The new Nokia 3310 version of the classic gadget has a UK release date
Recently, HMD Global, the Finnish manufacturer with exclusive rights to the Nokia brand, launched the iconic Nokia 3310 in a different avatar at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 in Barcelona, Spain for $50 creating curiosity and excitement among Nokia fans. Many people including me still remember Nokia 3310 as their first ever phone, before the smartphones became mainstream.
The unbreakable Nokia 3310 was originally launched in 2000, which was later discontinued in 2005. The feature phone was the world’s best-selling phone of its time with 126 million units being sold. It had a nearly indestructible build and a battery that lasted for days, which made it an iconic phone in early 2000.
Now, seventeen years later after its original launch, the ‘modern version’ of the Nokia 3310 is back with a slimmer and softer design. The dimensions of the phone are 115.6 mm x 51 mm x 12.8 mm, which makes it much sleeker than the original phone, which measured 113 mm x 48 mm x 22 mm. The Nokia 3310 has more or less kept the shape of the original Nokia model but given it the features you need in 2017, which makes it an ideal secondary phone for the upcoming festival season.
While the retro charm of the original handset is retained, the new Nokia 3310 features a 2.4 inch touchscreen QVGA resolution colour display, which is polarised and curved for better sunlight legibility and comes with a resolution of 240 pixels by 320 pixels. The new Nokia 3310 is also offering an internal storage of 16MB that can be expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card. The Nokia 3310 has a removable 1,200mAh battery that can last for 31 days on standby and offer 22 hours of talk time with a single charge. The device is rechargeable via a microUSB port. It runs the Nokia Series 30+ OS, which is the OS providing support to the new range of Nokia-branded phones
On the camera front, it has a 2MP camera with LED flash on the rear for basic photography. It has a 3.5mm audio connector slot and you get a headphone jack for listening to music or FM radio. It can power through up to 51 hours of MP3 playback too, as well as up to 39 hours of FM radio playback.The phone has Micro USB (2.0) for connectivity as well as Bluetooth 3.0 with SLAM.
The Nokia 3310 will be available in single SIM as well as dual SIM variants. The Nokia 3310 supports slow 2G networks and the band supports are GSM 900/1800 MHz. In many countries, those frequencies have been switched off while few others are gradually switching it off as regulators shut off unused frequencies. This is applicable for Australia and Singapore, where carriers are shutting down 900MHz and 1800MHz bands.
The new 3310 handsets must support at least four bands, including 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz and 1900MHz to operate across the globe without any restrictions.
Last but not the least, the Nokia 3310 comes with a new version of the iconic ‘Snake’ game tailored for the colour screen. However, the users won’t be able to load apps separately. The device also supports web-browsing via the Opera Mini browser, which is pre-loaded on the feature phone. You can also access Twitter, Facebook and other services through the Opera Mini browser.
It also offers you four colours to choose from: Warm Red and Yellow, both with a gloss finish, and Dark Blue and Grey both with a matte finish. The custom UI adds a fresh look to the Nokia 3310.
Currently, the Nokia 3310 might only work in countries that support GSM 900 MHz and 1800 MHz that is Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But networks in North, Central and South America primarily use 850 MHz and 1900 MHz – frequencies that the 3310 won’t be able to connect to, and so won’t be able to receive any information from.
The hot and nostalgic gadget will be available for purchase in the UK at £49.99 from 24 May, 2017 from a number of retailers and operators including Carphone Warehouse and Vodafone. Carphone Warehouse has already opened pre-registrations on its website. The revamped Nokia 3310 is later expected to roll out to Germany on May 26 followed by the Netherlands and Belgium on June 5, 2017.
You can also sign up at nokia.com/phones to keep yourself updated on the release date of the phone in your region.
