The latest of the classics reinvented by HMD Global, the Finnish company making phones under the Nokia brand, is a reworking of the Nokia 8110, the distinctively curvy phone from 1996, a version of which was seen in Keanu Reeves’ hands in The Matrix.
The new model was launched in Barcelona this year at Mobile World Congress and meant that for the second year in a row Nokia Mobile stole most of the headlines, Samsung Galaxy S9 notwithstanding.
It’s about to go on sale in the UK and in some places user reviews are already in. Positives include the fact that it’s a perfect fit in a front pocket thanks to the curve and the protective cover on the keypad.
The cover, by the way, isn’t spring-loaded, as it wasn’t on the original 8110 – only Keanu had that feature on the 8110, though Nokia introduced it in a subsequent phone.
Concerned users mentioned that Google Maps didn’t permit offline map downloads. Anyway, early days.
But it’s only a feature phone, so of limited interest, right?
Well, kinda, but it’s a feature phone with 4G on board which gives it some advantages. For instance, although it isn’t an Android phone, running KaiOS, a simpler operating system that demands less power. KaiOS also has a much smaller number of apps available.
When the Nokia 8110 was first revealed it was suggested that the operating system would in time have access to apps like Facebook and WhatsApp.
Then, earlier this month, HMD Global’s Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas tweeted something about the arrival of WhatsApp on KaiOS. Here’s the tweet.
Now, you’ll notice that Sarvikas is talking about the operating system and how WhatsApp will come to some other phones running KaiOS, specifically JioPhone which has its own app store.
He’s been careful to tease without confirming, but the fact that he says “Looking forward to going bananas” is frankly enough for me to believe that WhatsApp is coming to the banana phone soon.
Well, as Apple likes to say, this changes everything.
There’s more. Because the phone has 4G and because it already has a suitable app for this, you can tether a tablet or smartphone to it. And apps like Facebook and YouTube, though not easy to use on a daily basis, can still bring something to the 8110 4G party.
And in a time of concerns about screen addiction, limiting the functions of your phone will certainly help you cut down on how much you’re glued to your handset screen.