If you took a straw poll right now and asked people across the age spectrum what the best cellphone ever made was, you would be shocked to find how many people might say the very first iPhone. Or some Blackberry. It's okay. It's not their fault. People who were born after, say, 2003, would have been brought up in a world of many types of smartphones, Xbox consoles and the very beginning of the internet of things. You know, this digital-everything world we live in now.
The older, more wise amongst us know better. Millennials (or whatever they call the really young people now), the best cellphone ever made was the Nokia 3310. For one reason: it was really, really good at being a cellphone. Aside from a huge range of impressive features, including predictive text, a calculator and games (remember Snake?!), the battery lasted more than a day, and it was damn near indestructible. Don't take my word for it. There's an entire Youtube subculture dedicated to the sheer awesomeness of the 3310's build.
(Before any of you smug millennials write in to say that the phone was destroyed, the fact that it required a sledgehammer is the point.)
Well, there's incredibly good news for those who are nostalgic for the 3310. HMD Global Oy, the company with exclusive rights to market Nokia phones is poised to unveil a 3310 homage on February 26 in Barcelona.
Venturebeat reports:
Perhaps the most interesting of these devices, at least from the perspective of mobile enthusiasts, is not a smartphone at all, but a modern version of a classic workhorse of a feature phone, the Nokia 3310. Known primarily for its plentiful battery life and nearly indestructible build, the 3310 was released at the turn of the millennium as a replacement to the also-popular 3210.
At just €59, this new incarnation seems priced competitively enough to win over nostalgic former owners for use as a second phone.
The company will also be launching two new downmarket Android phones, but nobody is excited about that...
No news yet on whether or not the 3310 will be distributed to South Africa, but I don't need to tell you what a mistake it would be not to. We love the 3310 here!