Nokia has developed this amazing ability to fire up my inner child. You might remember they launched a modern take on a classic in 2017 with the Nokia 3310. This was shortly after myself and the lads of Goos3D were genuinely using the old Nokia 3310 while raising money for the Irish Cancer Society. While the new 3310 managed to be a disappointment owing to the fact it only 2.5G and didn’t work on a lot of networks, Nokia has realised there’s a lot of excitement to be generated from reinventing an old mobile phone. That’s why they unashamedly just gone and played the same play at Mobile World Congress 2018.
Relaunching the Nokia 8110
When it comes to defining what a cool phone is, the Nokia 8110 ticked a lot of boxes:
- looks great
- starred in a blockbuster movie
- had moving bits
Indeed, after the 3310, if Nokia would be drawing on nostalgia again it would be difficult to look past the 8110. As soon as that phone fell from a FedEx package in the first Matrix movie, rang, only to be answered by a spring-loaded mechanism, the world was in love. It’s funny that the original 8110 didn’t actually have that spring-loaded answering feature at all. This came thanks to some Hollywood trickery while consumers would have to wait for Nokia to create the 8110’s successor; the Nokia 7110.
The Slidey Bit
So, the first bit of bad news is that the new Nokia 8110 isn’t spring loaded. You can answer calls and hang up by sliding the keypad cover though, which is easily the coolest way to finish that super important business call.
Full 4G
Learning from what disappointed some about the Nokia 3310, the 8110 comes with full 4G. The launch video also suggests that the 8110 supports tethering through a hotspot so this could be a rather affordable alternative to mobile broadband modems. Most modems usually come in between €50 and €100 while the Nokia 8110 is just €79. Once again, Nokia is going after the budget festival market with this one.
Lots of Apps
Also nice to see on the Nokia 8110 is a larger selection of apps so you can actually make use of your 4G connection, including:
- Google Assistant
- Google Maps
- Google Search
While Nokia is the heaviest hitter in the feature phone market, the real reason behind the launch of the 8110 is to generate a bit of buzz around Nokia’s latest smartphones; which are mightily impressive in their own right.
Nokia’s Latest Android Smartphones
As the Nokia 8110 Trojan Horse bursts open, out spills four new Nokia smartphones for 2018, including the:
- Nokia 8 Sirocco
- Nokia 7 Plus
- Nokia 6
- Nokia 1
The first three join the ever-growing range of Android One smartphones; Android One being an uber-clean operating system. This ensures Nokia smartphones come with no unnecessary UI changes or hidden processes that would eat up battery life or slow them down.
Unfortunately, there’s yet to be confirmation that the incredible looking Nokia 8 Sirocco will be available in Ireland but we should get the Nokia 7 Plus.
Meet the Nokia 7 Plus
Nokia pitches the 7 Plus towards those looking to create content on the go but not looking to break the bank with Samsung Galaxy S9 prices. All you really need to know is the relationship between Nokia and lens creator ZEISS continues so the 12MP wide-angle primary shooter is unlikely to disappoint.
Even less likely to disappoint is the price. You should be able to pick up a Nokia 7 Plus for just €399; or nothing up front if opting for a network contract. That’s a whopper price for these specs:
- 12MP Primary Wide-Angle Camera
- 13MP Secondary Camera
- 3800 mAh battery (Galaxy S9 has just 3000 mAh)
- 6-inch screen
- Android 8.0 (Oreo)
- 64GB Internal Memory (expandable)
- USB Type C
Nokia’s continued return to prominence in the mobile world looks like it won’t be stopping any time soon. Be sure to give us a follow as we’ll be getting hands on with Nokia smartphones in the near future.
