The Legendary Nokia 3310: A Retro Revival

Hey guys, this is Austin. This is the legendary Nokia 3310. In addition to being a lot of people's very first cell phone, it also has a reputation for being basically indestructible. Fast forward to 2018, though, and Nokia has released a brand-new version of the 3310. So, I mean, it wasn't even like I had a choice. Of course, I had to get one.

Take a look at the box, and you're gonna see something that looks very, very similar to the original 3310. Of course, one of the best features of this phone was the games, or, well, the game. Snake, in fact, was probably the best game on any phone ever. Fight me, I don't care. What was that, fight me? I don't think anyone's gonna fight me over Snake. Everyone agrees on that, right?

Put the new and the old 3310 side by side, and you see they have a lot of similarities. Of course, the newer one has a much larger screen, but one of the important things is that because it's going to be so thin and light, it actually kind of makes sense as a secondary phone. Maybe you just want a backup phone, or maybe you just wantsomething to go off the grid for a weekend or something and not have to worry about people Facebook messaging you and emails, and I don't know. Can this thing do email, actually? It probably can, right?

These are not cheap, by the way. I think the Nokia 3310, this one cost me around $60, so you can get a low-end smartphone for that. However, you definitely don't want to expect a whole lot of functionality from it. The nice thing is, because it's so small and lightweight, it's easy to be able to carry this around as a secondary device, or if you're just someone who doesn't really want to deal with a smartphone and wants something that should be a little bit simpler to use, the Nokia 3310's actually not gonna be too bad.

The phone itself is pretty simple, with no touchscreen and only a few physical buttons. The interface is basic, with a menu system that's easy to navigate but not exactly elegant. However, once you get used to it, it's actually quite intuitive. The camera is one of the better features of this phone, taking surprisingly clear photos for its size. And then there's the music player, which sounds tinny but gets the job done.

The only real drawback is the lack of functionality, which can be a bit frustrating at times. For example, trying to text or tweet from the phone can take a while if you're not familiar with the T9 keyboard. But overall, the Nokia 3310's actually not that far out of date. Some stuff seems kind of okay. It's definitely not going to replace your smartphone anytime soon, but it could be a fun little project for someone who wants to explore old-school mobile tech.

