14 DAY TRIAL // For many people out there, Nokia 3310 was the beginning of mobile phones, even though technically, that’s not really accurate. But at the same time, there are also some who consider the 3310 the end of durable phones, and at some level, this does make sense.
Nokia 3310, often referred to as “the brick,” was a hell of a phone. It survived nearly every torture test with flying colors, no matter if this involved being ran over by a train or dropped from a plane. Moreover, it was so popular that it eventually became a legend, and believe it or not, but there are some units of the classic version still being used today.
Nokia sold more than 126 million units of the first-generation model, and while this doesn’t seem a lot as compared to how many iPhones Apple sells these days, for example, keep in mind that we’re talking about a phone that launched in the early 2000s.
As it’s trying to recover after the Microsoft fiasco and is betting big on Android, Nokia has more time to spoil its loyal customers, so the company decided to launch a modern version of the 3310 at MWC in 2017. The iconic phone, however, wasn’t supposed to be updated to today’s standards, but instead, receive upgrades that would allow customers to stick with the Nokia 3310 series for at least another decade without spending a fortune for the upgrade.
It’s more of Nokia’s very own iPhone SE, if you wish, as Apple launched the upgraded model in order to bring 4-inch phone fans to new-generation hardware and software. And this is the purpose of the Nokia 3310: offer modern features without losing the essentials that made the original model an important part of the mobile phone history.
“ DID YOU KNOW? The original Nokia 3310 is one of Finland’s national emojis. ”
While we’re going to briefly discuss the hardware part as well, this review won’t concentrate on the performance figures of the Nokia 3310. Because that wouldn’t be fair, since the 3310 is not by any means supposed to compete against the likes of iPhone and Samsung, but instead just serve as a sexier brick that can provide you with the basic phone capabilities with little to worry about.“Plastic. Because it never breaks.”
Let’s start with the design. As compared to the original Nokia 3310, the modern version is no longer bulky and is substantially lighter. The modern brick measures 115.6 x 51 x 12.8 mm (4.55 x 2.01 x 0.50 in) and is made from plastic. Not glass, not metal, but plastic, which although seems and feels cheap, is exactly the right choice for this kind of phone. This way, there’s no reason to be concerned that you’re going to break its display or crack the body.
It features a TFT screen with a size of just 2.4 inches and 240x320 pixels resolution, 4:3 aspect ratio, 167 ppi, and 30.3% screen-to-body ratio. Of course, it doesn’t even compare with leaders iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S8, but again, it’s not even supposed to. The Nokia 3310 doesn’t even feature touch support, and you have to browse the menus just like you did it nearly 20 years ago, using the keyboard.
The modern Nokia 3310 comes with a 2-megapixel camera with LED flash and video support, but with no secondary camera for selfies and video calls. This is mostly because it does not support video calls anyway, so a front-facing camera would have had no role and would have only increased the final price of the device.
It goes without saying that the camera is terrible at 2 megapixels, and it’s a pain to take any pictures with it, not only because of the poor quality but also to the very slow software.
“ DID YOU KNOW? Snake, also available on the Nokia 3310, is the most played game of all time, with more than 1 billion players worldwide. ”
One of the best things about the new Nokia 3310 is that, just like the original model, it offers stunning battery life. The 1200 mAh battery can last for no less than one full month per charge in standby mode, and in real-life usage, I nearly got one week with a single charge.For me, not having to recharge my phone daily is kind of awkward and there were moments I involuntarily wanted to plug the Nokia 3310 before going to sleep just to make sure that I have a full battery the next day. But this is no longer necessary, and while this feels incredibly relaxing, there’s also a downside.
Recharging the phone every week is mostly the result of not doing too many things with it, and the battery lasts that much simply because there are no processes that drain the battery. On a smartphone, you browse the web every once in a while, take photos, send emails, or chat with friends, but on a Nokia 3310, some of these things aren’t necessarily impossible, but certainly more difficult to do.
For example, browsing the web on a Nokia 3310 is terrible. The small screen, the lack of touch support, the slow connectivity speed, and the super-slow software make you give up seconds after you launch the browser, and this is one of the reasons it offers such amazing battery life.
“30 days of battery life. Wow.”
But having a removable battery comes with another set of advantages. Imagine you leave on a trip where you don’t care about browsing the web and just want to have a phone that you can use in case of emergency, or maybe for short calls in the evening.
With the Nokia 3310 and an extra battery, you don’t have to worry about recharging for several weeks in a row. To be honest, this sounds like a dream coming true for me since my typical charging schedule involves the smartphone and the smartwatch, and every few days, the toothbrush and the electric shaver.
“ DID YOU KNOW? The Nokia tune used some cues from Frederic Chopin’s 1834 “Grande valse brilliante.” ”
The Nokia 3310 also comes with some extras that were previously available on the original model, such as FM radio plus a flashlight. You also get Bluetooth, but no Wi-Fi. A headphone jack is also offered.
The hardware itself is by no means impressive, but I can’t say I was impressed by the experience with the phone either. Nokia has tried to make the 3310 a more modern phone by putting the emphasis on what made the original sibling great, but in the process actually made some things worse.
Snake, for instance, which is one of the most famous games ever, now has its own shortcut in the “app drawer,” as Nokia clearly wanted people to be aware it’s there. Developed by Gameloft and now featuring color graphics, it lacks the fun of the original Snake, which I remember I never managed to beat.
“Modern, but not too modern.”
There are also touches that Nokia clearly embraced because it wanted the new model to be a new-generation interpretation of the original 3310, but again, they leave a lot of room for improvements.
It’s available in multiple colors like red, blue, yellow, and grey, but some look rather cheap. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since the phone isn’t aiming for the premium anyway, but it’s hard to believe that by screaming affordable from all angles Nokia can attract too many buyers.
So who should buy this phone? This is a question that has a very simple response: anyone who doesn’t want more than basic phone capabilities, doesn’t care about smart features, and doesn't want to recharge a device every day.
To be honest, I can hardly imagine myself using the Nokia 3310 as a daily driver, and after sticking with smartphones for so many years, even going back for one week is a painful experience. On the other hand, my mom said the new Nokia 3310 looked great and wanted one the second she saw it, so it’s pretty clear that the company is aiming for a niche here.
If you’re looking for a backup phone that you only want to use on rare occasions, such as on trips where there’s no Internet connection and just plan to call or text someone, there’s no doubt the Nokia 3310 is a great choice. Otherwise, it’s just a modest attempt to bring back an iconic phone.
