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HMD is relaunching the iconic Nokia 3310 phone:
Nokia has sold 126 million of its original 3310 phone since it was first introduced back in September, 2000. It was a time before the iPhone, and Nokia ruled with popular handsets that let you play simple games like Snake. Now the 3310 is making a nostalgic return in the form of a more modern variant, thanks to Nokia-branded phone maker HMD. Like its predecessor, it will still be called the Nokia 3310, but this time it's running Nokia's Series 30+ software, with a 2.4-inch QVGA display, a 2-megapixel camera, and even a microSD slot.
The original Nokia 3310's battery had a 900 or 1000 mAh capacity depending on the model. This one has a 1200 mAh battery, but supposedly allows 22 hours of talk time, ten times that of the original. The new version weighs 79.6 grams, versus 133 grams for the original.
The price for this throwback? 49 euros.
Here's a lot of pictures of the device.
(Score: 4, Informative) by corey on Monday February 27 2017, @09:51PM (2 children)
As much coverage this is getting in the media, it's only 2.5G, meaning in Australia (and a lot of other countries), it's pretty much unusable as the telcos are shutting down the 2G networks.
Shame, I'd be interested in one if it just had a 3G radio.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @01:46AM
Europe plans to shut down 3G ealier than 2G, as elevators, alarms and other industrial things (M2M, machine to machine) depend on 2G for things like emergencies or normal operations.
(Score: 2, Informative) by claywar on Tuesday February 28 2017, @02:04AM
In the US, AT&T killed their support for GSM at the beginning of this year to begin to refarm those bands. T-Mobile is still active, but at least in my area, you'll only get lucky on PCS bands.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 27 2017, @09:54PM (1 child)
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=16/12/03/0956227 [soylentnews.org]
(been hangin, just sayin)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 27 2017, @10:19PM
Me too
https://pipedot.org/pipe/2E2A0 [pipedot.org]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 27 2017, @10:00PM (5 children)
even a microSD slot.
This might be exactly the phone I've been looking for. If it plays FLACs, I'll buy 10. If it just plays MP3s, that's fine since I should still have a script around here somewhere to do the replaygain and transcoding (you have to adjust gain before the mp3 encode--mp3gain seems like it makes coarse adjustment only), and I'll buy one.
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Monday February 27 2017, @11:04PM (1 child)
Aren't there feature phones on the market with a similar feature set and half or a third of the price? That price seems way too high to me, so despite whatever extra bump in quality it brings, I don't see why you would buy 10.
Plus on the Wikipedia page for the original, some guy made it into the news for using his for 17 years. Maybe 1-3 is a better quantity given that you could throw it at a brick wall and it will still work.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday February 28 2017, @12:16AM
Who will work? The wall? No, it won't; even if the wall doesn't crack and fall instantly, you should call a structural engineer to assess the damage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Interesting) by wonkey_monkey on Monday February 27 2017, @11:28PM (2 children)
(you have to adjust gain before the mp3 encode--mp3gain seems like it makes coarse adjustment only)
How fine does it need to be? 1db is apparently the smallest perceptible adjustment under laboratory conditions, and mp3gain does 1.5db steps.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @12:55AM
Maybe I had the wrong parameters. Otherwise those were very large 1.5db steps.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @06:01PM
never argue with an audiophile or a wine snob or an epeen.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday February 27 2017, @10:15PM
The 3310 was mainly known for two qualities: Being rock [dailyedge.ie]-solid [knowyourmeme.com] and having a good standby time.
The new one [youtube.com] doesn't look so rock-solid.
I understand that the new 3310 is an attempt to gain attention and to gloss over the fact that the producing company is not much related to the Finnish producer, and mainly a brand-licensee. So, gaining the attention is probably much more important than actually selling this phone. But still, I find it a missed opportunity: A real rugged device with good audio-quality and good standby time would be ideal to indicate they are the "real" Nokia. With this device, they might associate the brand with the terms "cheap", "glossy", "bottom-feeder", "wannebe".
