Wednesday 1 March 2017

Retro phones...

So the mobile phone industry has officially run out of ideas. While my 11-year old might like to tell me that the Samsung she inherited from her mum is better than my LG, the reality is that one smartphone is pretty much like another. Yes each generation has a slightly better screen, camera and processor. But they all take photos, play music, do messaging, access the internet and even make phone calls.

Yawn.

But now the company that bought the Nokia brand has relaunched the old 3310, and the whole consumer electronics world is massively excited about a phone that is, well, a phone. And that's about it.

Is it because of 40-somethings nostalgic about when smartphones didn't rule our lives? Or the novelty value for 20 years olds of a phone that can't connect to the internet?

Or is it that there is a real market for a simple device with a battery that lasts a month? Personally, I think if they added 4G connectivity and a wifi access point (but no actual internet enabled apps), they'd really be onto something. After all, internet and voice anywhere with a battery that would last (for example) a full two week camping holiday would have real value for me.

So, will be interested to see what's the next novelty retro gadget to come out. In the mean time I'll be scouring eBay for an old Nokia I can give to my kids when they use up all their credit and I need to just CALL them...