It is not found in the shops of the Peninsula. If you order it, it takes days to arrive. In an era of instant gratification, thinking of hunting down a mobile phone that costs around sixty euros and not even being able to find it is paradoxical. But that’s what’s happening.
Attention, the craze of the Nokia 3310, which we talked about both during the Mobile World Congress and in the unboxing of the sample arrived in the editorial office, goes far beyond the simple need for nostalgia. The newborn Nokia – actually the company that has rented the brand from the Finnish for ten years – has set the marketing campaign for this product on the idea of purging and detoxification. A simple mobile that does little, very little, and allows you to get away from chat and social networks. The idea is popular but, after a week, it’s back to the good old iPhone.
How is the Nokia 3310 2017 made?
The original version of the Nokia 3310 was launched in 2000 and sold until 2005. It produced over 120 million units and is with good reason perhaps the best-selling mobile phone ever, or one of the best-selling. Indestructible, essential, GSM Dual Band, the Nokia 3310 is the myth of a generation, a kind of Fiat 500 of mobile phones.
His reply is actually an interpretation. The shape is very similar even if thinner, the battery has comparable performance (during the three weeks of testing we charged it twice) and there are many things that recall the original. However, the differences are many, especially from a philological point of view.
But the softness of the shapes and a certain jaunty play well interpret the spirit of the old Nokia 3310, to which you could change the covers that are always the same in this device. The advantage of the new one is the double SIM, the slot for the micro SD, instead inexplicably always GSM dual band, so it does not work in the USA or in Asia and parts of Africa.
Parallel screws
Let’s try to analyze the two phones in parallel. Because the use is quite trivial: the new Nokia 3310 uses the same “motherboard” like the Nokia 150 (which costs half the price), that is, the super-cheap phones sold in Africa or emerging countries for between 10 and 30 dollars. The operating system is an advanced firmware, there is no Wi-Fi but there is Bluetooth 3 (we have successfully used Apple’s new AirPods!) And many other functions are also missing.
There is no speakerphone, and in any case, the audio is heard worse than in the old Nokia 3310. There is the headphone socket (in the old one there was not) with a three-stage minijack and headset as standard in the package, and MicroUSB for the recharge. The keyboard, which peeks out in color scheme and key shape that of the old Nokia (but has the crushable cross key in the center rather than the original combination of up-down arrow and separate menu key) is difficult to read in low light situations.
The original Nokia 3310 had a game called Snake II and it was fantastic, especially in the meager rigor of its geometries, which are fundamental to the game itself. The new Nokia has a reinterpretation made by the French Gameloft that is not at all convincing, with curved lines and scattered colors.
The new Nokia has the radio (but it only works with headphones inserted) and the mp3 player (you need the micro sd because the phone’s memory is tiny, like 16MB) as well as a two-megapixel rear camera that takes digital daguerreotypes, a shape of d ‘art which, however, we cannot call digital photography.
There is also a browser, practically Wap, very compact and which shows only a few pages. We were unable to connect to the web version of Telegram, and in the end, we saw that the thing this phone really lacks is the ability to have a good presence on the messaging. This would be enough to make it useful since Whatsapp and Telegram are alternatives to SMS.
Who and what is this phone for?
When we started showing the device to friends and acquaintances, it received instant success. There is the known form that returns, there is the charm of vintage, curiosity, sympathy. But it is certain that the new Nokia is a real impediment to what mobile telephony has become ten years after its exit from the market. It’s like trying to use an Olivetti Lettera 22 typewriter between a MacBook test and an iPad Pro test. The difference is substantial. The desire to use it as the only personal phone passes very quickly.
Who is this device for then? Well, it’s a stylish item and can be fun for example on vacation. It is sturdy and apparently well made (during the test it did not show the slightest sign of abating) and can be enjoyed perhaps as a second-line or perhaps as a device to go to a concert, to the outdoor pool or to the beach. Maybe to keep in the car or to go camping, with a battery that lasts a lifetime.
It is not useful for the technology maniac, for the hi-tech gadget enthusiast, for those who after thirty seconds cannot resist the need to go to Facebook or download a new app.
In conclusion
The Nokia 3310 2017 is a well-made phone that has two flaws. It could have been done better and could have cost less (even thirty euros). Also, but this is an older design flaw and probably the result of other problems, it is only dual-band GSM. At least the third band to open up to other markets, or a savings UMTS module could be a better choice.
The color screen and multimedia capabilities make you smile, it would have been better if you had invested in finishing the project. However, the great and undeniable advantage of this device is its practicality and its physicality. It fits well in the hand, fits the ear, lasts a lot, works even in conditions where other devices take much less. And it is beautiful. In short, it gives satisfaction, perhaps more than an anonymous Android bar of soap
One last note: we would not recommend it to people who are too old given the small and not easily readable keys, the not overly generous display, and the relative complexity of the menus. There are other simpler and more practical phones, designed specifically for this type of user.
Price and availability Officially the new Nokia 3310 version 2017 is marketed in Italy at a price of 60 euros. The great demand limits availability and prices tend to rise, even on Amazon.