Which is a pity: The Android phones [pcadvisor.co.uk] seem to be not too bad.
Nokia Android phones are said to be different to rival Android phones in three main ways: through Nokia's relentless focus on the everyday experience, whether that is seen in the display or the camera; through its premium design and build quality that is present no matter where in the line-up a model sits; and through its use of the purest version of Android you have seen, with monthly security updates, fast Android platform updates and the implementation of the Google Assistant across the range.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 4, Interesting) by richtopia on Monday February 27 2017, @11:28PM (9 children)
I'm trying to identify the selling point of this device. It is a bit expensive, and I just don't see the market for feature phones when devices running Android can be had for 50 dollars. Just looking at Best Buy's site for unlocked phones, you can see a lot of phones that are cheaper and will give you either the basic or smart phone experience.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?cp=1&searchType=search&_dyncharset=UTF-8&ks=960&sc=Global&list=y&usc=All%20Categories&type=page&id=pcat17071&iht=n&seeAll=&browsedCategory=pcmcat311200050005&st=categoryid%24pcmcat311200050005&qp=&sp=%2Bcurrentprice%20skuidsaas [bestbuy.com]
I'm honestly asking what market this is targeting; I've skimmed the article and there is little mention of the target demographic beyond anyone who wants something named "Nokia 3310".
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Tuesday February 28 2017, @12:15AM
Retro.
Geeks who like phines that are just phones.
People who are nostalgic for the Nokia of old (note, this phone is being made by people who are not Nokia, and sold by people who own the Nokia name, but they are hoping people ignore that, and buy it anyway.)
Also, if people find out about the three new "Nokia" smart phones because of articles about this 3310, the no one has to buy it, so long as *enough* buy the smart phones.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by vux984 on Tuesday February 28 2017, @01:54AM
I'm trying to identify the selling point of this device.
People crossing the US border? :-/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @02:17AM
Market includes any company that wants to give their field/construction-site employees phones to keep in touch with...and not tiny computer game/facebook machines. As others have said, it's too bad that it's not 3G/4G for N. America (2G is going fast). If this sells at all, maybe they will keep the package and upgrade the electronics. Better camera would also make sense for the field service market -- sending pictures back to the home office to help with machine diagnosis.
I hate having to worry about charging, so a month of standby time is very attractive to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @06:22AM
Well, not this phone in particular as it's dead in the water in the U.S. without 3G support, but not everyone wants a smartphone. I tried switching my mother to a smartphone a couple of years ago, figuring it would grow on her. She absolutely hated it... mostly because she refused to learn how to use it. Now my mother... she's a luddite. Anything invented after the '80s is either a mystery to her or useless to her, and in either case she doesn't want to learn how to use it as it "should just work like it always did." To her, a phone is a phone is a phone. I learned my lesson and switched her back to a basic clamshell phone several months later. My father plans on retiring later this year. He needed a smartphone for work, but when he retires he plans on switching back to a basic clamshell phone as well. Unlike my mother, he's not a luddite, but he just doesn't want to be bothered with constant e-mail notifications and news alerts and other inanities that a smartphone brings.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @07:33AM
I'd want this phone. I've got the Samsung S2 thinking I'll eventually get used to smartphones. Years later they still seem fiddly, over-engineered vanity mirrors. Just need something to make calls.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Tuesday February 28 2017, @09:24AM (1 child)
I can see five uses for it right away.
1) Old people - this seems to be about max they are willing to learn, no idea how the dialing is implemented but if it is just "enter number, hit dial" (as it was pre-"smartphone") then it is perfect.
2) Emergencyphone/sportphone - when you need something that will be subject to beatings, might get lost and when you can't assume you'll be able to look at it (ever ended up getting stuck when out running in rough terrain? Or had a boat pin you down?)
3) Vacation-phone - ie, it is a bloody phone, not a pda-wannabe
4) Drop-in for household-phone/phone-in-the-cottage - again, it is a bloody phone.
