back to article Nokia 5310: Retro feature phone shamelessly panders to nostalgia, but is charming enough to be forgiven

Nostalgia's a weird thing. If you're a techie, things have never been better. For less than £500, you can get a tiny battery-powered computer that's faster than the workstation your boss spent £2,000 kitting you out with just 15 years prior. Yet there's always the nagging temptation to take a stroll down memory lane. The new …

  1. Franco Bronze badge

    Can also see that sort of phone being very popular with both the older generation who don't want bells and whistles, and also parents buying first phones for their children who want to restrict what they can do, especially at the price.

    Hell, I would not be at all surprised if people would pay £30 for snake and a cheap device to use as a media player out running/cycling either.

    1. Peter Gathercole Silver badge

      This is NOT that suitable for older people

      There's already several phones out there that are better. Just search on Amazon

      What most older generation people need are:

      1. A VERY loud ringtone that is lower frequency than most of the normal stock ringtones

      2. A VERY loud speakerphone mode that is easy to engage

      3. Large buttons, with the answer button easy to find

      4. Easy to set up speed dial for single press calling

      5. As larger screen as can be reconciled with point 3

      6. A large, clear font, together with an appropriate UI to make selecting contacts as easy as possible

      7. A long battery life, together with easy charging, like a cradle

      8. Anything that is not directly associated with making and receiving calls not cluttering the UI

      9. An emergency call button easy to find when wanted, but not so easy that it can be pressed by accident.

      And this should all be in a package that is easy to hold for people with grip issues, and robust enough to survive being dropped.

      This Nokia phone does not meet many of these criteria.

      This is not an advert, but I bought a Chinese phone badged Ushining from Amazon for my dad recently, as it ticks nearly all of the points I outlined. There are several other phones from Doro, Artfone and Easyfone, amongst others.

      1. dak

        Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

        Oh, yes it is.

        I bought one of these last week for my 92-year old neighbour. It was to replace an Alcatel which had recently in turn replaced his old Nokia which had died.

        The Alcatel was rubbish and none of us could make it work properly. I switched the SIM and the Nokia burst into perfect life immediately.

        Without any instruction, he sent his first ever text on Friday. It's a great little phone.

        1. Peter Gathercole Silver badge

          Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

          As always, it depends on the users capability and what they want to use it for. My father is deaf to frequencies above about 1KHz, and literally cannot hear the ringtones that come as standard on most phones.

          Add to that the fiddly nature of plugging in a micro USB cable to charge, the ease that most phones like this can be dropped and the inability of some people with presbyopia to see the screen and legends on the buttons for phones like this one, and you can see why it is not that suitable for many older people.

          Of course, many are lucky to still be dexterous, able to see close up, and still have their hearing, but I know a fair number of older people with at least one or more of the problems I've outlined, for whom this phone would be a difficult to use.

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

            Actually Peter, I know many young people who would welcome a phone with many, or all, of your list of attributes. Not everyone who has issues with hearing, seeing, grasping & etc is old.

            Frankly, I'd probably buy a phone if it had your specs ... especially if it had a rugged case, an easily replaceable battery, a seven or eight day stand-by, a very sensitive receiver, and the highest powered transmitter allowable by law.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

              Oh boy, someone ranked Jake who pours forth with tired reminiscence.

              Jake pal - shut the fuck up.

              1. ICL1900-G3 Silver badge

                Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

                He bravely, but anonymously said.

          2. Alan Brown Silver badge

            Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

            "Add to that the fiddly nature of plugging in a micro USB cable to charge"

            Qi chargers.....

