The new Nokia 3310 has been creating excitement ever since it was unveiled on Feb. 26 at the MWC, but there are fearful tidings for the U.S. fans. Why? The feature phone will not work in the United States.
This phone, a rehashed version of the classic Nokia 3310 is capitalizing on nostalgia, but consumers in the United States will not be able to take or place calls using this handset.
HMD Global has now announced that the phones will initially not work in the country because the U.S. carriers do not support the bandwidth on which the new Nokia 3310 operates.
What Is The Problem?
The phone works on a 900/1800-MHz bandwidth while AT&T offers 850-MHz bandwidths. Thus arises the non-compatibility of the bandwidth frequencies. Calls will not be possible to be made or received in the country using this phone at present, but there is still some hope as hinted by the company's Patrick Mercanton, Global Head of Marketing.
The Silver Lining
HMD Global's Mercanton has said that it's not that the Nokia 3310 would not release in the United States, but ramping up the services may take a little longer.
The company has reportedly been in discussions with leading carriers and has been unsuccessful in coming to a common consensus regarding the sale of the Nokia 3310.
A majority of the mobile phones are still sold through carriers in the United States. Perhaps that is why the negotiations are taking so much time. The carriers are working out a deal with HMD and the phone will be launched in the country sometime soon.
"We'll probably end with the US at some point," revealed Mercanton. "It's definitely on our radar... we want to go into the US because we want to have a global launch."
For the company to effectively launch the Nokia 3310 in the country, it would have to get the device registered on any one of the leading carriers' portfolio. In order for that to happen, the phone should be equipped with the correct technology and obtain a carrier certificate.
Retailing the feature phone on Amazon or Best Buy is not a solution since, as mentioned, consumers will not be able to deploy the Nokia 3310 to receive or make calls.
Nokia 3310: The Specs
The Nokia 3310 comes with a 2.4-inch screen with a 240 x 320 pixels resolution. It operates on the Nokia Series 30+ and has an internal storage of 16 MB. It, however, provides for an external SD card with a capacity up to 32 GB. A 1,200 mAh battery fuels the phone. It is also equipped with a 2MP camera.
Although with modest specs, the handset is a trip down memory lane, and tech buffs in the United States will definitely want to get their hands on this classic device as soon as possible.
