New Nokia 3310 (2017) review

If any phone can sell itself on nostalgia alone, that phone is the Nokia 3310.

It’s one of the most popular mobiles of all time, remembered for its near-indestructible build, long-lasting battery and legendary Snake (well, Snake 2 if we’re being accurate) game, and the team licensing the Nokia phone name has jumped at the chance to reignite the love for a phone which was once the leader in the mobile market.

Enter the new Nokia 3310, a homage to the iconic handset with a helping of modern-day upgrades. If you were a fan of the 3310 and long for those simpler times, the likelihood is you’ll want to pick this up.

If you're less familiar with the original though, this is just another feature phone which won't satisfy your smartphone sensibilities with a price that's steeper than it needs to be.

The original phone sold 126 million units, so while this will never reach that kind of level of sales it may suit those who want to use a feature phone or have a cheaper alternative phone to take to festivals or as a backup in their bag while away.

• It doesn’t matter if you hate the new Nokia 3310, it’s already done its job

New Nokia 3310 price and release date

• Out now in the UK, but not yet in the US or Australia
• Won't work on US mobile networks, so don't try to import it
• Costs £49.99 (around $65, AU$90)

The Nokia 3310 price is £49.99 (around $65, AU$90), placing it perfectly as a secondary phone purchase, and it’s one that will likely appeal to both Nokia fans and festival goers.

Some will balk at having to pay that much for a ‘dumb phone’, especially when similarly spec'd feature phones can be had for almost half the price.  There's no question the 3310 name is influencing the price here, and if you're looking for value for money there are better handsets out there. 

But for those who simply want to own the new 3310 - and these people do exist - it's still an accessible price tag. 

Carphone Warehouse is stocking the Nokia 3310 in the UK for £49.99, but you can only buy it online and some of the most popular color choices are regularly out of stock.

You can also buy it through EE and Vodafone, but we've noticed both networks are out of stock quite often so you may need to shop around for the best choice.

Meanwhile Three and O2 have ruled themselves out for now. It’s only a limited release at the moment though, so it may be some time before you’re able to pick it up.

Those in the US will have to wait longer, as the current version of the Nokia 3310 won’t work with the country’s mobile networks. A release in Australia is still unclear too.

In a rush? Watch our week with review of the new Nokia 3310 below...

Design

• Small and light
• Retro, plastic design
• Doesn't look exactly like the original Nokia 3310 though

Look at the new Nokia 3310 front-on and there’s no mistaking the phone it is paying homage to. This looks like the younger and slightly more attractive sibling of the original Nokia 3310.

The distinctive border around the screen and the layout of the 'num' keys give you the retro throwback, but Nokia has majorly slimmed down and modernized the design, making the new 3310 supremely pocketable.

When you’re carrying this phone around, you won’t even know it’s in your pocket if you’re used to carrying around a smartphone such as the OnePlus 3T. We found it didn’t weigh our pockets down and could even slip in next to our wallet.

It tips the scales at just 79.6g, making it comfortably lighter than the 137g original.

Unlike a lot of modern phones, it’s made of plastic. You may not love this design, but this is one way HMD has been able to keep the price low for the new Nokia 3310.

For Nokia 3310 purists though, the new reboot will be somewhat of a disappointment. We've spoken to many people about the new 3310, and a number said they'd rather HMD had kept the design closer to the original.

We're inclined to agree - it would have been nice for the new handset to follow the original a little more closely in terms of look - but it is a design that remains practical and functional.

See how the new 3310 shapes up against the original in our versus video

Considering it’s plastic construction, it still feels comfortable to hold and it won’t slip out of your hand like some phones made with of can easily do. During our review time we successfully avoided dropping the new Nokia 3310.

It may not be as legendarily sturdy as the original Nokia 3310, but it should be able to take a few more knocks than other phones you can buy in 2017.

In terms of colors, you’ll have the choice of four for the new Nokia 3310. Those are the traditional dark blue – the phone we used for this review – and grey, while there are also new psychedelic yellow and warm red colors.

Both of those new colors are a little closer to the Nokia Lumia phones of recent years, but we prefer the dark blue version of the phone, and it seems we’re not alone, as this appears to be one of the most commonly available shades.

The design of the Nokia 3310 feels freshened up, but we can understand how some people are a little disappointed this phone doesn’t look more like the original.

Display

• Low resolution screen
• It's in color, but doesn't respond to touch

Unlike your modern smartphone, there’s not much room for the display on the new Nokia 3310. Instead it’s banished to the top half of the phone and is only 2.4 inches big.

This time it’s a bright, full color display, but the resolution isn’t particularly impressive at 240 x 320. You’ll particularly notice how low the resolution is when you’re looking at photos.

That’s a bit of a shame considering entry-level smartphones that don't cost all that much more than the 'dumb' 3310 can pack 720p HD displays.

For the basic tasks that you'll want to use this for though, such as texting and calling, you don’t need a super crisp display and the screen on the new 3310 suffices. Needless to say though, you won't be watching any videos on it and gaming is graphically basic.

Also note this isn't a touchscreen, so you won’t be able to tap on the screen to interact with it. You’ll need to navigate around the phone with the button below instead.