Back in February at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia licensee HMD Global unveiled a bunch of new smartphones and one very classic dumb phone.
The revived Nokia 3310 was based on the popular original that debuted back in 2000, long before Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat were even being dreamed up. Nokia (NOK) and Microsoft (MSFT) sold Finnish startup HMD the rights and assets to make “Nokia” phones last year, and Foxconn does the actual manufacturing. Now the 3310 is finally coming to the U.S. Market, with pre-orders starting on BestBuy.com on October 29.
The cute new model runs on carriers’ older 3G networks and doesn’t do much more than make phone calls. It does have a built in FM radio player, MP3 music player and, wait for it, a standard headphone jack. Oh, and you can text, if you can get back in the hang of the whole eight buttons for 26 letters things.
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Why else should anyone buy the $60 throwback? Here’s why:
1. Add it to your mobile plan without getting a new phone number using one of the services like T-Mobile’s (TMUS) Digits. Then when you want to travel light or want to escape smartphone notification hell for at least one night out, just grab the 3310 and leave that iPhone on the kitchen counter.
2. Get really obsessed with playing Snake, just like back in the day. There are some new twists and features compared to the old fashioned version of the game, but just keep tracking those apples.
3. Try your hand at getting good snapshots from the 2-megapixel camera. With only one-sixth the number of pixels in a modern smartphone camera, details are going to be sadly lacking. But remember it’s the photographer, not the camera, that makes the art.
4. Call your best friend from high school, and talk and talk and talk. See if you can set a personal record for staying on the phone and talking. That’s one way to take advantage of the 3310’s battery’s massive 22-hour talk time.
5. Get a couple in different colors to match whatever outfit you’re wearing for fall. The U.S. Version comes in four colors: warm red, yellow, charcoal, and azure. I only wish it came in pumpkin spice.
