A big part of the Nokia brand's cache comes from its heydey as one of the leading lights in the mobile industry, back before smartphones. Back then, the firm was one of the best feature phone makers on the planet, alongside other similar pioneering industry giants such as Motorola.
Of course, times have changed a fair bit since then.
Recently, however, we've seen HMD Global, in its role as steward of the Nokia brand, revive the old-school Nokia 3310 smartphone with 4G capability, bright modern colours, and a few design tweaks - predictably called the Nokia 3310 4G.
Now the firm is at it again. At MWC 2018, HMD launched the Nokia 8110 4G; an updated version of the classic cruvy slide-open feature phone which everyone wanted back in the day when they saw it in The Matrix.
It is a little different now though. Back then it was quite sleek and serious looking with dark colours. The new reboot is bright yellow and, frankly, people calling it "the banana phone" have very good reason to do so. Fortunately, however, there is also a black version.
As with the 3310 reboot, the Nokia 8110 4G not only features a re-design and added 4G capability, but it also has some built-in app features, including Google Assistant, Google Maps, and Google Search, Facebook, Twitter, and the old classic game; Snake.
The standout spec is the main appeal of feature phones - the battery life. HMD says the Nokia 8110 4G will last a full 17 days on a single charge.
With a smattering of apps aboard, the phone does need some kind of software core to pin them to. HMD has paired with KaiOS - a feature phone OS company - the software is based on Linux and Firefox OS
The new Nokia 8110 4G mimics the design functionality of the original, with the slide cover mechanism beign used to answer and end calls. The new model features voice-over-LTE call capability, has access to a KaiOS app store, and runs on a Qualcomm 205 processor.
Here's the full spec sheet:
- 2G: 900/1800, 3G: WB-CDMA 1/5/8/39, 4G: FDD-LTE 1/3/5/7/8/20, TDD-LTE 39/40/41/(38)
- OS: Smart Feature OS from KaiOS
- Chipset: Qualcomm® 205 Mobile Platform (MSM8905 Dual Core 1.1 GHz)
- RAM: 512MB LPDDR3
- Storage: 4GB eMMC internal memory4
- Display: 2.4-inch QVGA display, curved display
- Camera: 2MP rear camera
- Connectivity/Sensors: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, BT 4.1, GPS/AGPS, micro USB 2.0, 3.5mm AV jack
- Battery2: 1500mAh
- FM radio
- Audio playback file formats: AAC, AMR, MP3, MIDI, Vorbis
- Micro SIM slot
Nokia's MWC 2018 crop is going to land in retailers in the next few months. We've come across details for when the Nokia 8110 4G will arrive in the UK courtesy of online retailer Clove, which also reveals how much it will cost. The site has the handset listed with an expected arrival date of April 23. It'll be available in both black and yellow colour options and will retail for £80.