        2. CountCadaver Silver badge

          Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

          Last year I bought my grandad (over 85 and technophobic in the extreme) a Doro candybar phone, £30ish, clear screen, loud ringer, easy to use, good battery life to replace a very old (2002ish) Nokia jelly key phone (I forget the number)

          New SIM came from O2 with 3p per minute calls and replaced the 2002ish Virgin Mobile sim charging 45p per minute (so old it predated the requirement to register the sim, I had to register his details to get the PAC code to port his number over, even the customer service guy at Virgin admitted it was unusual)

          Cut his mobile bill massively (If I'd known he was paying 45p perminute and putting 20 quid a week on at times, I would have moved him sooner but he never mentioned it till last year) I think he's put a total of £40 on in about 18 months of use and there was still about 15 pounds remaining when he had me top it up last time at Xmas...

      2. Franco Bronze badge

        Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

        You've taken a very narrow of focus of "older generation" there. Yes, people with various health issues might find issue with it as is the case with any phone, but I have plenty of relatives in their 60s or 70s who don't want smartphones, they just want to be able to make calls and send the odd text. E.g. my Aunt and Uncle have non-smartphones so when they are out shopping and go to different shops they can call each other when they're ready to meet up.

        1. Peter Gathercole Silver badge

          Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people @Franco

          I said nothing about smartphones. They are even more unsuitable.

          You must be lucky to only know older people without any health issues. Pretty much all of the people over 70 that I know have one or more of the problems I've outlined, especially age related farsightedness. I'm only 60, and yet I find I have to juggle spectacles in order to do different things (and did, even when I wore varifocals almost all the time - but I had myopia and now have presbyopia creeping in).

          1. Gnomalarta
            Happy

            Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people @Franco

            A little bit of easily controlled blood pressure and the natural change in vision that I experience has no effect on any part of my existence and at 74 I walk miles, cycle, garden and move through my life with a lot more joy and energy than I did at 50. Most the people of age that I know are the same. Being a glass half full person counts for a lot!

        2. MachDiamond Silver badge

          Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

          Simple non-smartphones are good for kids too. They can destroy them and you aren't out a mint. They are harder to destroy and they have less of a chance of getting into trouble through finding "adult" websites and pedo trolls looking for them.

      3. Gnomalarta
        Facepalm

        Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

        Oh jeez, where to start with the tangle of blatant ageism? I'm 74 and every minute is precious and I'm just wasting five but it's important that ageism is called ou wherever it comes from and from whatever the motivation. I'm sure the OP did not intend to be ageist, most of us are before we start school, even the complements paid to people of age are often implicitly ageist.

        1. Barry Rueger

          Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

          (Reposted from my Twitter feed)

          I've known people who were old and living in the suburbs in their 20s. My wife on the other hand in six months has moved a thriving piano teaching practice to Zoom, mastered a ton of software that I don't fully understand, and this weekend finished learning Openshot and editing her year end recital. The little tiny kids played live to Zoom. The older ones recorded their own recital performances at home, then uploaded them to her. I am, no exaggeration, bloody well amazed by her.

          Susan is 74. She moves effortlessly between her iMac, iPad, Windows 10 laoptop, and Android phone, aside from the usual; built in issues that friustrate us all.

          Age is no indicator of comfort with technology.

      4. jake Silver badge
        Pint

        Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

        I guess I'm not old yet!

        Best news I've had in weeks. Thanks, Peter ... have a beer on me :-)

      5. iGNgnorr

        Re: This is NOT that suitable for older people

        What older people need is not patronising people like yourself.

    2. Blackjack Silver badge

      No kid will accept a phone that doesn't have the Apps other kids are using.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Not true.

        "No kid will accept a phone that doesn't have the Apps other kids are using."

        My granddaughter discovered my 1952 Model 500 Western Electric when she was about 5 years old. I gave her one of her own for her 6th birthday ... complete with a switch & circuitry to convert from pulse to DTMF as insurance for when her local CO drops pulse capability. She thinks it's wonderful ... and her friends think she's weird, which she also thinks is wonderful. Mission accomplished.

        (She's nearly 10 years old now and claims that that ancient dial telephone is one of her most prized possessions.)

        1. heyrick Silver badge

          Re: Not true.

          Have an upvote. I have a dial phone, with Rotatone DTMF convertor, hooked to my VoIP line.

