It’s the phone that could put up a valiant fight against an actual sledgehammer, so it’s no surprise that people are a bit excited about the relaunch of the near-indestructible Nokia 3310.
Rumours began to circulate (based on a leak from Evan Blass) that the timeless ‘90s brick would be making a 2017 comeback, positioning itself as an ideal second handset (at a budget price) for people prone to smashing their iPhone screens into a million pieces at festivals and the like.
If the internet gossip is to believed, the new rugged-as-all-hell 3310 will be unveiled at this Sunday’s Mobile World Congress, but here’s all the important details we have right now.
Price
You can pick up a number of Nokia’s old handsets – usually used – on Amazon’s marketplace for anything from £30 to £130, but Venturebeat predicts the reboot will set you back €59, roughly £49.99. Not bad if you know it’s going to get the usage.
It’s going to come in a range of colours, which is nice isn’t it?
A lot of the original 3310’s popularity owed to the interchangeable face-plates that gave it that personal touch. You could really make the thing look hideous if you wanted to. Reports say the new phone will be available in a range of colours, including red, green and yellow. It will also be thinner and lighter than ever before.
The screen will be colour
The Nokia 3310 was such a consumer hit because of its excellent battery life. Compared to the pitiful don’t-check-Facebook-more-than-three-times-on-a-train-if-you-don’t-have-a-plug-socket efforts we’ve become accustomed to with today’s smartphones, it would feel heaven-sent. The news that the new 3310 will replace the classic 84 x 48-pixel monochrome screen with a colour one (according to Chinese site Vtech), will likely mean that the juice drains a bit faster than in the good old days, but it should still easily get through a weekend at Glastonbury. The screen tech won’t be flashy; it’s not like we’re going to be watching House of Cards on it. But modernising the iconic relic slightly seems like a wise move.
It will be a Carphone Warehouse exclusive
If the industry insiders cited by Mobile Today are well-informed, you won’t be able to just wander into any old phone shop and pick up your new indestructible road warrior. HMD Global, who market phones under the Nokia brand, have reportedly struck an exclusivity deal with Carphone Warehouse.
It will have Snake II pre-loaded… surely?
If it doesn’t, we riot at noon.
(Main image credit: Wikimedia)
