HMD Global, the new owner of the Nokia brand, released a new version of the legendary Nokia 3310 phone. The hype around this phone skyrocketed, and people were excited to hear about the resurrection of this phone. After all, it's not every day that you get to see a phone like the Nokia 3310 which has become legendary as probably the most durable mobile phone. Surely, a remastered version of it, one that's designed and mass produced in 2017, almost twenty years after the original hit the market, would also be a hit. But, and that's a very big but, icons are pretty hard to overthrow, and the new Nokia 3310 is definitely not the phone its forebear was. Here's why:

Reason 1: The 2017 version uses cheap plastic all-around

The original Nokia 3310, a phone that first saw the light in 2000 was almost indestructible. It was a phone so resistant that you didn't have to worry about dropping it on a cement floor or even on the stairs from the second floor. It was a phone that you didn't have to describe in words like "it has scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass". The first Nokia 3310 was tough and didn't need to brag about it. You could hammer a nail with a Nokia 3310. Just watch the video below. 🙂

The modern version of Nokia 3310 is built from very cheap plastic that feels like it's about to break if you press on it hard.

Reason 2: Pressing the buttons on the 2017 version is not as satisfying as on the old model

The first version of Nokia 3310 had clicky buttons: pieces of plastic that sounded just like a computer's mouse clicks. The remastered 2017 version has buttons with a similar shape, but they just don't click like the old ones. If you're buying this phone because of nostalgia, this is something you'll notice right away.

Reason 3: The 2017 version has poorer navigation

The original Nokia 3310 didn't have that incredibly thin navigational button that's found in the center of the new model. The 2017 version has a navigational button that is so thin, that even a person with smaller than average fingers can't manage to press it correctly.

Reason 4: Mediocre sound quality during phone calls

It so happens that we still have an original Nokia 3310 laying around. When we made the review for the 2017 version of Nokia 3310, we tested both of them in phone calls. Incredibly, the original Nokia 3310 has better sound quality in calls than its remastered version. Not what you'd expect, right? The new Nokia 3310 has high-pitched and echoey sounds, while the old model is more balanced in terms of sound tones.

Reason 5: The new Snake is not "The Snake"

The original Snake was a lot better than the new one: although it was practically a line of pixels on a greenish screen, controls were better and snappier than in the new one. Why not keep the original as it was? Everyone who had a Nokia 3310 back in the day remembers the Snake as an increasing line of black dots. Nobody remembers a colored Snake, that responds slowly to your commands.

Reason 6: The price makes it a bad deal

The original Nokia 3310 was an incredible phone for its day, sold at a very good price. The modern version is a "dumb" phone that is sold at a high price for what it has to offer. If you do a few searches on online stores, you will find similar phones at a better price. Also, you can probably find a low-end smartphone for the same money you'd pay on the new Nokia 3310.

Reason 7: The new model is restricted to 2G mobile networks

The old Nokia 3310 was a phone of its time and worked great on every cell network provider that was available in the early 2000s. The new Nokia 3310 works only with 2G networks, the same as two decades ago, but mobile operators moved on during this time and 2G networks are starting to disappear in favor of newer 3G and 4G networks. I can't use the Nokia 3310 with my main carrier, because that carrier doesn't offer 2G mobile connections. Doesn't this defeat the purpose of making this phone accessible to as many people as possible?

What do you think about the new Nokia 3310?

We were excited about the Nokia 3310 redesign and we hoped that HMD Global would create a modern version of this legendary phone that is improved in meaningful ways. We hoped for a phone with the same durability as the original, a modern design, and support for modern 3G/4G cell networks. Unfortunately the remastered version betrays its legendary ancestor in too many ways. When we used the new Nokia 3310 alongside the original model, we found that the original is superior in all ways except the looks. We feel that HMD Global is only trying to bank on the legacy of this legendary phone, to squeeze a quick buck from nostalgic consumers. Now that you know our opinion about the 2017 version of the Nokia 3310, share your view with us, in the comments below.