Back on Lausanne Road ............... sometime around 2000 with a little bit of technological history

Stepping back the 3310, circa 2000

Now as phones go the Nokia 3310 is as obsolete as our old valve wireless and sits in the history of mobile communication somewhere in the Dark Ages.

But long after the pop up hand set, or all the variations of smart phones have had their day there will be a place for the Nokia 3310.

It was released at the end of 2000 and replaced the 3210 which was the first mass market mobile with an internal antenna, allowed you to send preinstalled pictures and played Snake.

I think mine was a 3310 but it is just possible it was a 3210, but we are talking a long time ago and it may even be that I upgraded.

Either way I have decided to downgrade to the 3310 which is perhaps no great slide back into history given that my present phone is a 6310 which already puts me walking with dinosaurs.

My old 3310 long went, having been lent to two of my eldest sons when their more clever phones gave up the ghost.  It was much knocked about and finally was held together by celotape, but still it worked, until finally with no back, chipped and scratched it was lost.

So this relic of a past age which I shall be using belonged to Simone who would have bought it sometime around 2000 in Varese a small town an hour from Milan.

Discarded and forgotten

It did for him for 14 years and now sits in our house waiting for the bits to bring it back to life.

Already I have the sim card and eagerly await a charger which with luck will be here within the week.

All of which may seem a non story but the 3310 was and is a piece of history.  Its predecessor the 3210 sold 160 million while it sold 126 million and both are still fondly remembered.

And the general consensus has been that it is a pretty neat idea to bring such a stylish and historic phone out of the past and while I may not be able to find out the price of fish in Rome, or the best route to Halifax, the battery on my 3210 will not run out by midday, when I drop it it it will just bounce and yes I will in the absence of Wi fi and internet just sit and play Snake.

So a new lease of life for an old favourite which will be better than the assortment of discarded phones I found in a draw.

All were owned by various members of the family and all abandoned for  sleeker and more expensive models.

Now there is the germ of another story.

Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson