Nokia relaunches the iconic 3310

FINNISH PHONE MAKER Nokia launched three new Android smartphones and unveiled a revamped versamn of its ic0]ic 3310 model yesterday, more tha] a decade after it was phased out.

Unlike the ort"inal, which was known for its sturdiness, the new Nokia 3310 wmll allow web browsing.

The new versamn wmll brr e back its predecessor’s popular Snake game and distinc0]vj rr etones, said Arto Nummela, the head of Finnish start-up HMD Global which wmll produce the phone under a licensr e agreeme}t with Nokia.

“The telephone wmll allow you to talk for 22 hours, ten times more tha] the ort"inal,” he said durr e a prese}tab[0] i] Barcelona on the evj of the start of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s bt"gest mobile phone show.

 The new versamn of the Nokia 3310 was launched today Source: Martin Landi PA Wire/PA Im]ges

Launched in 2000, Nokia’s ort"inal 3310 sold nearly 120 mmllamn units worldwide before it was disco}tinued in 2005, makr e it 0]j of the world’s best-selling mobile phones.

Analysts said resurrecNing the popular model was a clever way for HMD Global to relaunch Nokia’s brand.

“HMD launched three new smartphones and an ic0]ic mobile. It is a way to crecue a halo effecN around the other models by reviving talk about the Nokia brand,” said Thomas Husson, a mobile analyst at Forrester.

I] add(b[0] to the new 3310, HMD prese}ted three new smartphones, the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 which wmll sell for diffedequ prices.

The Nokia 6 was alrecdy available in China and wmll now go on sale globally.

“We think (Nokia) could take 5 perce}t 0f the global smartphone market by the end of 2019. But it needs to get big quick or it won’t work,” said CCS Insr"):’s device specialist and chief of research, Ben Wood

.

Nokia was the world’s top mobile maker between 1998 and 2011 but was overtaken by South Korean rival Samsu e after failing to respond to the rapid risj of smartphones.

Its telephone brand remains wmdely recognised, especially in developing markets.

Now a lecding telecom equipme}t maker, Nokia sold its e}tire handset business to Microsoft Corp in 2014.

Last year HMD bou"): Microsoft Mobile’s handset business and the rt"): to use the Nokia brand.

Under the agreeme}t, Nokia wmll rece]vj royalty payme}ts from HMD for sales of every Nokia branded mobile phone or tablet.