Nokia 3310: Return of the iconic phone

Barcelona, Feb. 27: Seventeen years after its debut, the much-awaited Nokia 3310 has been relaunched in an all new revamped look featuring a colour screen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) here. The device, to be sold under licence by the Finnish start-up HMD Global, is available in four distinctive colours - gloss-finished warm red and yellow, and a matte-finished dark blue and grey. It will cost buyers only 49 Euros ($52) and will be available from the second quarter of this year. Considered as iconic because of its popularity and sturdiness, Nokia sold more than 126 million devices before it was phased out in 2005. "Our efforts in bringing together world class manufacturers, operating systems and technology partners sees us proudly unveiling our first global portfolio of smartphones with a Nokia soul, delivering the very best experience to everyone," Arto Nummela, CEO of HMD Global, said in a statement. Having a 2.4-inch display, the new Nokia 3310 qualifies as a "feature phone" rather than a smartphone as it only provides limited internet facilities. It relies on 2.5G connectivity and is powered by the S30+ operating system. With 1,200mAh battery, the device offers a 22 hours of talk time and has up to a month's standby time. The battery of the new device is removable, like its older version. However, the 2017 model is rechargeable through a microUSB port. Its single camera is also restricted to 2MP. According to HMD Global, which owns the rights to the Nokia brand, the device also comes with the modern version of the classic game Snake pre-installed.   The device will power through up to 51 hours of MP3 playback too, as well as up to 39 hours of FM radio playback. "What HMD has created is remarkable. We're excited to see the launch of a new family of smartphones, built to the standards that Nokia is known for." "We believe that their strong design and quality will appeal to Nokia fans around the world and the return of the Nokia 3310 has us smiling too!" Brad Rodrigues, interim President of Nokia Technologies, added.