The internet has been buzzing around the return of the iconic Nokia 3310 in the past few weeks. The Finnish company is planning to resurrect the phone in the second quarter.
Nokia produced more than 126 million original models of the Nokia 3310, before it was discontinued in 2005. The company finally re-announced the device at MWC 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. The new model measures 12.8mm thick and weighs 79.6g, making it look fresh and slimmer than its predecessor. It packs an enlarged 2.4-inch screen with 320 x 240 pixel resolution and a sleek frame. The highlight of the device is its one month battery life, 22 hours of talktime and the original Snake game.
Apart from all these specifications, there is one detail that could mean that it’s not as incredible as it may seem – it probably won’t work in half of the world.
While many innards of the device have been upgraded, the new model still communicates using the old 2G frequencies, used before mobile internet got prominent. The 2G frequencies has already been turned off in major parts of the world, including the US and Canada.
So far, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US have shut down most of their 2G networks or will do so soon. So user living in Europe and travelling to these countries won’t be able to use their 3310. The device only supports GSM 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, which is mainly used in most parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. But the South, Central and North America support 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies that the new Nokia 3310 won’t be able to connect with.
Talking of the new features, the phone’s keys have been changed and the large blue button has been eliminated along with the ‘C’ and arrow keys. Replacing these is a square-shaped central keypad, besides 'call' and 'end call' keys. HMD plans to make the new Nokia 3310 available in Q2 2017 for around EUR 49 (approx Rs 3,500).
