New Nokia 3310 now available in SA, but is it worth the price?

It’s taken a while, but HMD Global has announced that the new Nokia 3310 is now officially available in South Africa.

A feature phone running Nokia’s ageing Series 30 platform, the Nokia 3310 also features a new version of Snake, a 2MP main camera, a torch, microSD card support, microUSB port and audio jack.

Otherwise, HMD Global is promising standby time of 31 days, talk time of 21 hours, 51 hours of MP3 playback and 39 hours of FM radio playback.

Cell C stocks the dark blue version of the handset, retailing for R749. Meanwhile, MTN will stock the dark blue, warm red and yellow versions of the phone, retailing for R699. HMD added that the phone will be available from mid-June via MTN partners.

The new Nokia 3310 will start at R699 in South Africa — more expensive than cheap Android phones

“We are delighted to bring the Nokia 3310 phone to our consumers in South Africa. Nokia has been one of the most iconic and recognisable phone brands in our country for decades. HMD has received an incredible reception from our partners so far; it seems everyone shares our excitement for this next chapter,” said Shaun Durandt, general manager of HMD Global in Southern Africa, in a press statement.

“Our consumers are more discerning and demanding than ever before and for us they will always come first. We’ve worked really hard with our teams around the world to bring together world class manufacturers, operating systems and technology partners, enabling us to proudly start sales of the Nokia 3310, a classic reimagined.”

At R699, you’re really paying for the Nokia 3310 brand only. After all, the Vodacom Kicka 2 is cheaper and runs Android, and therefore WhatsApp.