Arguably a cultural icon, back when the iPhone was still a scribble on Steve Jobs’ notepad, one mobile phone ruled above all else.
The Nokia 3210 was one of the bestselling phones of all time – and for many millennials and Gen Xers, it was their first mobile phone, and a taste of the tech advances to come.
If you find yourself pining over a simpler age, we’ve got good news for you.
The 3210 is back, and it’s still got Snake!
Reacting to the surge in demand for retro designs and simpler devices as part of a global digital detox, Human Mobile Devices (HMD) have relaunched the classic device.
The modernized 3210 includes a two-megapixel camera, supports 4G, and will still include the classic and well-loved game Snake.
“The Nokia 3210, a cultural icon, is back at the pinnacle of the global dumbphone boom as consumers look to balance their screen time usage with a digital detox,” Lars Silberbauer, HMD’s chief marketing officer, said.
With its core focus on simplicity, the Nokia 3210 gives consumers a chance to disconnect from the pushes and pulls of the digital world, and engage in some good old fashioned nostalgia, or ‘newstalgia’.
Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week (May 13 to 19), when a lot of focus turns to the negative effect of modern technology on our mental health. Many people try to combat these effects by engaging with a temporary or permanent ‘digital detox’. This could mean deleting or pausing social media pages, not using your phone in the evenings, or maybe ditching your smartphone altogether. Alternatively, you could choose one of the best dumbphones or best burner phones, to cut out all that doom-scrolling.
Continuing the theme of ‘newstalgia’, HMD says on its website: “We had fewer apps in the noughties. Fewer channels to be present on. But were we any less in touch? Strip away today’s notifications from likes, shares, and comments, and what you’re left with are conversations with people you care about the most.”
Continuing the turn of the century trend, the new 3210 comes in three colors: Y2K gold, grunge black, and scuba blue.
It’s out now in Europe and retails at £74.99 (approx $90 / AU$142).