          A proper phone.

        2. Blackjack Silver badge

          Re: Not true.

          I have both a non working Brick cellphone and maybe it will work if I make some changes dial up eighties phone.

          The brick phone didn't even get SMS when it still worked but had a lot of range and great audio quality.

          The eighties phone stopped being used because it couldn't work with 0800 numbers that asked you to press a number.

      2. MachDiamond Silver badge

        "No kid will accept a phone that doesn't have the Apps other kids are using."

        Personally, I think it's a bad idea to equip kids with any phone at a young age, but this one is much better if a parent chooses to. It gives talk and text but isn't something that going to have them dive up to the neck in the virtual world. It's better they learn about the real world and pay more attention to their surroundings/other people.

        1. ROC

          Seems to me the Facebook app spoils that "perfection"...

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is it 4G, and can it work as a wifi hotspot?

    If so, sold.

    1. alain williams Silver badge

      Re: Is it 4G, and can it work as a wifi hotspot?

      Unfortunately it appears not to and only does 2G. Pity as otherwise it would sound perfect.

      Beware: Nokia released a 5310 in 2007 - this is not the same thing, but looks similar.

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Is it 4G, and can it work as a wifi hotspot?

        They improved the new 3310 (2G) after several months, I imagine they'll do the same with this one.

    2. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: Is it 4G, and can it work as a wifi hotspot?

      There's not a lot of point in it supporting 4G as simple as it is. The only downside is 2G service is being discontinued in many places.

      1. ROC

        Re: Is it 4G, and can it work as a wifi hotspot?

        Considering that AT&T is among those carriers dropping 2G, there is a LOT of point in 4G support for a significant number of users. As with most things, it depends...

  3. quxinot

    I wanted desperately to mock this thing.

    But that's so cheap that I'm really impressed. Looks like great value for money to me, might be worth having just as a spare.

    1. Peter Gathercole Silver badge

      Cheap

      If you want cheap, you just need to look at Tesco.

      Don't know if they still have it, but they had a Imo phone (never heard of them) for £14.99, or £4.99 if bought with £10 Tesco Mobile credit. It's not a great phone, but it works and it's crazy cheap, especially if you were already using Tesco Mobile.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Imo

        I got my son one of those; in many respects (not least absence of any useful manual) it's not very good, but it works as a phone well enough; and with the deal you mentioned is value for money indeed. I suppose there might even be a reasonably capable phone in there somewhere, if only you could find out how to use it to the best of its ability.

      2. cosymart
        FAIL

        Re: Cheap IMO

        Had one of those, just about managed to last the 12 months of the contract before dying with a few near death experiences on the way. Crap and cheap :-(

    2. Warm Braw

      I wanted desperately to mock this thing

      You've been doing too much test-driven development.

  4. jake Silver badge

    Lose facebook, I'll never use it anyway ...

    ... and I don't really need/want any other Internet access on my phone, either. I'll probably try one anyway, it may be exactly what I've been looking for. The game I can ignore, just as I did on the late, much lamented 5185 that lasted almost a decade and a half ...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Lose facebook, I'll never use it anyway ...

      Pity reply

      1. Intractable Potsherd

        Re: Lose facebook, I'll never use it anyway ...

        Oooh, look - AC troll!!

  5. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Alert

    "pre-installed Facebook app"

    I really do hope it's not slurping when you're not logged in and using it as any app from Google or Facebook running on the two big mobile platforms is wont to do. That would ruin the nostalgia.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: "pre-installed Facebook app"

      What exactly would it be snooping?

      Your social media graph, the other apps you are using, location in a store by bluetooth, websites you are visiting?

      All it can snoop is your grandkids phoning on sunday

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: "pre-installed Facebook app"

        That's exactly what they want, your contacts so they can build shadow profiles.

      2. doublelayer Silver badge

        Re: "pre-installed Facebook app"

        "What exactly would it be snooping?"

