Tag: phones

Feature Phone Review – Nokia 3310 3G (2017)

Nokia 3310 3G (2017)
Nokia 3310 3G (2017) Back

Specifications: https://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_3310_(2017)-8597.php

The Nokia 3310 3G is a feature phone that was released by HTC in 2017. It’s a re-imagining of the famous Nokia 3310 from the early 2000’s that was iconic for it’s durability and staying power. I’ve been using it full time since June but before that my mom had been using it for years so I have second hand experience with it that way as well. Consider this a long term review because of that.

Pros:

  • It’s a basic mobile phone that does basic mobile phone things like calls and SMS messaging competently. I’ve had no dropped calls while using it over the last months in various areas of my city.
  • Battery life is good. It has a 1200 mAh battery that is removable. The original battery had swollen but I replaced it with a aftermarket battery that is nearly identical in performance. You can charge it from empty to full in about 2 hours and from low to full in about 1 hour. My experience was having to charge it every 4-5 days for an hour with light use. The battery is easily replaceable and can be accessed by just popping off the back of the phone.
  • It makes a good digital music player (MP3 player) with its 3.5 MM jack, expandable storage (it takes up to 32 GB SDHC cards) and battery life. Transferring music files is as easy as plugging it into a computer and moving them with drag/drop into a folder (when plugged into a computer the Nokia 3310 will show up as a USB device under windows 10/11). It will not support advanced codecs like .FLAC, .ACC or Vorbis for example though.
  • One of the most underrated aspects of using a feature phone like the Nokia 3310 3G is the peace of mind you have owning one. It’s a functional tool. Nobody is going to mug you for this phone. You don’t have to treat it like you’re handling a piece of jewelry or a newborn babe. You throw it in your pocket and it’s there if you need it.
  • It’s small. It’s a little less than 5 inches long x 2 inches wide and half an inch thick and It will not bulge out of your pants pockets.

Cons:

  • It’s a basic phone so it can’t do any of the things you would expect from a modern smartphone like going on the internet and having common APPs because no software developer supports it.
  • It has bluetooth but it is terrible suffering from re-pairing/dropping almost every time you use it.
  • The build quality is plastic. Not cheap plastic mind you but still plastic. It doesn’t have the same brick like durability of its namesake either. As you can see from the photos above it picks up scuffs and scratches but I’ve never used a phone protector or screen protector on it either so it stands up reasonably well.
  • It is 2/3G only device. No LTE or 5G possible. This is a big problem for the phone functionality at least here in Canada since the last 3G carrier (Rogers) is sunsetting their service by March 31, 2025.
  • Video is not worth mentioning. 240p @ 8 FPS yuck.
  • The 2 MP camera sucks. Even under ideal lighting conditions photos were blurry and overexposed.

Conclusion

If i had to grade the phone on a 10 point scale I would give it a 5/10. If you know what you’re getting into with a feature phone it’s fine. You get used to it and there’s perks of not caring about a mobile device in your pocket. There are some definite limitations however but as long as you can get it cheap it’s a suitable product that will meet basic phone needs.

I need a new mobile phone

New mobile phones are awesome little machines. It has been surreal seeing them transform from portable landline to handheld computers that have shaped our world. The problem is that I’m poor so I’ve resisted buying one since they are so expensive to obtain but more importantly maintain.

My poverty has not changed for the better over the years but I did break down in July of this year (2024) and got one. The breaking point came for me when everything required having 2 factor authentication and that requires receiving a SMS text message (something a traditional landline is unable to do). I found myself unable to function normally and realized it was hurting me not having a mobile phone.

These concerns were voiced with my mom and she graciously gave me her disused and dust covered Nokia 3310 (2017). The battery was bloated and dead but an aftermarket one for $17 on Amazon gave it life anew. I coupled that with the cheapest prepaid/pay as you go plan I could find and thought I was finally done catching up to the modern world.

And as it turns out the Nokia 3310 (2017) is what is now referred to as a “Feature Phone”. My mom and I had been jokingly referring to it as a dumb phone for years but feature phone sounds much better to my pride. Feature phones for those that are unaware are phones considered basic or bare necessities. They can’t do any of the things that modern devices can but are simply there to receive phone calls and text messages. It turns out that all the features available to us today with modern smart phones can make people addicted or feel overwhelmed. As such a market has developed for simple devices that these people can use to help them conquer these problems. I think the Nokia 3310 (2017) is a fine phone in this regard and I plan on giving it a more thorough review later on.

The problem is that a Nokia 3310 (2017) is a 3G only device. Of course I had absolutely no idea what that meant at the time but there are apparently wireless bands that telecommunication companies use to provide service to their customers. 3G is considered the old standard whereas 5G is the one being used in Canada now (a newer and better standard apparently). Unbeknownst and unfortunately for me my carrier is sunsetting their 3G service in March of 2025 and will no longer be supporting devices in the 3G band by the end of that month. Nor will any other Canadian carriers be supporting it either.

That means in essence that in a few months time my new phone will basically be a brick. Wonderful.