Day one of Mobile World Congress (MWC) has concluded, with the little known about Finnish company HMD stealing the spotlight for not so highly advanced tech launch. As you would imagine, OEMs were fighting for attention at the MWC 2017, and HMD (being a new company) pulled a nostalgia-trick with the Nokia 3310 to get the bulk of the spotlight.
The company brought back to life a phone, which at the turn of the century was crammed up in many pockets. The Nokia 3310 indeed could be said to have had a cult-like status, with users confident on its indestructibility and reliability. For a phone that was first released 17 years ago, the 3310 garnered more than its fair share of attention at the MWC 2017. Given there were other far superior smartphones being launched alongside, but will it be able to compete with the Samsungs and Apples of today’s world?
Nokia 3310 review
This phone is by no measure a smartphone. It is your plain call, text, and lots of snake game type of a phone; a feature phone if you will. However, it does have some upgrades that set it apart from its 17-year-old bigger brother.
The new 3310 comes with a 2MP rear snapper, located just near the Nokia logo. The display has also been improved to a colored 2.4-inch one, and just like its older brother, the new 3310 comes with impressive battery life. HMD says the new Nokia 3310 can give you up to 22 hours of talk times, and one month of standby time.
Who is to say the new 3310 has a place in this new modern world that wants to remain connected to the internet around the clock? If you buy the new Nokia 3310, it perhaps out of sentimental and nostalgia reasons; the snake game was a hit during its time and could bring up lots of fun memories.
What HMD got right and wrong at the MWC 2017?
Like I said, HMD is a new company trying some of its first launches at a world-stage event in the midst of industry heavyweights. It had to come up with a special trick to get noticed at all, and no being staffed with ex-Nokia employees is not enough.
However, given the attention the company got at MWC 2017, it would be safe to say their trick paid off. HMD’s trick to take consumers down the memory lane with the 3310 worked well, largely thanks to the good rapport set by Nokia in its early days.
But they forgot one important thing Nokia did to the early 3310 that made consumers happy; availability of faceplate customization. Unless they follow afterwards, you will not find those garish Hello Kitty custom covers for the new 3310. You will just have to be content with the phone in its red/yellow and dark blue/grey outer body.