        Data collection profile: User ID 18502396963:

        Phone number: On file.

        Contacts: Logged. Up to date as of 2020-07-19.

        Call history: Logged. Up to date as of 2020-07-19.

        Text messages: Available for processing.

        Images: User has not taken any. Automatic backup is enabled if they do.

        Voice recording: Enabled, batch upload pending.

        Music preferences: ID3 information has been logged and added to user's advertising profile.

        Location history: Available for 22 days, 9:14:43. Warning: location accuracy is low, from nearby tower information only.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "pre-installed Facebook app"

          @doublelayer

          I downvoted you because you have totally missed the point. Too clever for your own good methinks.

          Cheers… Ishy

          1. doublelayer Silver badge

            Re: "pre-installed Facebook app"

            In that case, perhaps you could enlighten me to the point I missed? Your comment seems to have left that out.

            As I understood it, the comment from which I quoted was under the impression that there was no data available to be stolen by a possibly malicious app. Their comment seemed to indicate that, since the phone couldn't contain a lot of information Facebook would like, it must have no data of value. I listed various types of data that would be entirely obtainable from this device and that it would be undesirable to give to Facebook. Again, if I missed a point, and you understand the point, it would be nice for you to explain yourself. It would have been nicer for you to have done so when you felt the need to tell me; I find discussions work best when people say what they think.

    2. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: "pre-installed Facebook app"

      Of course it's logging when you aren't signed in. Read the ToS again. If FB can install beacons and tracking, it will and does.

  6. Robin

    I'm looking forward to when they retrify the 6310

    1. Fr. Ted Crilly Silver badge

      I still have mine, almost pristine, with a little hand polish

    2. b0llchit Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Yes, with an upgraded 4G or so modem it will become my new phone. Minimum lifespan of 15 years should be mandatory for this kind of technology.

    3. Trygve

      bah...

      Don't really miss the 6310, but my 8210 was ace. Now a modern version of that would be really handy as a second phone.

      1. CountCadaver Silver badge

        Re: bah...

        8210 had THE most powerful vibration of any phone I ever had, it would dance across the table. When I upgraded my contract I passed it down to my dad, who took it to work with him and got metallic grit in the speaker which he then broke by trying to pick it out with a needle....

        Said it was the only phone he could feel vibrating through a boiler suit whilst shot blasting

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Nokia 8210

          Just checking that the Nokia 8210 was indeed the rather small phone that I was thinking of…

          From stories I have heard, I had always assumed that it wasn't perhaps your dad who was the target market for its strong vibrations…

          Of course, it takes all sorts, and if your dad was wont to insert the phone anywhere else other than the boilersuit pocket, that's his business!

  7. Timto

    cool

    I had the original Nokia 5310 Xpressmusic

    It was a great phone, was very disappointed when it broke and I could'nt get any similar replacement.

    With the size of smart phones these days, and how badly they often perform as actual phones, shouldn't we all consider going back to having a mobile phone like this in your pocket and a small table in your bag?

    1. Timto

      Re: cool

      If I read the specs right, the new 5310 has a worse camera and less RAM than the original, 13 year old model.

      https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=2087&idPhone2=10144&idPhone3=8597

      1. foxyshadis

        Re: cool

        RAM isn't listed for the original phone; that 30MB is internal storage, and no one knows how much RAM. New one has 16MB storage, 8MB RAM. GSMArena's specs have weird gaps like that, where people have to shove multiple things into one field.

    2. dak

      Re: cool

      What size of a bag do you have, that you can carry furniture about with you?

      1. Richard 12 Silver badge

        Re: cool

        It's only a small, occasional table.

        1. JetSetJim

          Re: cool

          If it's only occasionally a table, what is it the rest of the time?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: cool

            Dammit guys, there was a one night stand joke in there but it got away.

            1. jake Silver badge

              Re: cool

              Why didn't you pick it up and run with it?

