Nokia 3210 was an iconic mobile phone 25 years ago. Now it has been resurrected as a simple phone… and with TikTok.

• HMD brings back the nostalgia and pays homage to the iconic Nokia 3210

• The offer helps us disconnect a little from our smartphones, but still offers support for YouTube Shorts or TikTok.

It was 1997, and Nokia’s bosses assigned Frank Nuovo to design a new phone, but gave him no clear instructions. He decided to get creative – he had already been creative with the famous 8110 from the movie “The Matrix” – so he made some controversial decisions, such as eliminating the external antenna – remember, all mobile phones used to have them “on the outside” – and integrating it into the phone .

Two years later, the company that had dominated the mobile telephony segment with an iron fist (and would continue to do so for another decade) launched Nokia 3210. This mobile phone featured both this feature and the inclusion of T9 predictive text input, customizable ringtones and interchangeable cases.

And now, 25 years after its launch, HMD wanted to pay tribute and introduce its new version, Nokia 3210, adapted to new times and trying to offer a simple yet interesting alternative to our smartphones.

The device comes in three different colors (dark grey, yellow and blue) and has a 2.4-inch screen and QVGA resolution. The rear camera has a 2 MP sensor and LED flash. The battery is removable, of course! — The 1450 mAh capacity provides up to 9.8 hours of talk time and charges via USB-C.

We have 4G connectivity (but not Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, dual SIM, and a microSD slot for cards up to 32GB. And yes, it includes a modern version of Snake, the legendary video game that was also included in the original version and which offers more advanced full-color graphics.

Those responsible for HMD themselves explain how the Nokia 3210 is ideal for “those who want to take a break from social networks, the Internet and endless applications.” And what’s more, they note, they can do it “in the style of the nineties.” Despite this, as we will discuss later and see in the image, the respite is not complete.

We don’t have replacement covers this time around, but we do have an FM radio and a microphone jack. The operating system it is based on is Nokia Series 30+ (S30+), a very old platform that was launched in 2013 but was updated in 2023 to offer apps in the cloud.

This is what makes it theoretically possible to access YouTube or TikTok from these screens, which is in some ways the opposite of what dumb mobile phones are all about.

The new Nokia 3210 is available on the HMD website at a price 79.99 euros.

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