The iconic Nokia 3310
As far as tech is concerned, you have to agree it wasn’t a year of breakthrough innovations, but rather a year of Facebook privacy concerns and YouTube algorithms.
With this in mind let’s take a look at Nokia’s throwback 3310 mobile phone that is all the rage at the moment due to its retro look and lack of apps.
Once upon a time Finnish giant Nokia dominated the mobile phone market, but failed to keep up with Apples iPhone and Samsung offerings failing by the wayside until there was nothing left of the company to salvage other than its once-stellar name.
Fast forward 20m years or so until a group of former Nokia employees got together to form a new company called HMD which for all intents and purposes is Nokia.
HMD is headquartered in the old Nokia building and is made up of former staff who had the idea to resurrect the company’s iconic 3310 with a few modifications that would appeal to Millennial’s looking for a classically styled phone.
“We actually took a long time to deconstruct the original 3310,” says chief product officer Juho Sarvikas. As it turned out, recreation required a certain degree of invention. “One of the most difficult things with the 3310 was to make the corner of the display so close to the edge of the physical enclosure. That was one area where we had to develop a completely new solution that did not exist in this space.”
The HMD or Nokia 3310 falls into a category of devices called “feature phones” a type of phone which in today’s competitive smartphone era only accounts for 7% of the market.
Where the phone comes into its own is in places that have poor infrastructure and limited broadband or resources.
The phone also appeals to people who not only want a nostalgia trip, but a legitimate chance to disconnect from the always-on lifestyle that is part and parcel of the smartphone with bells and whistles constantly announcing new messages.
“I think there is an increasing number of people who want to buy a secondary device,” says Sarvikas. “Most often it’s something you want to use to switch off a bit.”
Along with the cool retro style, you get a well-made phone that has a battery that can last a month on a single charge all for the price of around $50.00.