5) if you want coverage that works outside of cities (seriously - (most) 3G has a laughable short range, my phones often drops back to 2G whenever I'm on vacation, and that is while I'm still on land)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @06:03PM
i also want something to make calls with as needed, that won't track me quite as pervasively as modern smartphones do with wifi and bluetooth tracking, the microphones listening, all that stuff.
Privacy sells to some people, too. Privacy is not an all or nothing proposition. I accept being tracked by the telco so I can get service, but I don't accept the advertising that goes with daring to turn on my bluetooth headset in public or pair with my car so I can use a wireless speakerphone feature.
There's no way around it besides choosing to not participate in some of it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @09:36AM
I just don't see the market for feature phones when devices running Android can be had for 50 dollars.
I'm not looking for a desk phone. Where will I find a $50 Android phone that will fit comfortably in my pocket?
Sony used to make one called "Xperia Mini", and I almost ordered one, but I happened to see it in real life before I did. The thing was HUGE. No way it would fit in my pocket.
I don't want to leave my phone ringing on my desk like smartphone-using colleagues.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Tuesday February 28 2017, @10:22AM
As I wrote before [soylentnews.org] :
There are some memes around the 3310, and re-producing it is in the first place a marketing stunt.
I understand that the new 3310 is an attempt to gain attention and to gloss over the fact that the producing company is not much related to the Finnish producer, and mainly a brand-licensee. So, gaining the attention is probably much more important than actually selling this phone. But still, I find it a missed opportunity: A real rugged device with good audio-quality and good standby time would be ideal to indicate they are the "real" Nokia. With this device, they might associate the brand with the terms "cheap", "glossy", "bottom-feeder", "wannebe".
Besides, if it was as rugged (or maybe even more so) than the original and audio-quality would be comparable, I'd be interested. It's more expensive than some other low-end feature-phones, but if the quality was appropriately higher, even without "smart"-features, I'd pay the premium. I use my smartphone quite a lot, but more as a portable computer than as a phone. Even on my S5, the audio-quality is sometimes sub-optimal. Also the battery is sometimes drained. All in all, it can be used for calls, but is a sub-optimal device for that purpose. Having a good, dumb mobile phone and a smart-not-so-much-of-a-phone would make sense to me.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 2, Insightful) by goodgod43 on Tuesday February 28 2017, @01:20AM (5 children)
As a contractor I would laugh at every time some idiot would lament and cry about dropping their "next" phone off of a roof. My phone would drop and I would just go down the ladder, wipe the dirt off of it, and be on the phone with the architect within a minute. Are you guys really that out of touch with who rugged phones are really for?
(Score: 4, Touché) by takyon on Tuesday February 28 2017, @02:11AM (3 children)
How is this plastic phone any more rugged than a $10 plastic phone?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @09:39AM (2 children)
Depends on whether or not it's built like a Nokia (apparently this is a brand license, not a new Nokia).
(Score: 2) by choose another one on Tuesday February 28 2017, @03:52PM
Also apparently it's a whole bunch of old Nokia people in a new corp with a brand license (and presumably IP licenses as necessary).
Thought experiment: if a new company has the people from the old company and licenses the brand from the old company, is it now actually the old company? Surely everything else is non-unique and replaceable, maybe the shareholders are new but that is the same in an acquisition. At the end of the day corporations are essentially just groups of people doing something together.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 28 2017, @05:17PM
There are all kinds of plastic -- some types are incredibly tough. Molding them is more expensive (higher temp, more viscous), as is the feedstock, but for a small thing like a phone it should add very little to the total cost to use a high performance plastic. At least we can hope.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Tuesday February 28 2017, @09:28AM
Funny, when in phone-dangerous places we just use the voicecontrol and headsets - you havn't lived until you picked up a phone to be greated with "I'll SMS" just because you forgot that while the speakers are inside the hearing-protection the microphone isn't :)