It's highly likely that the Nokia 3310 is set to make a spectacular comeback. According to a reputable source, a modern version of the classic phone will be unveiled before the end of the month. And it's going to be cheap enough that you may want to buy one for purely nostalgic reasons.
HMD Global Oy, the Finnish manufacturer which now markets phones under the Nokia brand, is set to announce a handful of new handsets at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on February 26. This is according to Evan Blass, a notorious tipster and leaker better known as @evleaks.
Writing for VentureBeat, Blass claims that most of these phones are going to be regular ol' Android Nougat handsets. The Nokia 6 will reportedly boast a 5.5-inch display, 4GB of RAM, and a 16MP camera, the Nokia 5 will have a 5.4-inch display, 2GB of RAM, and a 12MP camera, and the Nokia 3 will... be for people on a budget.
However, as well as the bog-standard Androids, HMD is set to launch a modern version of the classic Nokia 3310. The 3310 was virtually indestructible and had a battery life modern smartphones can only dream of. Which is why the 3310 is the phone most of us most closely associate with the Nokia brand to this very day.
The Ultimate Weapon Against Zombies
The original Nokia 3310 was discontinued in 2005, but is still talked about with reverence. The new version will reportedly be a "homage" to the original 3310, bringing it up to date to modern feature phone standards while maintaining its core features. Which surely includes Snake.
The new Nokia 3310 is rumored to be priced at just €59 (US$62). This should be cheap enough to ensure some people buy one for purely nostalgic reasons. And if nostalgia isn't reason enough, the Nokia 3310 is possibly the ultimate weapon to fight off the undead in the event of a zombie apocalypse. No, seriously.
This has to be classified as a rumor for the time being, but given Blass's track record on these things we'll be more surprised if a new version of the Nokia 3310 doesn't now appear at MWC. Suffice to say both Nokia and HMD are refusing to confirm or deny the rumors.
Did you ever own a Nokia 3310? If so, what's your abiding memory of it? Do you still own a Nokia 3310? Is it still going strong? Or is it in the back of a drawer somewhere? Are you likely to buy the new Nokia 3310? If so, why? Please let us know in the comments below!
Image Credit: Isla_Yelo via Flickr