In a tweet published in mid-March, HMD, the Finnish telecommunications company that manufactures Nokia phones, announced that a “icon” of the catalog would (re)see the light of day in May. It could be this phone released in 1999.
It is an object considered as a family relic by teenagers who grew up with the iPhone and yet it could become a must again… This is the famous 3210 laptop model from the Nokia brand. An iconic cell phone for many consumers, more than 160 million of whom purchased it before the advent of smartphones.
However, in a tweet published in mid-March, HMD, the Finnish telecommunications company which manufactures Nokia phones, announced that a “icon” of the catalog would (re)see the light of day in May for “his birthday”. All accompanied by a pixelated drawing of a yellow object. Quickly, however, fans of the brand made the link with the 3210, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Marketed for the first time in 1999, the Nokia 3210 had become a benchmark in the GSM market with its small horizontal screen, its photo sensor and its three games integrated on it: Snake, Memory and Rotation. Before being dethroned by its successor, the Nokia 3310, which was released in 2000 and sold 126 million copies.
Resell iconic phones
The information according to which the Nokia 3210 could be reborn from its ashes has practically been confirmed by the Finnish retailer Giganti and relayed by the specialized site NokiaMob, which obtained information on this release. According to the latter, the cell phone could be remarketed from May 8 and sold at a price of 89 euros.
Other rumors spread on X (ex-twitter) also present photos of the model in blue and yellow. Stating that these would be the colors chosen for this reissue. Some features would also be revised, including the integration of a 2.4-inch LCD screen, a 2Mpx camera, a 4G connection and a long-lasting battery.
Read alsoCD players, touch-tone telephones: when social networks revive the sale of key objects from the 2000s
Since the Finnish company HMD Global sold phones under the Nokia license, it has continued to repopularize the brand’s iconic models. In 2017, it was the 3310 which was reissued. Followed in 2018 by the “Banana phone”the nickname given to the Nokia 8810.
A “stupid” phone to disconnect
A strategy that is all the more effective as consumers increasingly seek to move away from their screens. Some see its old affordable mobiles as a means of cutting away from social networks while remaining reachable. Interviewed by Euronews in June 2023, Lars Silberbaueur, marketing director of Nokia Phones and HMD Global, says that the flip phone market “increased by 5%” over one year in the United States and confirms that the market has recovered in Europe.
On TikTok, many users under the age of 25 display what they call their “Dumb phone”. Literally, their “stupid phone” due to their limited functions. We can see consumers matching the shell of their 3310 with their pink nails, making this mobile an accessory “cute”. It remains to be seen whether the 3210 will also succeed in becoming a fashionable and viral object for young people.
