Nokia 3310 Comeback: Nokia Might Relaunch the Nokia 3310 At MWC 2017

If there is one handset that has epitomized resilience, it has to be the Nokia 3310. Released nearly 17 years ago — back in 2000 as a successor to the 3210, the Nokia 3310 was an unassuming handset that only had a few features. However, nearly two decades later, the phone is still remembered for its solid build and reliability and has earned cult status. In fact, the Nokia 3310 is known to be so reliable, it has been the source of several funny memes with some people even joking that it can easily withstand a nuclear explosion. In fact, even to this day, people still buy the Nokia 3310 from e-commerce stores like Amazon and Ebay where there is a huge demand for the handset.

With over 126 million Nokia 3310’s sold, it remains in the list of the most successful phones ever — exceeded in numbers only by the likes of the Nokia 6600, the Nokia 3210 and not to mention, the Nokia 1100 which is the most successful handset ever. After the release of the 3310, Nokia followed it up with several successors that included the likes of the Nokia 3315, 3320, 3330, 3350, 3360, 3390 and the Nokia 3395. Now, the reason why we are talking about a 17-year-old handset is because we have news coming in about the possibility of the good old Nokia 3310 making a grand comeback this year!

No, seriously. The Nokia 3310 is coming back — https://t.co/22RnaJX9Pc

— Praval Singh (@Praval) February 14, 2017

According to The Next Web, Nokia is planning to release a new version of the Nokia 3310 later this year — and the company might just showcase the handset at the upcoming Mobile World Congress Expo that is scheduled to be held in Barcelona, Spain, starting February 27. The source of this information is Evan Blass — better known by his Twitter handle @evleaks. Blass recently tweeted out the following.

https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/831225063181516800

In the tweet, Blass clarifies that the new handset would be a Nokia 3310 homage.

While little is known about this version of the Nokia 3310, it is likely to be a replica of the handset — albeit with some added features. The handset, however, is expected to remain a complete no-frills phone and will have a very affordable sub-$100 price tag. Since we do not know the spec sheet of this new Nokia 3310, we are assuming it would have updated hardware, and more importantly, it would also support more advanced networks that have arrived since the phone was last sold in the early 2000s. This could also mean it would get support for either Micro or Nano SIM cards. It would also be interesting to see if the new Nokia 3310 will feature a monochrome display like in the case of the original. A few years ago, Nokia had announced that they would stop using monochrome displays and decided only to make handsets with color displays.

Along with the 3310 homage phone, Nokia is also likely to launch its new lineup of Android smartphones — officially marking the entry of its official comeback to the European and U.S. markets. Late last year, Nokia announced the launch of its first Android powered smartphone – the Nokia 6. At MWC 2017, the company is likely to debut the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and an international version of the Nokia 6 — which was exclusive to the Chinese – until now. If we are to believe Evan Blass, all these new Nokia branded Android smartphones will run the latest version of Android 7.0 Nougat. The prices of these handsets are likely to range between 150 and 250 Euros.

Coming back to the Nokia 3310, one thing most Nokia fanboys would have in the back of their minds is the fact that this new version of the handset would not be technically made by Nokia. Instead, the handset would be manufactured by HMD Global — the firm that owns the brand name Nokia and has the license to manufacture smartphones for them.

Do you think Nokia should really launch the Nokia 3310 today? Would you buy one?

[Featured Image by Pom Pom/Shutterstock]