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The original Nokia 3310
The original Nokia 3310 Photograph: Science & Society Picture Library/Getty Images
The original Nokia 3310 Photograph: Science & Society Picture Library/Getty Images

Nokia 3310, beloved and 'indestructible' mobile phone, 'to be reborn'

This article is more than 7 years old

Reports that a Finnish manufacturer will reissue ‘the world’s best-selling mobile phone’ have been met with joy and trepidation

Seventeen years after it was originally launched, the Nokia 3310 is reportedly set to make a comeback.

HMD Oy Global, a Finnish manufacturer with the exclusive rights to market the Nokia brand, is apparently planning to release a revamped version of the classic phone at the end of February.

The original version was retired in 2005, at which point, according to Nokia, it had sold 126m units, making it the the world’s best-selling phone.

According to reports, the phone will initially be available only to European and North American consumers and will cost €59, significantly less than its original price in 2000 of £129.

There have been no further details about how close the new version will be to the original, which gained a cult following due to its impressively long battery life, indestructibility, and the addictive game Snake II.

News of the possible release has had a mixed reception, with some commentators suggesting the past is best left alone.

Nostalgia is a dish best served in the past. Leave the #Nokia3310 where it should be, don't sully the memory unnecessarily.

— Lord Flashheart (@flashheart_lord) February 14, 2017

Others have welcomed the news with enthusiasm.

If Nokia 3310 is coming back i will be the first one to buy it 😌 #Memories #Nokia3310

— Furijanac (@Gannicus93) February 14, 2017

It's coming back! #Nokia3310 #ohmygad #bestsecondphoneever #takemymoney
More info should be out after #mwc17
➡️ https://t.co/siQ9LthFK3 ⬅️ pic.twitter.com/TfRhzzqlxw

— Emilie Reynaud (@EmReynaud) February 14, 2017

Others seem to misunderstand the fundamental virtues of the original version.

tell ye whit if they re-release the #Nokia3310 but with a reasonable Camera and the basic apps like Whatsapp, I'd go back in a heartbeat

— Ian Colquhoun (@IanColquhounMA) February 14, 2017

And some have no need for a re-release because theirs still works.

My receptionist who is in her sixties and still carries a Nokia 3310 reacting to the news pic.twitter.com/jgApBjnMIk

— Mani Khawaja (@manikhawaja17) February 14, 2017

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