The brick. It’s not a very flattering nickname, particularly for one thing that’s gained cult standing, particularly for a bit of know-how. Twenty years after its debut, although, the Nokia 3310 nonetheless wears the moniker proudly. People used to adore it for what it may do. But possibly they miss it due to all of the issues it couldn’t.
Technically September 1 is the anniversary of when Nokia first introduced the 3310, not when it went on sale; it’s form of like celebrating an ultrasound as a substitute of a birthday. Still, it’s pretty much as good a time as any to recollect the little blue tank, the indestructible sweet bar, the system that offered 126 million models—greater than 20 instances as many because the first-generation iPhone. (The comparability is unfair on a number of ranges: value factors, longevity, out there markets. Still, enjoyable!)
The praises of the Nokia 3310 have been extensively sung already, however recollections are brief and weeks final years as of late, so forgive a fast recap. Yes, it may at the beginning survive a drop from any affordable top. But it did so with a clunky form of type: The name and arrow buttons curved to a delicate grin; the physique was a just-right shade of midnight blue; the quantity keys responded to every press with a satisfying click on. It was staunchly minimalist in an period beset by bedazzling. The battery lasted at the very least per week with out a recharge. And then there was Snake II, an elite tier time-waster of a sport that reliably gave you one thing to stare at in your telephone almost a decade earlier than the iOS App Store debuted.
OK, just a few extra reminders of its greatness. You may swap the casing for a distinct coloration or design, and take away or substitute the battery. That doesn’t fairly rely as modular, nevertheless it’s nearer than you’ll get with most smartphones in the present day. Its Chat perform reinvented text messaging, permitting for threaded exchanges and expanded character counts. It had three video games past Snake II, at the very least one in all which, Space Impact, was first rate. It allow you to obtain ringtones and set screensavers, each novelties in that age.
In truth, it’s simple to overlook that having a cell phone in any respect was nonetheless pretty novel on the time. The yr 2000 is the first time Pew Research surveyed US adults about cellular phone possession; 53 % had one. By 2006 that quantity had jumped to 73 %. Given the Nokia 3310’s reputation throughout that stretch, notably amongst a youthful demographic, it’s protected to say it was a many individuals’s first introduction to cell phones, full cease.
That explains the enduring nostalgia it invokes. Every yr or two somebody writes a brand new commemoration, anniversary or no. In 2018 an organization referred to as HMD Global even resurrected the 3310, in a style, turning out a characteristic telephone that remembers the enduring design whereas including up to date touches—a fundamental internet browser, a low-end digicam—to assist it perform in in the present day’s world.
That reinvention feels in some methods misplaced. If you miss the Nokia 3310, it’s not with the caveat that you just want you may log onto Facebook from it. You miss it as a result of it reminds you of a time when Facebook didn’t exist. The web has at all times been dangerous in elements, however within the 3310 period it was at the very least one thing you may moderately ignore for lengthy stretches of time. The 3310 couldn’t do a lot as a result of there merely wasn’t a lot to do: no tweets to ship, no News Feeds to refresh, no photograph filters to swipe by. Your telephone was primarily a telephone, not a purposefully addictive portal into infinite data and existential weight.
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