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: could'nt get any similar replacemen

      Ebay. I got a brand new unsold stock original Nokia 5310 for 25 quid not so long ago

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Perfect burner phone!

    Definitely the phone to take on trips to strange countries with creative interpretations of individual liberties: Just let the TSA try to slurp/bug that one at the airport... And if they brick it while doing so, well, it's not a big financial loss.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Perfect burner phone!

      Try the L8star BM10. Nothing suspicious about that phone at all.

      1. Timto

        Re: Perfect burner phone!

        Never buy one second hand.

        1. BebopWeBop

          Re: Perfect burner phone!

          Just curious, what is the problem? The attached ID might be associated with dodgy prison based comms?

          1. Timto

            Re: Perfect burner phone!

            It was just a joke based on where it might have been inserted :)

            1. Psmo
              Thumb Up

              Re: Perfect burner phone!

              Ba-bum Tish?

      2. Velv
        Coat

        Re: Perfect burner phone!

        Isn't the L8star BM10 a bummer phone? You know, the ones prisoners hide in their, well, bums.

    2. Flicker

      Re: Perfect burner phone!

      Actually pretty much useless to take to the US - good luck trying to find a working 2G signal there. 3G seems to be the bare minimum for use in the States...

  9. Ogi
    Meh

    Better?

    > If you're a techie, things have never been better. For less than £500, you can get a tiny battery-powered computer that's faster than the workstation your boss spent £2,000 kitting you out with just 15 years prior.

    I'm not sure things are better now. Yes, my phone has better specs than my workstation 15 years ago, but it can do much less.

    Most of it is taken up with bloat, or apps I don't want but can't remove, on an OS that is designed to restrict and spy on me. All blanketed in a GUI that was made by people who seem to have gone out of their way to ignore all good HCI practices and make user interaction as much of a PITA as they could manage.

    I end up spending a lot of time fighting the OS to get it to do what I want, and it is a losing battle.

    The HW has improved by leaps and bounds, but the software has gone in full reverse. My old Nokia N900 could do more than my current phone, despite having completely anemic specs in comparison.

    Fat good having all this power in your pocket is, when you can't make use of it.

    As for the Nokia 5310. Dual sim, long battery life, headphone jack, removable battery. It would be up my street if it wasn't for the built in Facebook app, and no high speed tethering (give me 4G + unrestricted bluetooth/USB tethering and I'm sold).

    The state of smartphones has gotten so bad, that when my current Android dies, I will go back to a simple phone + tethered laptop when on the go.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Better?

      "I end up spending a lot of time fighting the OS to get it to do what I want, and it is a losing battle."

      While I can surely sympathize on the fighting front, here, as we all did that at one point, for Android, there is one answer: Android One. No bloat, OS is only updated as security requests it.

      Nokia has good models there.

      1. Ogi

        Re: Better?

        Nah, a lot of the lockouts, restrictions, spying, etc... that I have been trying to rip out are in Android itself. While Android One may remove the annoying "undeletable" apps like FB, etc... I still have the Google spyware itself to deal with, not to mention its UI is not much better over the "customised" versions I've used.

        The only phone UI I have recently used that seemed nicely designed is the Apple one (work gave me an iphone as a work phone). The phone is a pleasure to use, as long as you use it the way they want you to.

        Otherwise it is too restrictive and controlling. It feels like I am being babysitted all the time. I can understand the appeal if people want a phone to "just work" and don't care about the cost or flexibility/freedom, but it is not for me.

        Cyanogenmod used to be my "goto" OS for Android phones. Since the fork to LineageOS, I have not had the luck to get it working on any phone I buy. Even if I manage to unlock the phones bootloader, I find that versions of LineageOS available are not supported, or if they are, they are not "finished" and still experimental.

        Rarely does a LineageOS port end up "finished" to the point where you can use all the phone features as intended, at least from what I see.

