[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Sujit Bhar
Technology doesn’t bring back memorabilia from the past into the current market. It does not make much sense. Unless, of course, you are bringing back the Nokia 3310 phone.
Nokia 33… what? You’ll have to be middle-aged or slightly above to really understand the value of that phone, that’s why it’s called iconic, quite something like the Blackberry Curve and the Blackberry Bold. But BlackBerry was an icon in its own sphere of things, so let them be, or you’ll have to compare with another icon, The Nokia E Series. That was the real precursor to smartphones.
The Nokia 3301 predates even the BB and the Nokia E Series. That’s what is being brought back, in a year when Apple is set to release its 7 series. Makes even less sense, right?
Well, not quite. The gripe has always been there, especially in India, that the 3301 was something that should not have been replaced in the first place. That was one of the reasons for the Finnish company’s ultimate life-threatening disease.
The company has decided to bring back this phone from pre-android and iOS times and plonk it right in the middle of an over-supplied market. But they have made changes. Before we take a look at what’s new, let us recall what was so iconic about that phone.
For one, it was “indestructible”. Agreed. I have seen it fall from a second floor roof, right on paved concrete and then was put back together to work, check.
Water, no issue: I have seen it drenched to the bone (well, to the ICs, no doubt) and then dried in the sun to work, check.
Long battery life: I have seen friends talk on it for hours and still need no charging, check.
And it looked good; it was a size that was easy to hold and it had great reception.
Finally, as long as it was manufactured, it never went out of fashion.
So what’s new? The company has reportedly given the phone a “Modern Twist”.
Here are the specs (the company is also releasing Nokia 3 and Nokia 5 Android smartphones, but we will not talk about them):
Colour: Warm Red and Yellow with a gloss finish and Dark Blue and Grey with a matte finish.
Battery: Removable 1200mAh. 22-hour talk-time, plus a month-long stand-by time!
Connectivity: 2G so far
Camera (yes, it has a camera): 2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash.
Front Camera: No
Display: 2.4-inch QVGA
Resolution: 240×320 pixels
OS: Nokia Series 30+ OS
Storage: 16MB, expandable via microSD card to 32GB.
Probable price: Rs 3,500-4,000.
Availability in India: Probably in second quarter.
And yes, this is BIG: It has Snake (optimised for the new colour screen, says the company).
Image courtesy: The Independent[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]