Faced with the relaunched 3310 tech savvy Millennial Daniel González says it "seems quite complicated" as he struggles with the keys.
ADVERTISEMENTThe re-launch of the Nokia 3310, the iconic phone from the Finnish mobile brand, has been one of the great sensations of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the largest mobile show in the world, making a not-so-smart phone the star of the show.
The Nokia 3310 was first introduced in 2000 and became the most popular device of its time. It will be fondly remembered by many for its smaller size, long-lasting battery and distinctive Nokia ringtone.
Once the biggest mobile phone manufacturer, the company that has taken over the Nokia name is trying to move forward in an ever-more competitive mobile market by taking a little step back.
The relaunch of the 3310 model introduces a colour screen, a two-megapixel camera, and a promising 25-day battery life on standby. It has been designed both as a back-up phone and a souvenir for fans of 20th Century nostalgia.
But for those youngsters who never used the old Nokia, the device is not so impressive. The Millennial generation, born into a digital, connected world, has always had smartphones. They will have never known life without a touchscreen, multimedia apps and plenty of space for storing data.
Daniel González was born in Madrid in 2002, just two years after the Nokia 3310 was first released. A blogger and YouTuber since the age of 11, he visited the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to keep up-to-date on new technologies and seized the opportunity to have a look at the classic Finnish phone. His first device was a Samsung S Mini. The Nokia 3310 was the first conventional cellphone he had ever laid his hands on.
“It is too small for me. Your fingers move instinctively to the screen, then you go to the key pad to see how you can manage with the buttons. And it seems quite complicated”, he told Euronews.
For him, having to move around without a touchscreen is almost unnatural. He struggles with the buttons. “They’re very small, and if you miss them you have to go back again to the menu and start all over again.
“I use my phone mainly to stay in touch with e-mails, checking my social media and it is very difficult with this one because if I haven’t even managed to activate the SD card, how am I going to take pictures and upload them to Twitter?”
After two minutes interacting with the device, he was still going through the main menu. “I give up. I feel so clumsy with this phone, seriously!”