Nokia 3310's debut at the MWC this year was a smart way to get everyone's attention. By luring people into its booth for the iconic Nokia 3310 comeback, Nokia showed off three other smartphones that were well-praised for what they offered.
HMD Global, which now owns Nokia's smartphone brand, played hard on the nostalgia with its revamped Nokia 3310, but it lacked features that would meet basic requirements of users. The new Nokia 3310, like the original model, lacked 3G or 4G support, which is essential given the advancing technologies in smartphones and feature phones these days.
But it appears Nokia has understood the importance of a faster internet band on its feature phone and planning to launch a new 3G variant of the phone. The Nokia 3310 with 3G support has made headlines, especially when it cleared FCC certification last month. But the details of its release had been a mystery, until now.
An Irish telecom operator Three Ireland Online confirmed the phone's release on Twitter earlier this week. The 3G version of Nokia 3310 is expected to be released in September or early October, but the exact launch date is still unknown.
We will be ranging the 3G version of the Nokia 3310, the current launch date of late is September early October ?
— Three Ireland Online (@ThreeCare) August 8, 2017
If the new variant of Nokia 3310 arrives in the said timeline, we can expect the phone to hit Indian shores by the end of this year.
In terms of changes, one may not expect too much. The new Nokia 3310 will replicate the existing model with same dimensions and configurations, but an added feature of 3G support. The handset will feature the same 2.4-inch display, 16MB storage, microSD card support and a 2MP rear camera. The handset's biggest highlight, which is the battery, will remain intact at 1,200mAh. The handset will support dual SIM cards, but 3G will only be activated on the primary slot.
In India, Nokia 3310 3G variant won't be a deal breaker for many as the competition is stiff. Reliance just launched its first 4G VoLTE smartphone JioPhone to bring affordability of hardware and internet to users across the country. Following this trend, other OEMs are also likely to launch affordable feature phones with 4G support. This won't be good news for Nokia 3310 3G model if it plans to make its way to India too late.
