3310 - THE phone for technophobes (Nokia 3310)

Member Name: sandemp

Product:	Nokia 3310
Date:	26/02/05 (1099 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A classic, Very cheap, No fancy features

Disadvantages: No fancy features

From the moment it hit the shelves the Nokia 3310 was destined to be a classic. Basically there had never been a phone that looked so classy, and even today it's instantly recognisable. Now while I've changed my phone and moved on to smarter, more fashionable and advanced models, my husband has stuck with his, for the simple reason that it does exactly what he wants from a phone (makes and receives calls), is simple to use and very, very durable.

~~~The looks~~~

The 3310 is a classic, when it was brought out it was quite simply the smallest mobile you could buy, measuring 113mm x 48mm x 22mm it fits snugly in the hand, the biggest invention however was that this phone did not have an external aerial, which added to it's sleek look. Out of the box, the Nokia comes with a silver Xpress on cover, but you won't see many with the original cover due to the fact that you can buy a multitude of replacements at often very cheap prices.

~~~Charging the battery~~~

The battery takes quite a long time to charge, recommended time for the first charge is 16 hours, with subsequent charges taking anything upto 3 hours (or more depending on the age of the battery). However, battery life is fantastic, even after 2 years my husbands phone only needs charging every three days with reasonably heavy usage.

~~~The screen~~~

The screen is nothing fantastic, basically a black and white display with a greenish backlight. but perfectly upto the job. One problem we've had is that the screen is actually the one part of the 3310 to break if its dropped, but can be replaced relatively cheaply (I paid £15 for a replacement screen on a market stall).

~~~Adding Contacts~~~

Adding contacts to this phone is remarkable easy, in common with later Nokias the address book is simple to navigate and it's a simple case of navigating to the add contact, and inputting the name and number. You can only add one number per name, however, so we ended up with double entries for some people, which is easy to get round by adding home or mobile after the name.

~~~Making Calls~~~

This is the reason that my husband loves this phone so much, it is so simple to make and receive calls. You can either input the number that you want to call and press the green start call button, find the number through your contacts, or use the list of previously dialled numbers.
Once the call is started, reception is crystal clear in most areas (depending on network) and the volume can be adjusted to a suitable level.

~~~Texting~~~

As well as being simple to make calls with, it is exceptionally easy to send texts with this phone. The keypad is very well laid out and it is easy to press the buttons. Personally I find the dictionary annoying, and write texts using keypresses, but must admit that the dictionary does work extremely well. This was the first phone I owned that actually used both lower and upper case characters and I find this makes my texts look much neater, no more shouting for me. There are also a number of smileys available along with some templates.

~~~The ringtones~~~

The phone comes with a number of mono ringtones, including that annoying “Haribo” one. But you can get ringtones sent to your phone at a reasonable cost (I pay 12p each from free-ringtones-free-logos), or you can compose your own. I find the ringtones are loud and on the most part sound pretty good. Of course you can turn the vibrate function on and the ringtones off if you're somewhere where you need the phone to be a little more discrete.

~~~Games~~~

The 3310 comes with four games, for whiling away those hours waiting at bus stops. My personal favourite is Snake, and I must admit that I almost completed it once, but I've lost my high score. My husband prefers the Space Impact game, which is a scrolling shoot-them-up. For the more academically minded there are pairs and Bantumi ( a very annoying traditional board game). Basically, the games are a nice little extra, and add a little extra value to the phone, but are not as fancy as games on newer phones.

~~~Extras~~~

As with most phones you get a few extra features on the 3310, such as a reminder, stopwatch, calendar, calculator and alarm clock. Which you will probably find you only use very occasionally.

~~~Durability~~~

The 3310 is remarkably durable, my husbands is over two years old and has been dropped countless times. The worst that has happens is the cover has flown off, which is easily replaced. The screen, however, is a little less hardy than the rest of the phone, and mine did break after being thrown across the room by my son.

~~~Accessories~~~

This is what made the 3310 really special, in my opinion. You can get a vast number of accessories for it, from covers featuring all kinds of pictures (mine had Spike from Buffy), costing as little as £5, to flashing keypads and handsfree sets.

Due to the phones popularity, you can buy accessories on most markets at very reasonable prices.

~~~Price and Availability~~~

A quick look online tells me that the 3310 is available from as little as £55.89 SIM free (which means that you can use it on any network) at directmobileaccessories.co.uk or on Ebay with bidding starting at £18.53 brand new.

~~~Final Words~~~

The 3310 does exactly what a basic mobile phone should, that is allows you to make calls and send texts with ease. It is an ideal phone for someone who is not looking for fancy features such as a colour screen, WAP or a camera. It is therefore ideal for someone like my husband that does not get on well with new technology, as well as the younger teenager who may need something just for piece of mind.

In a day and age when children are being mugged for their mobile phones, a 3310 is an ideal solution, after its not exactly the most expensive or technologically advanced phone, so I couldn't imagine a mugger particularly wanting it. And if it did get stolen, it's not like it would cost the earth to replace.

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