Nokia 3310: Everything you need to know about the most hyped phone of 2017

It's more than a nostalgia-fuelled impulse buy

The Nokia 3310 is back, and it’s better than ever.

It may only be a feature phone, but the throwback handset has already eclipsed a number of brand new flagship smartphones that will be around ten times more expensive than it, including the Huawei P10, LG G6 and Sony Xperia XZ Premium.

The astonishingly popular mobile stays true to the 17-year-old original’s roots, but squeezes in enough new features and improvements to make it a genuinely worthwhile purchase, as well as a nostalgia-fuelled impulse buy.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new Nokia 3310 ahead of its release.

Design

The legendary handset has been treated to a fresh-but-familiar new look, which should please all but the most hardcore of 3310 fans.

It looks fresher and slicker than its predecessor, with the new model measuring in at 12.8mm thick and weighing 79.6g, as opposed to 22mm and 133g.

It’s also now available in glossy red and yellow colour options, as well as those familiar grey and dark blue matte schemes.

Features

The original’s small 84 x 84 monochrome display has been replaced by a larger and sharper 320 x 240 colour screen, and Nokia has also included a very basic 2-megapixel camera and LED flash around the back.

It runs the simple Nokia Series 30+ software, which is straightforward to navigate once you’ve re-accustomed yourself with physical phone keys, and comes pre-loaded with a new version of Snake.

You won't be able to access popular apps like WhatsApp and Instagram, but you can fire up the Opera Mini browser, which you can use to surf the web on an extremely limited 2.5G connection, when you’re really desperate to get online.

Battery

The original model’s battery life was outstanding, but the new 3310 puts it to shame.

It offers an extraordinary 22 hours of talk time off a single charge, which is tenfold improvement, and will keep running for 31 days in standby mode.

It’s also removable, as the old model’s battery was, but this time around it's rechargeable via a microUSB port.

Price and release

HMD Global says the new Nokia 3310 “will retail at an average global retail price” of €49 (£41), and will be available to purchase during the second quarter of this year, which covers the three-month period from March to June.

We expect the 3310 to arrive ahead of the warm weather, with Nokia marketing it as a second phone for festival-goers and holidaymakers.

You can already register your interest at Carphone Warehouse.