The Nokia 3310 Returns, But Is It Relevant?

Remember the days of T9 predictive text? Pressing a phone key repeatedly to get one letter? Do you remember immortal battery lives, and packing a digital camera for vacation?

If you were around in the early 2000s, you should, and so too should you remember this majestic beast: the Nokia 3310, beloved for it’s indestructible frame and addicting game, Snake, which fascinated a generation. 

This year the iconic phone is getting a reboot. The new model, priced at only €46 will be vibrantly coloured, with a fully functional camera, colour screen, even longer battery life, and- of course- Snake. The phone is an appealing choice for the niche minimalist market—those who don’t need to ‘do it for the ‘gram’, or have access to Facebook in the toilet— looking for a reliable and durable mobile, but the question of relevance still stands. Will the 3310 have a place in the world of smartphones? 

The latest iPhones and Galaxy phones are, in essence, small computers. They possess capabilities that not even the best machines of the 3310’s golden-years had. While it has some updated features, many critics note that it is simply recycling outdated technology— the type of parts and systems that haven’t been produced for years. 

Does this phone offer anything of value, besides a powerful hit of nostalgia? No. If this phone were branded differently, would it still have the hype? Probably not.