When HMD Global, the company currently in charge of Nokia’s mobile brand, revealed that they would rebirth the now famous Nokia 3310 cell phone, the collective joyous cry of a thousand hipsters could be heard around the world. Those cries were soon silenced on the western front as it was discovered that the new 3310 wouldn’t be making a US appearance after all.
And then it did anyway, much to everyone’s delight and surprise, and even touts some upgrades from the international variant like 3G connectivity (which, unfortunately, impedes on battery life, but battery life is still pretty good). What’s even better about the US Nokia 3310 is that the price tag remains perfectly affordable at just $60, $20 less than it was predicted to cost here in the States. Its release date is also just around the corner, October 29th, with pre-orders already active over at Best Buy.
With such a relatively cheap price, you may be asking yourself: Should I buy one? While it might that the Nokia 3310 is a relic better left in the past now that we have our fancy schmancy smartphones, there are still several reasons why a 3310 might not be such a bad idea after all.
Simplicity
The older I get, the less I use my phone. Maybe it’s a result of having more responsibilities on my plate, but I think it has more to do with finding a balance between full-blown smartphone addiction and real-life interactions. At this point, I don’t use my phone for much more than catching up on the news, GPS, a little bit of social media, music, banking, e-mails, and of course calling and texting. Occasionally I’ll venture outside of those venues, but not very often. The Nokia 3310 does most of those things adequately, so if you only need a select few features on your phone, the 3310 might be something worth considering.
Good option for kids
My kid is 7, and as a 7-year-old he feels that he’s totally ready for an iPhone. I respectfully disagree. He already has a tablet that works perfectly well for what he wants to do. However, he is starting to get more involved with extracurriculars, going to friend’s houses and generally becoming more independent, so having direct access to him via phone is something I’ve considered more often recently. Something like the 3310 would be something worth considering for older kids or teenagers whose parents just aren’t ready for them to have access to the vast world of smartphones yet.
Back-up phone
It’s a good idea to have a back-up device. Although I’d argue that most of us have an old phone or seven lying around for just such purposes, if those devices are smartphones, then you’re unfortunately subject to experiencing terrible lag from outdated software, depending on how old your devices are when you need them. This isn’t something I thought about until I needed to use a back-up phone for a day recently and the only device I had laying around was the HTC One Mini and… wow. Let’s just say I only used it when I absolutely had to, and when I had to it was a nightmare. That phone did not age well. But the nice thing about the 3310 – or any dumb phone, really – is that their software is timeless.
In the end, the new and improved 3310 probably isn’t going to a good replacement for most people who already use smartphones. It can do a lot of things adequately, but it won’t do them nearly as well as a smartphone would. Its design is reminiscent of the original 3310 at best, but it’s not the tanky beast most remember it for. Still, the addition of 3G is nice considering it can’t connect to Wi-Fi. Other updates, such as a better graphical interface, threaded messaging, headphone jack(!), and a camera (albeit a 2-megapixel camera, but better than the no camera on the back of the original I suppose) make it a decent option for those looking for a simpler, starter, or back-up cell phone that’s both modern and affordable.