Photo: 
Bloomberg
Good call: the Nokia 3310 returns

​Volkswagen rebooted the Beetle, and BMW reinvented the classic Mini. Now technology firms are following carmakers, remaking old favourites with a modern twist. Today a new version of the Nokia 3310, a famously indestructible mobile phone originally launched in 2000, goes on sale. Fans of the original will recognise the rounded buttons and familiar Nokia beeps and ringtones. There’s no 3G or Wi-Fi, but the new model has a colour screen, camera and a battery life of up to four weeks—plus an updated “Snake” game. Tamagotchi digital pets have also had a 2017 rebirth, and last year Nintendo released a miniature version of its beloved NES console from the 1980s. Rebooting such old classics is cheap, generates publicity, inspires nostalgia and appeals to technophobes who prefer older, simpler devices. The revived Nokia 3310 also highlights just how far, and how fast, handsets have evolved since the turn of the century.

May 24th 2017
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