Do you long for a simpler time, when technology wasn’t quite so… enthusiastic? Nokia certainly thinks so, which is why it’s re-releasing its 6310 handset. You remember that one, don’t you? Well, the 2021 version is a… little different.
The re-release of the Nokia 6310 is parent company HMD Global’s way of marking the 20th anniversary of the feature phone’s release. It first turned up in 2001, a few months after the original 3310 — which has also been re-released — first hit the market.
Looking back on the 6310
So, are we looking at the same cellular phone here? Well… no. The designs are similar, but not identical, a process we saw back when Nokia released its other updated feature phones. The modern-day 6310 has been upgraded to a colour 2.8in QVGA display (up from 1.8in), a mighty 16MB of RAM (that’s not a typo, and it’s a substantial upgrade on the original’s 174KB).
There’s a mere 8MB of internal storage, but users can splurge on an unheard-of-in-2001 32GB of space via microSD card. It’s packing a removable 1,150mAh battery which should get users three weeks on standby, and it’s got an FM radio and is able to play MP3 files. Nokia’s gone very bare-bones with this one, but they’ve gone and included everyone’s favourite, Snake, as well.
The revamped Nokia 6310 uses the company’s S30+ operating system, includes Bluetooth 5.0, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and even has a 0.3MP rear camera. It’s an almost complete throwback, to a time when smartphones weren’t even a glimmer in Steve Jobs’ eye. More than a few folks might be keen on that, notifications being what they are.
The only tricky bit here is buying one. The updated feature phone is on sale in the UK at present, for £60. At about R1,250, that’s not a bad price for this stripped-down slice of nostalgia.