        I am not sure if that is due to modern phones being much harder to port LineageOS to, or since the rename they have been short of manpower to port to them. It may be just that so many phones are released nowadays, so quickly, with so many varieties of HW, that its impossible to reverse engineer and polish up a third party image before the phone becomes "out of date", and something new comes along.

        My plan for the moment, instead of lugging my laptop around, is to see if I can get one of those Gemini PDAs and load up a proper Linux on them. With tethering to a dumbphone that has 4G + bluetooth, I should be happy for my on the go computing.

      2. Psmo
        Boffin

        Re: Better?

        I've been trying for the last year to de-Google my Android One phone, mostly with FDroid and SimpleMobileTools.

        Now, every security update and every incoming phone call complains about Google Play access, and most apps don't run.

        The Googles, they do nossing.

    2. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: Better?

      It's awfully hard for the spyware to work if you don't install a SIM. I have a stack of retired and ultra cheap phones that I use off-network for Arduino, Raspberry Pi and auto projects. My mobile is talk, text-disabled and just a couple of apps like a fancy calculator, a sun tracker and one for photo calculations. I feel much better keeping it simple and not chewing up battery life on device I use to talk with customers. I picked up a 6" blacklisted phone to have in the car to use with Torque Pro for about the price of a fast food lunch. If the cord pops out and I run the battery flat, it doesn't mean I'll miss calls. I also like the larger size for the car, but wouldn't want to try and stuff it in a pocket.

  10. Valeyard

    Handy as a secondary phone

    Living on the irish border we used to need two phones for everything. one for the uk networks and one for the southern networks, and having the wrong phone in the wrong room of the house could cost dearly.

    Then add a work phone and some people were carrying around 1 main phone and 4 cheaper phones. My mother still uses nokia's last colourful nostalgia phone as her work pieces (one for the north, one for the south, because the public sector is not smart)

    As for me, this or the aforementioned 3310 would be my "going through American border" phone with just my sim and no sensitive data

    1. BebopWeBop

      Re: Handy as a secondary phone

      Surely EU wide roaming will work for the two counties (at the moment)?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Handy as a secondary phone

        Roaming means that you can use your phone just as you would in your home country. Our company got (slightly) caught out by this when a team went to Germany on a business trip.

        UK-based mobile calling UK-based mobile - same charges as in the UK.

        UK-based mobile calling German landline they had helpfully provided - expensive (as it's an international call even when you are 100m apart).

        The team quickly stopped calling the landline from their personal phones

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Handy as a secondary phone

          That's a carrier choice. For my french carrier all calls inside any EU country are local (in your case, that would mean local calls inside Germany). I've verified it in various EU countries: Calls are local, and data is free (up to some amount I never reach since I don't stream movies on my phone).

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Handy as a secondary phone

      As for me, this or the aforementioned 3310 would be my "going through American border" phone with just my sim and no sensitive data

      Except, as 2G dual band phones neither will work in the US.

  11. druck Silver badge

    Backup phone

    If only you could get a pay as you go SIM card which didn't expire if you haven't used it for a few months.

    1. BenDwire Silver badge

      Re: Backup phone

      Three UK has a free SIM on the 123 tariff that only needs one call or text every 6 months to keep activated. At least I don't have to give my real number out to delivery people any more.

      1. firu toddo
        Unhappy

        Re: Backup phone

        No good for this phone. Three only do 3G and up.

    2. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

      Re: Backup phone

      I have an O2 PAYG SIM that doesn't expire AFAICR. It's not the one you get in shops, I think I ordered it online in 2018.

      1. DrewWyatt

        Re: Backup phone

        If it is the same as the one my son has, you need to make one call or text every 6 months to keep your credit alive.

  12. MJI Silver badge

    Facebook App

    That is my deal breaker.

    I can't stand baked in apps.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Re: Facebook App

      That's a bit like saying you won't buy a phone with a 3.5mm jack because you never use a headset. Or a house with a bath and a shower because you only ever take showers.

