android devices instead of Nokia 3310, they would have surely not irked this amount of curiosity, the experts say. The re-launch of Nokia 3310 is considered to be a very clever move and it is expected to sell in significant volumes.
According to the Independent, he new version of Nokia 3310 consists of a few welcome changes. It has a fresher and slicker look than its predecessor, with its enlarged, 2.4 inch 320X240 color screen and a significantly slimmer frame. The new model is 12.8 mm thick weighs 79.6 g compared to the 22 mm and 133 g of the old model. The new Nokia 3310 is also devoid of the old "C" and "arrow" buttons, replaced by large "call" and "end call" buttons. The new version is available in glossy red and yellow color options along with the familiar gray and blue matte schemes.
Nokia 3310 is being marketed as a feature phone by HMD Global. It will take in micro-SIM cards and has an improved battery life, offering 22 hours of talk time and a month long standby time. An improved version of the firm favorite "Snake game" comes with the new Nokia 3310. The users can also surf the web on a limited 2.5 G connection via the Opera Mini browser on the Nokia 3310. It will also have a 2 megapixel back camera.
Nokia 3310 is supposed to be available in Q2, in both single and dual SIM options. HMD Global says that the Nokia 3310 will retail at an average global price of $51.75.