Nokia 3310 & 5110: The Indestructible Phones Before the Internet

[Amir Shoam]

Before phones went online, Nokia made two that didn't need to. The 5110 and 3310 gave us Snake, swappable covers, and a durability myth that outlived the company that built them.

Read the full article here.

Nokia 3310 & 5110: The Indestructible Phones Before the Internet

 

[Lounds]

Nokia peaked at the N95, sad to see such an innovative company struggle to adapt post iPhone. Their main issue was the OS they used and then the app markets blew up and the rest is history.

 

[TheBigT42]

The Nokia 5110 was bullet proof, had great voice quality, great battery life, and great range.
Unlimited Weekends and free long-distance was awesome.

 

[jdrch]

> Indestructible

Cases were a thing back then, and battery life was both terrible and degraded quickly.

 

[ActualViking]

> Indestructible

Cases were a thing back then, and battery life was both terrible and degraded quickly.

?
Horrible battery life - how do you figure? Even if you battery didn't last as long as the phone for you, then you could just swap the battery - no tools need.
And as for cases, if you didn't use your Nokia has a hammer then I'd say you had to be pretty unlucky to destroy it.

I remember my first exposure to the iPhone. I was at this company where perks where a usual thing, when the iPhone came out everyone was gifted one. That same day a colleague killed his, it slipped from his hand and fell down on his desk ie. a drop of like 1½feet on to a wood surface.

 

[Anton Longshot]

I once had a 7110 and cry every day because I got rid of it before knew how precious it would become.

These days I have a Samsung flipper as backup in case my smartphone dies. I recharge it once a month or so because it needs to be ready for use. I.e. calls and 2FA.

 

[BadThad]

I think we have a drawer full of old Nokias. They never die, they just got obsolete.

 

[Win7user]

I had a Nokia Candy-bar Phone. One feature I loved, was the ability to set an alarm to turn the phone on at a certain time. I use to set an alarm, and then set the phone to go on just before the alarm, then turn the phone off for the night. I don't subscribe to the notion I need that phone on at all times, or that I need to continually look at the stupid thing. It's only a phone after all, no matter what else it does...

 

[Megalomaniac]

My first Cellphone was a Motorola Startac. Never had a Nokia. Back then battery life tended to be good and single strength tended to be poor (late 90's).

 

[pnntmp]

I remember a joke going like

'Why do you need a protector for Nokia, it never breaks?'
'It protects the floor, if you drop it'

 

[amghwk]

I had one. The worship-worthy 3310.

A true legend indeed.

Words can't express how much I miss it now.

Curse the "smartphones". And for forcing us to use "smartphones" for every single thing nowadays.

 

[Gastec]

If only Nokia had chosen Android OS in 2010 instead of listening to the sweet, honeyed words of Microsoft...

 

[airbornex]

I remember a joke going like

'Why do you need a protector for Nokia, it never breaks?'
'It protects the floor, if you drop it'

Right... the "durability myth" may have only become a meme/viral in 2011 because of Reddit, over a decade after the phone came out but the durability side was part of tech culture already. In that sense, the 3310 basically invented its own legend retroactively.