      1. Gotno iShit Wantno iShit
        FAIL

        Re: Facebook App

        No it isn't. If your house has a bath you don't use it does nothing. If a phone has a 3.5mm jack you don't use it does nothing. Nobody is going to trust a baked in faecbook app to be doing nothing. Even if you don't have a faecbook account is could still be reporting the contents of your contact list and anything else on the phone. Just because you don't use faecbook doesn't mean they can't try to monetise data about you.

        1. Stratman

          Re: Facebook App

          Even if you don't have a faecbook account is could still be reporting the contents of your contact list and anything else on the phone.

          If facebook does indeed slurp via a baked in app, how does it obtain informed consent to hold data if the user, or someone in the contact list, doesn't have an account?

          1. ThatOne Silver badge
            Devil

            Re: Facebook App

            > how does it obtain informed consent to hold data

            ROTFL!... You made my day...

            Seriously, you were joking, weren't you? Please say you were...

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Facebook App

              You sound utter whacko-level paranoid? Why?

              1. ThatOne Silver badge

                Re: Facebook App

                > You sound utter whacko-level paranoid? Why?

                Were you speaking to someone specific?

                If it's me, unfortunately the world makes it a point of honor to always confirm my ever-growing cynicism. So yes, I definitely do think everybody cheats and steals as long as they don't fear retribution, and that's even more true for entities which have already proven that they don't mind a little lying and cheating as long as there is money to be made.

                Besides, it is already known that Facebook creates "shadow profiles" of people who don't have a Facebook account, so this discussion is pointless. That "informed consent" part isn't worth the electrons it is written on. Sorry if you believed in it.

          2. Gotno iShit Wantno iShit

            Re: Facebook App

            If facebook[sic] does indeed slurp via a baked in app, how does it obtain informed consent to hold data if the user, or someone in the contact list, doesn't have an account?

            They can still upload the contact list and use the data to enhance the profile of those that do have faecbook accounts.

            Say the phone belongs to person A who does not have an account. Stored on it are contacts B, C & D, C also does not have an account.

            Faecbook can add to the data on persons B & D that they are known to the person who owns number <one way hash of phone number of A>. Ditto, one step removed, for C. Because it is a one way hash they are not storing data about A or C, they can claim to meet data storage law.

            Should A or C later set up accounts a trawl of the borg computers for matching hash will get the profile off to a good, fat, start. So yes faecbook can store data about A & C without ever having their consent by doing it by association. We can't avoid it but that's no reason to help.

          3. jtaylor

            Re: Facebook App

            If facebook does indeed slurp via a baked in app, how does it obtain informed consent to hold data if the user, or someone in the contact list, doesn't have an account?

            They could do it the same way they get informed consent everywhere else...

            Before I had a Facebook account, they had my email addresses, knew where and when I attended school, who my friends were, and had enough tagged photos to recognize my face.

            1. JDX Gold badge

              Re: Facebook App

              If you're worried a baked in FB app is slurping all your data, then so could any other pre-installed app or even some hidden OS thingie.

              Do you have ANY idea how much FB would be fined for such things? It's hardly worth it, people should gain a little perspective.

              1. jake Silver badge

                Re: Facebook App

                "If you're worried a baked in FB app is slurping all your data, then so could any other pre-installed app or even some hidden OS thingie."

                And that would never happen because all the big companies are working for YOU, the consumer, and have your best interests at heart. Honest!

                "Do you have ANY idea how much FB would be fined for such things?"

                Oh, at LEAST a lotta-lotta. Maybe even gazillions. In monopoly money.

                "It's hardly worth it, people should gain a little perspective."

                Perspective and critical thinking are missing in today's curricula, alas.

            2. MachDiamond Silver badge

              Re: Facebook App

              " and had enough tagged photos to recognize my face."

              This is why I don't allow people to take photos of me. I'm sure there are a few, but I do what I can.

