Nokia 3310 history: why we still miss the phone that wouldn’t die

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The Nokia 3310 history is a short story with a very long tail. Nokia announced the phone on 1 September 2000, sold it for barely five years, and still managed to shift around 126 million of them. A quarter of a century later, people who owned one talk about it the way they talk about a first car: the chunky blue body, the click of the keys, a battery that seemed to go on for days, and far too many hours spent on Snake II.

A phone for “the young at heart”

The 3310 replaced the Nokia 3210, which was already a hit, and it was aimed squarely at younger buyers. According to the Mobile Phone Museum, Nokia pitched it at “young people and the young at heart, for whom the mobile phone is an important lifestyle accessory”. It was unveiled at a lifestyle event in Oberhausen with the gloriously daft slogan “Don’t be bored. Be totally board.”, and at “Nokia Unplugged” concerts across Asia.

On paper it was modest. It weighed 133g, measured 113 x 48 x 22mm and had a 1.5-inch monochrome screen of just 84 x 48 pixels, with a removable 900mAh battery, according to its Wikipedia entry. No camera, no colour, no proper internet. That simplicity was the point. It was easy to use, cheap to run, and small enough to live in a jeans pocket.

Texting, Chat and 459-character messages

Around 2000, texting was how most young people used their phones, and the 3310 leaned into it. Alongside T9 predictive text and picture messages, it added a Chat feature that made texts feel like an online chat, and long messages of up to 459 characters, three times a standard text.

When every text cost money and a top-up had to last the month, that mattered. Wired says Chat “reinvented text messaging”.

Snake II, Space Impact and the birth of phone gaming

The 3310 shipped with four games: Snake II, Space Impact, Bantumi and Pairs II. Snake wasn’t new. Nokia engineer Taneli Armanto had programmed the original for the Nokia 6110 in 1997, and he explains that the tiny 84 x 48 screen and a few keys shaped every design decision. Nokia’s own blog says Snake II first appeared on the 7110 in 1998.

Armanto has also said Nokia looked at Tetris first, but told MEL Magazine that the Tetris Company wanted a share of every handset sold, so a snake chasing dots got the job instead. For a generation, it was the first game they ever played on a phone, usually at the bus stop or under the desk at school.

Covers, ringtones and making it yours

The 3310 was one of the first phones people really personalised. Xpress-on covers clipped on and off, and thousands of designs were made. It had more than 35 built-in ringtones, room for seven more, and a composer so you could tap out your own tune, note by note.

Why it was called “the phone that wouldn’t die”

The 3310’s toughness became a running joke online, with memes calling it indestructible and videos of people dropping, crushing and hammering it. The jokes stretch the truth, but it was solidly built. Wired says it lasted “at least a week” without a recharge.

It stuck around, too. Nokia kept making it until December 2005, and by 2003 it was already the budget pick. Mobile Phone History notes that when Tesco launched its mobile service with O2 that year, the 3310 was its cheapest handset at £44.99. In 2015 Finland even chose it as one of its first national emojis, nicknamed “The Unbreakable”.

The comebacks: 2017 and 2024

Nostalgia is powerful enough that the 3310 has come back from the dead. HMD Global, which makes Nokia-branded phones under licence, launched a new 3310 in the UK in May 2017 for £49.99, with a colour screen, a 2MP camera and a new version of Snake. In May 2024, HMD did the same for the older Nokia 3210, relaunching it at £74.99 with 4G and, of course, Snake, pitched at people who want a break from their smartphone.

Relive it today

Prices change often. Tap Check price on Amazon for today’s price.

An original 3310 is easy to find second-hand, but it’s a 2G phone, and UK networks plan to switch 2G off from 2029, so it’s more of a keepsake than a daily phone. If you want the feel of a Nokia brick with modern basics, the Nokia 3210 4G is the closest thing on sale. It has 4G calling, a 2.4-inch colour screen, a 2MP camera, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C charging and a 1,450mAh removable battery, and yes, Snake is built in.

Worth knowing: it’s a feature phone, so there’s no WhatsApp-style app store, the camera is basic, and typing on a keypad takes some getting used to again. That’s why many people buy one as a second phone for festivals or a digital detox.

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Our verdict

The Nokia 3310 wasn’t the most advanced phone of 2000, and it was never meant to be. It was cheap, tough, easy to use and fun, and it turned the mobile into something personal for millions of us. That’s why we still miss it. If this has brought back memories, take a trip through more retro tech with our Sony Walkman history and ZX Spectrum vs Commodore 64 pieces, or find a present for a gamer in our best gaming gifts under £50 guide.

FAQ

When did the Nokia 3310 come out?

Nokia announced the 3310 on 1 September 2000 and it went on sale in the last few months of that year. Production ended in December 2005.

How many Nokia 3310s were sold?

Nokia said the 3310 and the closely related 3330 sold 126 million units between 2000 and 2005, making it one of the best-selling phones ever.

Does an original Nokia 3310 still work in the UK?

For now it can, on a 2G network, but EE and O2 start switching 2G off in 2029 and Vodafone in 2030, according to GOV.UK. Treat an original as a collector’s piece.

Featured image: Nokia 3310 in blue. Photo by Michael Brandtner, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.