Nokia released the original 3210 all the way back in 1999, but this classic phone has been given a spit and polish and is back on the shelves in 2024. It’s now got a color screen, 2-megapixel camera and 4G LTE and comes with a price tag of £75 in the UK — around $95, AU$140.
As a feature (or “dumb”) phone, it doesn’t have apps, NFC, wireless charging or a touchscreen. You can sort of browse the internet and send SMS messages by tapping on the keys again and again until you get the letter you want — the joys of a T9 keypad.
While the phone’s rerelease is arguably something of a gimmick by Nokia and its parent company HMD, the 3210 does boast a long battery life and a very small design. So those of you looking to switch off from the hustle and bustle of modern life but still want to be contactable in case of emergencies may well find some use in it.
Here, then, are some questions you may have about this phone.
Phone meets boot.
Can I stand on it?
The original Nokia 3210 and 3310 became memes over time due to their iconic durability. The new model feels more plasticky to hold than I remember the original being, but I donned a sturdy pair of Nicks leather boots and put my entire 205 pound weight on the phone. It creaked unpleasantly, but it didn’t shatter or crack so I’m confident it can put up with a fair amount of abuse.
That said, it doesn’t have any kind of waterproofing, as has become standard on 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, Nokia’s classic game Snake is preloaded and remains reasonably addictive. There are also cut-down versions of Crossy Road and Doodle Jump on the phone and while you get three attempts at playing each game for free, you’ll need to then buy each one for the cost of 10 international text messages (or about £5/$5).
Can I download apps and browse the internet?
No. There’s a Facebook app logo in the menu, but it’s just a shortcut that opens the Facebook page on 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 shutting yourself off from social media. Maybe that’s a good thing.
CNET spends a lot of money on website design and this phone ruins it.
The Opera Mini browser does allow you to access the internet, but it’s not a pleasant experience, with websites being extremely difficult to view and navigate using the phone’s buttons. Still, for checking weather reports or sports scores, it’s probably sufficient.
I want to live like it’s 1999, what else can I do?
Hit up your nearest thrift store for some classic ’90s threads, ask all your colleagues to “fax it to me” when you’re in a work meeting and listen exclusively to Eiffel 65’s Blue (Da Ba Dee), Witch Doctor by The Cartoons and, of course, No Scrubs by TLC.
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’ve got a long wait for the craft beer revolution to kick in.
Don’t be fooled by the Facebook logo; there are no apps here.
Does the battery last forever?
No, but you can expect to get multiple days of use from a single charge. It won’t last weeks at a time as the original may have been able to as the new color screen and 4G connectivity are way bigger power drains than the OG model had to contend with.
Can I take photos with it?
There’s a 2-megapixel camera on the back, but it’s awful 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 more akin to the sorts of phone cameras you’d find on phones in the early 2000s, and if you care at all about taking nice images, then it won’t be the phone for you.
I’ve never seen a rainbow look so miserable.
What once were lovely green leaves are now grim, desaturated circles of unhappiness.
No thanks.
I wonder where Nokia even got such bad camera units from. Did they have them left over from back in the day or are these new cameras simply designed to be appalling?
Can I listen to music?
There’s a radio built in so you can listen to regular scheduled AM/FM programing with it, if that’s your thing, but you won’t be able to use Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music. You can, however, load music files (I won’t ask how you’ve acquired 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.
Oddly, though, I couldn’t get the radio to play through the Bluetooth headphones, 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 have to make up for your lack of social media visibility by going extra hard on the ’90s thrift store fashion. That way, there’ll be no question who the most retro is around here. Failing that, consider a leaflet drop from a hot air balloon or a targeted campaign of mail-outs, sent by carrier pigeon, of course.
If you remember feverishly texting your friends on buttons like these, keeping the character count low so you only had to pay for one text message then hello, friend, what plans do you have for your upcoming 40th? How’s your lower back? Mine’s awful.
Should I actually buy it?
The Nokia 3210 is a fun novelty for those of you who, like me, grew up with the original phone in your pocket. Its long battery life and relative durability means it could be a useful backup phone if you’re going camping for a few days.
I personally wouldn’t want to use such a basic feature phone as my main phone, and as CNET’s Jessica Fierro found out, living without a smartphone is more problematic than it might appear. Still, if you’re desperate to switch off from social media for a while, it might be the solution you need.
