The new phone will be a modern take on the winning form factor, VentureBeat’s Evan Blass reports. Alongside its anticipated Nokia 3, 5 and 6 smartphones, HMD Global, the new company behind the Nokia name, will unveil a reworked 3310 at this month’s Mobile World Congress.
The 3310 launched at the turn of the century and became an instant hit with phone fans. With chassis strength and battery life that shames even the best modern smartphone, it remains popular with clusters of enthusiasts. It’s nearly two decades old but examples are still snapped up when they appear on Amazon and eBay.
READ MORE: FANS OF APPLE HATE THE COMPANY’S NEW REALITY TV SHOW
HMD will use the 3310’s name and famous features in a bid to attract new customers to its brand. The company is aiming to build a “modern version” of the device, including an updated design and presumably improved software functionality. Build quality and battery life will remain the top characteristics though, with marketing material heavily focused on durability.
The new phone will retail at €59, Blass reports. It’s competitively priced but not deliberately cheap. With older smartphones now available from around €50, the 3310 isn’t meant to be a budget hero. Instead, it’s a durability champion, targeting customers and countries where a month-long battery life ranks far above 4K screens and always-updating apps.
For fans who are more interested in the latter, HMD’s MWC event will also prove compelling. The company will unveil its first Android smartphones destined for the international stage, reintroducing Nokia to the world. The highlight of the launch will be the €249 5.5-inch Nokia 6, headlining the trio of new handsets with its Snapdragon 430 processor and 16-megapixel camera. It’ll be joined by the €199 Nokia 5 and €149 Nokia 3.
The 6 is already available in China and has met with sell-out success. Anticipation around Nokia’s comeback is also high across the world, even though the Finnish company isn’t directly involved in the development of new handsets. HMD has acquired a license to use Nokia’s name in an arrangement that mutually benefits both companies.
Official details on the Nokia 3, 5, 6 and 3310 will be available later this month once the doors to MWC 2017 open in Barcelona. It’s the first time Nokia has stolen headlines at MWC for several years. Its last appearance was in 2014 when the company unveiled its new line-up of Android-powered X devices.
At the time, Nokia was still optimistic about its Windows Phone future, announcing Lumia sales doubled year-over-year as Windows Phone 8 became the fastest growing mobile platform in the world. Three years later, Windows’ market share is below 1% and Nokia’s smartphone business is nothing more than a logo owned by an emerging Chinese brand.
