Iconic Nokia phone with battery life for days set for comeback

NOKIA is going to bring back the historic 3310 in the biggest tech comeback of all time. A homage to the Finnish giant’s classic feature phone will reportedly be released this month when HMD unveils its new range of Nokia-branded devices at Mobile World Congress.

The Nokia 3310, first released in 2000, was beloved for a days-long battery life, its ability to withstand great falls and the classic game Snake.

The nostalgia-inducing phone, which hasn’t been available for some years, will probably get a refresh, although it is not entirely clear how modernised it will be.

It will cost à59 (about R816), according to Venture Beat, and is designed to be a second phone.

The original Nokia 3310 could make calls and send text messages, but it didn’t have a camera and couldn’t connect to the internet.

It is not clear if the contemporary homage to the 3310 will introduce some of the more expected features of phones, such as internet connection and apps.

HMD, the Finnish start-up which secured a 10-year deal to create phones under the Nokia brand, will unveil its first range of smartphones on February 26.

Aside from the updated 3310, it is expected to release a range of low-end Android smartphones. These had been designed to be recognisable as Nokia devices and “take the clutter away”, HMD said.

Its first phone was the Nokia 6, which was released in China at the beginning of this year.

While the 3310 isn’t Nokia’s bestselling phone of all time, it is one of the most iconic. It sold more than 126 million units, and its sturdy design meant many first-time phone owners kept it for years. — © The Daily Telegraph, London