Nokia 3210 Review
Summary: A classic from the past brought back to life with some new features but the same spirit.
3.5
Nokia Nostalgia
You read that correctly and no this isn’t a flashback review… Nokia has released a new 3210! Get ready to feel like you just took a trip in a Delorean and strap in for some nostalgia.
The original 3210 was released in 1999 and was a favourite of many mobile phone users. Now, in 2024, Nokia has created a new version of the 3210, enhancing some features whilst mostly sticking to the basics that made the original a classic.
So let’s start with what features the phone has:
A 2.4″ display IPS LCD
Long-lasting battery 1450 mAh battery
4G LTE
2MP camera with flash
Torch
Bluetooth 5.0
128MB + 64MB (ROM/RAM)
MicroSD slot up to 32GB
USB type-C charging
3.5mm headphone jack
A quick look at those specs and you can see there’s nothing flash here… but that’s kind of the point. Nokia are going with the whole trend of “digital detoxing” and providing a phone that basically just provides the essentials, as it says on the box “Connection without distractions if it’s important, they’ll call or text”.
For purists there are some obvious differences between this and the original 3210… the “feel” is the same… but the actual form is somewhat different. I never had the original but I’m fairly sure the screen didn’t take up the same position as in this reboot, other obvious things are the fact the screen has full colour. But let’s be blunt here… it’s not meant to be a simple re-release of the original… it’s more a modern “re-telling”… the spirit is there even if there are some new bells and whistles. Even the classic Snake makes a return but with a somewhat flashier visual presentation.
The main thing Nokia phones became known for was their robustness… often referred to as bricks, not because they would freeze and lock you out… but because they seemed to be as tough as bricks. Despite being very tempted to do a stress test and drop the phone on concrete or some other similar durability test… I couldn’t quite bring myself to do so. What is odd is just how durable the phone does feel though. It’s clearly a plastic shell, yet it feels quite robust, it’s quite light yet feels sturdy. I’m not sure if the plastic they’ve used is stronger than other phones or simply thicker… but it does feel like it can take a bit of abuse and keep going.
The camera, whilst not being anything amazing… does a decent job and certainly would be amazing compared to some of the early phone camera options (I remember one of my earliest phones, a flip phone, had remarkably grainy images with very low resolution… at least here you get 1200 X 1600 and decent low light capacity.)
I still appreciate a phone with a 3.5mm audio jack so definitely bonus points there. The phone also has a radio tuner which says to use headphones as an aerial… but it was good enough to pick up at least one station without anything plugged in and the audio was clear without static hiss.
But it’s not all nostalgia and roses. The phone states it has games including Snake and whilst that is true… Snake is the only free game… the others (including Crossy Road) are restricted by limited use before you have to pay for them. I had totally forgotten that phones used to do that and quite frankly I’d rather they either provided a game for free or not at all (it takes up menu space if nothing else)… but some people might like the “try before you buy” aspect.
The other thing that certainly modern phone users might find weird but those of us who had a mobile phone back in the early days may find familiar is the fact you have to press buttons multiple times to get the letter you want when typing with the phone. Modern phones with their touch screen interfaces simply present a keyboard and users tap the letter they want and it’s all good, with the old phones we had to press the buttons that had the numbers… but each of those buttons also represented letters (well most), as there are far more letters required than numbers buttons would have multiple letters on them which would mean tapping the button a certain number of times to get the letter you wanted. Whether this is a pro or a con will depend on the user… I’m far too accustomed to simply typing on a virtual keyboard now and find the old style quite tedious, but others might find it fun or at least nostalgic.
Final Thoughts:
I think the Nokia 3210 would be great as a backup phone. I’m not into fads so the whole “digital detox” thing doesn’t interest me… but where I think the Nokia 3210 would be very useful is if you are going on holiday or on an extended trip, just having it in a bag or somewhere about your person. The fact that it isn’t loaded with games and you aren’t exactly going to be using it to watch videos means you will most likely focus on other things. If you have a smartphone you can do your day to day activities on there… but if you get into an emergency and your smartphone goes flat… you can put your sim into the Nokia 3210 (or have a spare emergency sim in it already) and you have access to all you need… a phone to call for assistance or text to let family know you are ok. It’s cheap enough to make it a good option as an “emergency” phone.
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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