Nokia Will Soon Launch a Modern Version of the Iconic 3310, Over 17 Years After Its Original Debut

After taking the world by storm over 17 years ago, Nokia appears to be gearing up to launch a ‘modernized’ incarnation of its iconic 3310 feature phone — and the device will be launched in select markets by the end of the month.

That’s according to a new report that was issued by famed serial-leaker, Evan Blass, who, in a recent article published to Venture Beat, confirmed that HMD Global — the Finnish firm that recently took over Nokia’s flailing cellphone business — is gearing up to launch a “modern version” of the Nokia 3310 handset ahead of the highly-anticipated Mobile World Congress — an annual mobile industry trade-show where phone and accessory vendors show off their latest creations, which will be held from February 26 – 28 of this year in Barcelona, Spain.

You may remember owning one of Nokia’s 3310 handsets at some point in your life. Although the device was launched some 17 years ago, it was nevertheless a wildly-popular handset that achieved similar ‘cult-status’ as the Motorola RAZR, for example. Complete with a monochromatic display boasting a total of 5 lines of resolution, the 3310 was adorned by many because of its stellar battery performance, which offered up to 260 hours of stand-by operation on a single charge — and who could forget the classic Snake II game? Of course, the device was discontinued long, long ago — as Nokia, for its part, slowly faded away from the limelight amidst the emergence of more advanced and feature-rich offerings, such as Apple’s iPhone, which desecrated the Finnish phone-maker’s market share.

Well, according to Blass, it appears as if the re-incarnated Nokia 3310 will be less of a full-scale reproduction of the original, and more of an homage to it, in his own words. However, no other details about the device are currently known. And HMD Global, understandably, has declined requests for comment indicating that it does not “comment on rumours or speculation.”

Will the new 3310 have the same stellar battery life as the original? Will it feature a color display? How about a powerful OS and app functionality? An improved camera module? We simply can’t tell at this point. However, even without HMD Global’s comment, we can assume that the handset will be much more advanced than the original.

When it goes on sale in Europe later this month, the Nokia 3310 (2.0?) will reportedly sell for just 59 Euros ($63).

No word on whether the device will eventually be available in other markets. However, for a little over 60 bucks — amidst the backdrop of a smartphone market that’s churning out $600, $700 devices — we’re sure that more people will be buying one, if they even do, for pure nostalgia’s sake, rather than as an iPhone or Android replacement.

Did you ever own one of Nokia’s 3310 handsets?
Let us know in the comments!

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]