Nokia released the original 3210 back in 1999, but it’s a classic telephone it was polished and returned to the shelves in 2024. It now has a color screen, a 2-megapixel camera and 4G LTE, and is priced at £75 in the UK – around $95, AU$140.
As a feature (or “dumb”) phone, it has no apps, NFC, wireless charging, or touchscreen. You can sort of surf the web and send SMS messages by tapping the keys over and over again until you get the letter you want – the joy of a T9 keyboard.
While phone reissue is perhaps something of a gimmick by Nokia and its parent company HMD, the 3210 boasts long battery life and a very small design. So those of you who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life, but still want to be contactable in case of an emergency, may find some use in it.
Here are some questions you may have about this phone.
The phone responds to charging.
Can I stand on it?
The original Nokia 3210 and 3310 they became memes over time due to their iconic durability. The new model feels more plasticky to grip than I remember the original but I wore a sturdy pair Nicks leather boots and put my entire 205 pound weight on the phone. It squeaked unpleasantly, but it didn’t break or crack, so I’m confident it can take quite a bit of abuse.
However, it doesn’t have any kind of water resistance, as has become standard for most modern smartphones, so you’ll have to be very careful around liquids or taking calls in the rain.
Snake in 2024
Can I play snake?
Yes, the classic Nokia Snake game is pre-loaded and remains reasonably addictive. There are also stripped-down versions of Crossy Road and Doodle Jump on the phone, and although you get three tries to play each game for free, you’ll then have to purchase each one at the cost of 10 international texts (or around £5/$5).
Can I download apps and surf the web?
No. There is a Facebook app logo in the menu, but it’s just a shortcut that opens the Facebook page in the Opera Mini web browser. There’s no app store, so you won’t be able to download WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram, Spotify or Netflix. Using this phone means disconnecting from social media. Maybe that’s good.
CNET spends a lot of money on website design, and this phone ruins them.
The Opera Mini browser allows you to access the internet, but it’s not a pleasant experience as websites are extremely difficult to view and navigate using the phone’s buttons. Still, for checking weather forecasts or sports scores, it’s probably enough.
I want to live like it’s 1999, what else can I do?
Hit the nearest thrift store for some classic 90s themes, ask all your coworkers to fax it to me when you’re in a work meeting, and listen exclusively Eiffel 65’s Blue (Da Ba Dee), Witch Doctor from The Cartoons and of course, No TLC scrub.
Then you can buy a CD-ROM to protect your computer from the Y2K Millennium Bug and crack open a Coors or Miller Lite, because unfortunately you have a long wait for the craft beer revolution.
Don’t be fooled by the Facebook logo; there are no applications here.
Does the battery last forever?
No, but you can expect to get several days of use from a single charge. It won’t last for weeks like the original might have managed, as the new color screen and 4G connectivity are much bigger power drains than the OG model had to contend with.
Can I take pictures with it?
There’s a 2-megapixel camera on the back, but it’s terrible, so don’t expect to do much with it. Even in good conditions, images look poor, with terrible exposure, image noise and colors. It’s much closer to the kinds of phone cameras you’d find on phones in the early 2000s, and if you care at all about taking nice images, then this won’t be the phone for you.
I’ve never seen a rainbow look so pathetic.
What were once lovely green leaves are now dark, insatiable circles of unhappiness.
No thanks.
I wonder how Nokia got such bad cameras. Are they holdovers from the past or are these new cameras just designed to be terrifying?
Can I listen to music?
There’s a built-in radio, so you can listen to regular AM/FM programming with it if that’s your thing, but you won’t be able to use Spotify, Tidal, or Apple Music. However, you can load music files (I won’t ask how you got them) onto a 32GB microSD card and play them with the phone, and you can even connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones.
The back cover comes off, revealing the battery and SIM card slots.
Strangely though, I couldn’t get the radio to play through the bluetooth headset, only through the speaker or using a pair of wired headphones plugged into the 3.5mm jack.
If I can’t use Instagram on it, how will people know how cool and retro I am?
You’ll need to make up for your lack of social media visibility by going extra on 90s thrift store fashion. That way, there will be no doubt as to who is the most retro here. Failing that, consider launching a flyer from a hot air balloon or a targeted mailing campaign sent by carrier pigeon, of course.
If you remember frantically messaging your friends using buttons like these, keeping the character count low so you only had to pay for one text message, then hey buddy, what are your plans for your upcoming 40th? How’s your lower back? Mine is terrible.
Should I actually buy it?
The Nokia 3210 is fun news for those of you who, like me, grew up with the original phone in your pocket. Its long battery life and relative durability mean it can be a useful back-up phone if you’re going camping for a few days.
I personally wouldn’t want to use a phone with such basic features as a basic phone and like CNET’s Jessica Fierro found out, life without a smartphone is more problematic than it might seem. Still, if you’re desperate to switch off social media for a while, this might be the solution you need.