So, as always, I will find a link to this guy and put it in the description. Things are like 60 bucks or so. But I'm curious, would you actually ever want to pick up a 3310? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll catch you in the next one.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.This is the legendary Nokia 3310.In addition to being a lot of people'svery first cell phone,it also has a reputation forbeing basically indestructible.Fast forward to 2018, though,and Nokia has released this,a brand-new version of the 3310.So, I mean, it wasn'teven like I had a choice.Of course I had to get one.Take a look at the box, andyou're gonna see somethingthat looks very, verysimilar to the original 3310.Of course, one of the bestfeatures of this phonewas the games, or, well, the game.Snake, in fact, was probablythe best game on any phone ever.Fight me, I don't care.(Austin laughing)What was that, fight me?I don't think anyone'sgonna fight me over Snake.Everyone agrees on that, right?Put the new and the old 3310 side by side,and you see they havea lot of similarities.Of course, the newer onehas a much larger screen,but one of the important things isis that because it's goingto be so thin and light,it actually kind of makessense as a secondary phone.So maybe you just want a backup phone,or maybe you just wantsomething to go off the gridfor a weekend or something and not have toworry about people Facebook messaging youand emails, and, I don't know.Can this thing do email, actually?It probably can, right?These are not cheap, by the way.I think the Nokia 3310,this one cost me around $60,so you can get a low-endsmartphone for that.However, you definitely don't getthat kind of cool retroNokia vibes from it.Continuing on, the firstthing we get is the charger,so thankfully, this is now in 2018,and well, 2016, 'cause we'reusing a micro USB cable,but it's a lot better thanthe stupid barrel plugon the original 3310.We also surprisingly get a headset.That's actually kind of impressive.Does this have a...Oh, there you go.Got a headphone jack right there.I don't know how youactually get music on this.In fact, I actually don't knowthat much about this at all.So it does say on the box thatit's got the Opera App Store,so we actually might have some flexibilityon what we're doing with it.Pop off the back, andthe first thing we seeis the battery spot, as well as a slotfor not only a Micro SIM,but also a Micro SD card.You know, for when you want to storeall your sick '90s jams.Okay, so, that was the simplestphone set up process ever.So at least we're gettinga full-color display.Unlock, press Star to unlock, okay.Oh wow, so we actually haveSnake, Facebook, camera.We've got the mobile store.You even have a Twitter app.This actually might not be that bad.Of course, though, the only gamethat anyone really cares about is Snake.No!Oh, oh, wait, wow, thatwas really generous.Oh, I have a super-wide head.Oh, you don't even need to hit on the,necessarily, right on the mark.It has Snake, but it's not the real Snake.I will say, though, thisactually, at first glance,doesn't seem like it'sgoing to be that far off.I was expecting something with no apps,something that was gonna be super-basicjust for texts and calls,but we do have some apps.We have a Twitter app.We have a couple games that aren't Snake.So let's see if I canactually use this for a day.So it is time to use the Nokia 3310,and there's actually a lot ofweird stuff with this phone.Now, the response from thisactually isn't too bad.So I have a list of apps.Well, apps, they're mostly just web apps,because there is Opera Mobile on this guy.Oh wow, we have 30 megabytesof phone memory free,but I guess we could usethat micro SD card slotto put more than three MP3s on it.Oh, I've got a flashlight.Excellent!Revolutionary technology.There's so much weird stuff with this.Here comes my favorite part,typing out my entire Twitter credentialson the little T9 keyboard.Oh, ho, ho!We are on glorious twitter.com for Mobile!That looks exactly like 2012, actually.I mean, this kind of works.It looks a little broken.It's definitely slow,but, I mean, it works.Alright, wait, can I reply?Where do you...Oh, I think that's it.Wait, this button is reply?Uh-oh, wait, did I just retweet?Oh, I didn't, okay.That's reply.So you really have to considerwhat you're going totext or tweet from this,because it takes a while to textif you're lame and you'veforgotten how to usea T9 keyboard like I have.I think Ken's getting frustrated withhow long it takes for meto type on this thing.I've officially writtena 123-character tweet,and I have proof this was, infact, written on a Nokia 3310.Alright, so it is time touse the Nokia 3310 for real.It's gonna be a little bitof challenge, but honestly,after playing with itfor just a few minutes,it's actually not that far out of date.I mean, some stuff seems kind of okay?Of course, what better way to testthan with some properretro-looking headphones?So you do have to use aMicro SD card to actually--Oop.(clearing throat)Wrong phone.I meant to grab the one in this pocket,which actually does have a headphone jack.It's a little tinny,but it's much better than we expectedout of a tiny littlefeature phone like this.I'll say, it's actuallynot that hard to use.Everything is pretty responsive.I mean, obviously we're notrunning Android or anything,but can I actually multitask?Oh, I can, so I can move aroundwhile still listening to music.(pop music)it actually doesn't sound that bad.(Austin laughing)What I really wanna try is the camera.That's what we call nota lot of dynamic range.Hang on, wait, how do I do a selfie?Uh, okay.(phone chiming)Five, four, three, two...(phone chiming)Wow, it actually works!That doesn't look like theworst thing I've ever seen.Okay, okay.So what have we learned?Well, first of all, this is definitelynot a replacement for a smartphone.However, if you want somethingthat is going to be small, lightweight,and hopefully shouldsurvive a quick little drop,it should be fine, right?Hey, it's fine.I had no doubts.I mean, this is carpet, to be fair.But, the nice thing is,because it's so small and lightweight,it's easy to be able to carry this aroundas a secondary device,or if you're just someonewho doesn't really wantto deal with a smartphoneand wants something that should bea little bit simpler to,you know, call, text,listen to some sick 2003 jams,the Nokia 3310's actuallynot gonna be too bad.So, as always, I willfind a link to this guyand put it in the description.Thing's like 60 bucks or so.But I'm curious, would you actually everwant to pick up a 3310?Let me know in the comments belowand I will catch you in the next one.