Nokia resurrects iconic 3310
BARCELONA – Nokia on Sunday unveiled a revamped version of its iconic 3310 model, more than a decade after it was phased out.
An updated version of the 3310 – first launched in 2000 – complete with the classic mobile game Snake, and a month-long
standby battery life is to go on sale later this year, new manufacturer HMD Global confirmed.
The company said the device will cost 49 euro and is aimed at those looking for a second or so-called “burner” phone to make calls and send texts.
Nokia’s original 3310 sold nearly 120 million units worldwide, making it one of the world’s best-selling mobiles, but it is unlikely the revamped version unveiled Sunday, which includes internet access, will post similar sales.
Having once been the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia has since slipped behind all its major rivals and was sold off by previous buyers Microsoft last year.
As well as the 3310, Nokia also revealed a new line of mid-range modern smartphones – including the Nokia 6 the company released in China at the start of the year, as well as a limited edition gloss version called the Arte Black – alongside the new Nokia 5 and Nokia 3. All four devices are made from aluminium, with each device shaped from an individual block of metal.
Each also runs the latest version of Android – Nougat 7.0.
The Nokia 3310’s appeal, considered as a Dumbphone – or handset that just make calls and send texts – was underscored on Sunday in Barcelona on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest mobile expo.
Dumbphones remain useful to telecoms operators to “relaunch or accelerate” mobile phone use as they are relatively inexpensive, said Julien Miniconi, a telecoms expert at consulting firm Wavestone.
“It makes sense especially in countries where the network is not great,” he added.
Last year 1.5 billion smartphones were sold around the world, according to research firm Gartner.
But the dumbphone market is still significant, with nearly 400 million sold in 2016.
In certain emerging markets such as India, their sales still outstrip smartphones.
Basic phones accounted for over 55 percent of all mobiles sold the third quarter of 2016 in the world’s second most populous country, according to the International Data Corp., a market research firm.
And dumbphone sales are continuing to rise in this major market by about four percent per year.
Even in developed nations where the telecoms market is mature, the phones continue to sell.
“Today they are niche markets, either for those looking for vintage or for those who are anti mobile internet or old people,” said Thomas Husson, a mobile analyst at Forrester, a research group.
Young kids also use them as a first phone. Some people use them as secondary phone to lend to visiting friends and family from another country and avoid roaming charges.
British actor Eddie Redmayne, who won an Oscar in 2015 for his role as scientist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” made headlines as he became the latest in a growing band of smartphone refuseniks.