Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s I ran a mobile phone shop. That was the absolute heyday of the mobile handset.
It was the days before smartphones came along and devices became contextually dull, smartphone designers were, relatively speaking, going a bit mad.
Obscure keypad designs, replaceable housings, recordable ringtones, and even moving parts became faddy trends. But, at least for a short while, the best phones to be seen with were the smallest.
And there was one phone that was ahead of this short-lived game; the Nokia 8210. I can remember first getting my hands on one and marveling at its tiny dimensions, in a frame that still packed in some - at the time - cutting edge features.
Unlike its rival, Motorola's V.3688 flip phone, it had a great menu layout, a top-notch display and even a few games.
Well, Nokia has relaunched this genuine icon of the mad days of mobile phones, and brought back the 8210 - only this time with a few thoroughly modern twists.
Out of the box, it's actually surprisingly big, though. About twice the height and width of the original 8210, but perhaps just as slim and light. Having said that, I do recall the original being very fiddly to use, with its tiny buttons. So that little foible has certainly been addressed.
Power it up and you'll hear a modern take on the oh-so-familiar Nokia Tune, and then you'll need to unlock it... Remember pressing menu and then asterisk? Yep, that's the same. It's a real trip down Memory Lane so far.
The familiarity pauses momentarily when you see a large 2.8" colour screen light up, with a four-way directional button and a central menu button. It's very intuitive, and in reality a lot more user-friendly than the old dot-matrix setup on the first 8210, but there's certainly more to get your head around.
Its features include an FM Radio, which was a nice thing to have in turn-of-the-millennium handsets, although it would only work through wired earphones. This one works with or without a headset plugged in. And the sound quality is pretty good.
Of course, it does have some now-essential modern touches, such as 4G, a basic camera, an MP3 Player and even an ability to host two sim cards beneath its nostalgically removable battery.
And, of course, it does have Snake. Although the more modern take on that familiar game is somewhat tougher to master than I remember.
There's a growing demand for "second phones", which can step in for scenarios that might put your precious £1,000 smartphone at risk. Think festivals, for example. Taking away a cheap but functional handset that costs less than £100 is obviously safer and more desirable than risking your iPhone 13.
And, of course, there's an advantage when it comes to battery life. Nokia claims the 8210 will last for "weeks" on standby and, while I've been testing it, I'd have to say they're right.
Being a bit more pragmatic, I would miss some of my smartphone functionality if I switched to the 8210 for more than a few days - although there is a web browser, some social media apps and even a torch.
However, it costs just £64.99, so it's hardly a luxury item. And, just like the original 8210, it's a bit of a style statement. Anyone who remembers the first one will recognise it straight away.
And I guarantee they'll be more interested in this phone more than the £1,400 Android flagship you might happen to have in your other pocket.
