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Hardware

Iconic Feature Phone Nokia 3310 Coming Back this Month, VentureBeat Says (venturebeat.com) 95

The iconic Nokia 3310 feature phone is all set for a return, according to a report. VentureBeat adds: HMD Global Oy, the Finnish manufacturer with exclusive rights to market phones under the storied Nokia brand, is planning to announce four such handsets at Mobile World Congress later this month, according to a person briefed on the company's plans. Known primarily for its plentiful battery life and nearly indestructible build, the 3310 was released at the turn of the millennium as a replacement to the also-popular 3210.
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Iconic Feature Phone Nokia 3310 Coming Back this Month, VentureBeat Says

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  • I'm gonna buy two-three of these phones. Could come in handy every once in a while, especially when I am on a trip.
    • I can see having one of these in the car or RV, with a cheapie prepaid SIM card that might need a small top-off every few months. Definitely worth having.

      I do miss the $15 prepaid candybar Nokia phone. Only did basic texts and phone... but it worked well, and Nokia's UI for the feature phones is unmatched.

      • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Tuesday February 14, 2017 @10:46AM (#53865869)

        Basic text and phone and nothing else is EXACTLY what I want for the phone that is used for text message verification in online banking. Zero chance of catching any malware.

        • Re:Not Even Kidding (Score:5, Informative)

          by Khyber ( 864651 ) <techkitsune@gmail.com> on Tuesday February 14, 2017 @11:16AM (#53866129) Homepage Journal

          "Zero chance of catching any malware."

          I had an old Nokia 3310, bought at an auction for $3. Did a ROM dump, it's got gov't loaded firmware on it, it used to belong to a well-known Memphis drug dealer.

          So much for that zero chance.

      • I do miss the $15 prepaid candybar Nokia phone. Only did basic texts and phone... but it worked well, and Nokia's UI for the feature phones is unmatched.

        Cheap prepaid plans at $3/month or less can still be found: http://www.cellguru.net/prepai... [cellguru.net]
        There are even some cheap unlimited plans without data for $20 or less: http://www.prepaidphonenews.co... [prepaidphonenews.com]

        • I have a $20 a year plan, not in the US, I can't use it much but don't want too either, it just lets me be contactable, and make the occasional phone call. 1 minute a month is enough for anybody right? ok it enough for me but I am strange.

          • The cheapest we have in the USA from a major carrier (t-mobile) is $36 a year and includes 30 minutes a month. There are a few cheaper options from resellers if you never actually use your phone. We also have an interesting feature that even a "disconnected" phone can still call 911, our police/fire/emergency number. Not sure if other countries do something like that or not.

            • All GSM mobile stations in europe can dial 112 even without sim card
    • Good way to keep the TSA out of your email and Facebook I guess.
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Perfect for taking into the USA. No 'SmartPhone' features for the DHS etc goons to demand passwords to Facebook etc.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Talking of modernization, I wonder if they will add 3G network connectivity, as 2G mobile network is on the edge of phasing-out. (Asking 4G VoLTE is too much so I won't)
      • by jo7hs2 ( 884069 )
        They wouldn't really have a choice on now on many carriers...AT&T's 2G is gone as of Jan 1 this year. I'm not sure the situation in Europe.
        • Unverified info from a smaller European operator: transition to LTE is the goal, 3G will be gone mid-term. 2G will stay for a long time because too much deployed (mainly IoT, phones don't live very long anyway) equipment is not LTE-capable.

  • Hopefully these will have something better than a WAP browser? maybe a 3390 version for the US?

    Oh, probably not intended for the US.

  • Just asking because the specs on this say its a GSM phone. And my poor old Motorola Razr V3 was recently abandoned by AT&T. Because it's not 3G or better.

  • I miss my old Nokia (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Tuesday February 14, 2017 @10:54AM (#53865935)

    I had a 7110. Great phone, eternal standby (seriously, you charged it once a week and it had no problem retaining that power) and back then that spring-mechanism was just way too cool.

    Only thing that bothered me, and that eventually broke, was that antenna stub. Without that it would have been the perfect phone. Very rugged, near indestructible (except for that damn antenna) and that spring mechanism worked for a surprisingly long time...

    • by robinsc ( 84714 )

      I had the 5110... everything you love about the 7110 but no spring so even less failure chances and the standby/talktime was unbelivable.

  • by loranger ( 2707781 ) on Tuesday February 14, 2017 @11:05AM (#53866029)
    I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone. --Bjarne Stroustrup
    • by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Tuesday February 14, 2017 @11:29AM (#53866251) Homepage

      I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to use my telephone. --Bjarne Stroustrup

      On behalf of all C++ developers past, present and future it's called karma. And you have a very long way to go to break even.

  • The cops can't take your info from it (because it holds none) and it's great for breaking windows! ;)

  • A dumb phone with 4G wifi hotspot functionality may be my ideal device. It's not clear from the article if that'll be supported, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if it was.

    • A dumb phone with 4G wifi hotspot functionality may be my ideal device. It's not clear from the article if that'll be supported, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if it was.

      I asked for this years ago. When they first started coming out with smart phones, I was annoyed that I couldn't just pick my tablet/ipod of choice and tether it to my phone of choice. A smartphone is still inferior to a dumb phone for placing calls. There are obviously people that want an all in one so they don't have to carry two devices but having the flexibility of detaching your cellular service from your screen of choice would be awesome.

    • by nasch ( 598556 )

      Maybe you have a different definition of dumb phone than I do but what good is 4G on a dumb phone?

      • It's good for providing a wifi hotspot, while still being an actual phone to boot.
        • by Slayer ( 6656 )
          While we take networking and wifi as more or less granted on new devices, these services are quite computationally expensive and draw a lot of battery. If you want this feature, you pretty much have to go the whole way to smart phone, except for maybe the display. But honestly: once you have the clunky size and crappy battery life of a smart phone, you may as well get that large display screen, too.
  • OK, there are a few scratches but it works like it did when I bought it.
    • Is it blocking the ad blocking that AdBlock tries to implement? So you have ads? Or is it blocking people who were trying to block AdBlock? Which means you are back to no ads? Too many negations, cannot parse!

      • Is it blocking the ad blocking that AdBlock tries to implement? So you have ads? Or is it blocking people who were trying to block AdBlock? Which means you are back to no ads? Too many negations, cannot parse!

        Careful - App guy will show up!

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Ok.. how about a updated version of this? :)

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