The Nokia 3310 3G version has been announced for Australia, and it will be launched in other countries soon. The 2G version of the handset was released a few months ago, but it was not available for purchase in some countries, like the U.S. and Canada, where the 2G network has little coverage.
In a press statement, Juho Sarvikas, HMD Global’s chief product officer, said, “Our fans around the world have been asking for this iconic phone to support 3G. Fans asked, we listened, and today welcome the Nokia 3310 3G.”
The handset will sell for a global average price of €69.
Telecom companies such as Telstra and Optus in Australia are now decommissioning their 2G networks, and Vodafone will shut down the last of its 2G service on March 21, 2018. 2G networks have already become history in Singapore, notes Mashable. Australia will be the first market to get the 3G version starting on October 16. Other countries like Singapore will get the phone later in the month.
HMD Global Chief Marketing Officer Pekka Rantala said the company has sold millions of the new Nokia 3310 handsets in over 100 countries, but Australians were unable to use it because there was no 3G version, according to AdelaideNow.
“Clearly, the Australian market has always been one of the heartlands of Nokia,” Rantala stated. “We heard very loud and clear that we need to take this seriously — a 3G version was a must.”
Further, Rantala agrees that “memories and nostalgia” played an important role in the demand for the revised Nokia 3310, and the biggest audience is the younger generation.
“Most of the people who have reached out and bought the Nokia 3310 are Millennials,” he said.
Though most of these customers have smartphones, owning a Nokia 3310 is fun, the executive said. Rantala said there are different reasons why people are buying these phones, with some considering it to be a fun phone, while others see it as a “festival phone” and an “object of desire.”
The Nokia 3310 3G comes with a 2.4-inch QVGA display and polarized display on the top, 64MB of internal storage (expandable through microSD card up to 32 GB), a 1200 mAH battery and micro USB Port. The handset is powered by the S30+ operating system, which is similar in style to the 3310’s interface. Further, it sports an upgraded version of the Snake game. Other features include FM radio, Opera web browser, torch and music playback.
The Nokia 3310 3G will be available in Red, Charcoal, Azure and Yellow. All four shades will feature a matte finish and new silver keypads. Compared to the previous version, the 3G version is designed with more space between the buttons and for a better handling experience. However, adding the 3G feature impacts the battery life, which now drops to 6.5 hours of talk time and up to 27 days of standby time.
In other Nokia-related news, HMD Global, the official manufacturer of Nokia phones, may soon launch the Nokia 2, its cheapest Android smartphone. The phone, which will reportedly launch some time in November, is expected to run on a Snapdragon 212 processor with 1GB or 2GB of RAM.
