The Nokia 3310 had a reputation for hardiness. You could throw it down a flight of stairs, spill a pint over it, or drop it into a pool of mud, and it would emerge unscathed. It was like the Wolverine of phones, and for that reason, it remains a firm fan favorite.
And now it’s coming back, almost 17 years after it first launched in 2000. Nokia plans to re-launch the device at the upcoming MWC conference in Barcelona, according to data obtained by the reliable Evan ‘EvLeaks’ Blass of VentureBeat.
The handset will reportedly cost €59, and will be marketed as a way of getting long battery life in an almost-indestructible form factor.
Although Nokia hasn’t manufactured the phone in years, there’s still a fondness for the device, and it remains to be sold through third-party channels, like Amazon Marketplace and eBay.
MWC will see three other Nokia-branded phones released. It’s expected that the Nokia 3, 5, and 6 will run Android 7.0. According to VentureBeat, these will range from €150 to €250.
It’s worth pointing out that the phones sold under the Nokia marque aren’t actually from the company that originally released the 3310, the N95, and the N-Gage. Rather, the rights to the name were bought by little-known Finnish company HMD Global in a deal that completed last December.
Given that most smartphones have a propensity to run out of juice before the day is finished, I’m convinced there’s still a market for high-endurance feature phones. Phones that lack the bells and whistles of your garden-variety Android handset or iPhone, but only need to be charged once every few weeks.
And let’s face it, who wouldn’t want a piece of computing history in their pocket? Especially when it has Snake.
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