As much as I hate to admit it, it appears that your Grandma’s ugly brick mobile phone you’ve been begging her to get rid of for years, may soon be more ‘in’ than your fresh IPhone 7. Having read about Donald Trump’s plans to implement anti-globalisation policies, watched the reboot of Full House and seen middle-aged parents playing Pokemon Go, 2016 had me feeling like we’d been booted back to the 20th century. And it’s looking like 2017 is going to be having us throwing back again, with the return of the memorable, oh so loved, brick phone- the Nokia 3310. The Nokia 3310, which was first launched in 2000, may be the ugly brick phone we begged our parents to get rid of when 2008 and the IPhone rolled around, however, as thousands await the return of the brick, it goes without saying that that iconic status of the Nokia is as indestructible as the Nokia 3310 itself.
Following the leak that Nokia was going to re-release the Nokia 3310, many have questioned exactly how it will fit into the 21st century apart from being the talk of twitter. Can Nokia truly hope to make money off it? Competing with the likes of IPhones which have allowed society to become accustomed, and perhaps even addicted to, internet everywhere, advanced camera technology and an abundance of apps, it is difficult to see where the most loved phone of the 90’s will fit in.
As well as its indestructability and brilliant battery life compared with our ever- smashed and battery-dead IPhones, what might attract 2017 phone users to the Nokia 3310 is its affordability. Predicted to go for around £50, the 3310 could attract a whole range of consumers from those wanting a cheap, no frills handset to those wishing, for memories sake, to see whether their talent at Snake still stands.
Secondly, it’s rumoured that it will be hitting the stage at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona alongside 3 other Android-powered Nokia handsets- the Nokia 3, 5 and 6. Although Nokia isn’t building the new handsets, as the brand license is now owned by the Finish company, HMD Global, Nokia will still be involved. It will set performance and brand requirements, allow use of its R&D facilities and receive royalties. Whilst we’re unsure what the rebooted Nokia 3310 will entail, the other 3 handsets are speculated to be of premium quality, costing around £635 for the 12GB version with a design which is still very ‘Nokia’.
And now for the countdown to MWC 2017 to see exactly what Nokia has in store for us.
By Chloe Pryce
Photo from: (Metro.co.uk)