      2. MJI Silver badge

        Re: Facebook App

        Funny but I don't use headsets with phones and we recently redid our bathroom. Have you been spying via my wifes faecesbook account?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There's also room for two SIM Cards

    is it a real 2-sim set-up, or the usual "one for sim, one for micro-sd"? I think I know the answer :( Shame really, as it does about 70% of what I need. But if it only runs 2G, it can't be used on 3 network. And with that facebook application it's a no-no. Otherwise I'd be happy to take it on trips abroad, give to kids on their trips, etc. But then, I can just hand out rooted S2, we've got a few around. So sorry, Nokia.

    1. Andytug

      Re: There's also room for two SIM Cards

      The photo of the inside definitely shows two SIM slots (SD card slot is at the top by the look of it).

      Rest is still true though.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: There's also room for two SIM Cards

      I very much doubt its 2G only if for no other reason that modern chipsets do 2,3 and 4G.

      1. JetSetJim

        Re: There's also room for two SIM Cards

        Unfortunately your doubts seem to be unfounded - the chipset (Mediatek6260A) is 2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) only, according to the various PDF spec sheets googleable (none on the MediaTek website, and I can't find any mention of the chipset there, but am not looking that hard!)

        1. Dave559

          Re: There's also room for two SIM Cards

          Yes, with 2G having been withdrawn in some places already, and 3G being better even if your data needs are low, I don't understand why anyone is still making 2G-only phones. 3G is surely old enough by now (but adequate for light users) that the cost of adding 3G support must be fairly negligible?

          1. MachDiamond Silver badge

            Re: There's also room for two SIM Cards

            "I don't understand why anyone is still making 2G-only phones."

            They are super cheap to manufacture so cheap to sell. Some people don't check the specs. Most buyers will be in the developing world, but the various online marketplaces have the 2G phones listed.

            There are places in the world where 2G is top spec. Those places buy the removed equipment from the first world for pennies.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I still use an old style nokia phone from the 00s

    Why?

    A) Size - it fits nicely in my pocket

    B) Touchscreens have their place - I own a tablet - but a device I want to operate in my pocket by touch while I'm out an about requires physical buttons

    C) The battery life is still a week with moderate use

    D) It does everything I need a phone for (calls, SMS, FM radio)

    E) its now so old its gone from being a get-with-the-program-grandad relic to being a retro talking point with other people :)

    1. NATTtrash

      Re: I still use an old style nokia phone from the 00s

      I can do nothing more than subscribe (and applaud) all the points you mentioned.

      Did notice though that if your retro phone (for me my refusing to die Samsung C270) becomes a talking point, the question "So tell me, how often do you need to charge yours?" is always a winner for my (now 12 year old!) battery. And still it packs the latest innovations: the battery cover broke... So just had to 3D print a new one =P

  15. Teiwaz

    Facebook

    Darn, sounded good up to that point.

  16. Stuart Castle Silver badge

    This takes me back.

    While I have an iPhone XS Max, and love it, I like reading about phones like this Nokia.

    Perhaps because I remember when the original Nokia candy bar phones were released, and I remember that a new phone from any manufacturer was exciting because they often bought new features, or big improvements to existing features. Something that, whatever the OS you favour, doesn't really happen now.

    Yes, this generation's phones may have more ram, higher res display without better tech and a faster CPU/GPU/Network Connection that the previous generation, but it's likely that any smartphone released since 2010 has more than enough computing power for the average user, and most people can't see high resolutions on small screens..

    I don't game on my phone. I have some games installed, but I rarely, if ever, play them. I do, when traveling, use my phone to watch films and TV shows, so I may be missing out on apps developed to take advantage of the extra RAM/CPU speed (games tend to hit hardware harder than other software), but every new phone in those days felt like a massive improvement (even ground breaking sometimes). New phones now days feel like more of the same thing, so aren't as exciting.

  17. Gaius

    The problem is...

    ... that this is not a featurephone. It's an Android phone merely pretending to be one. So you have all the privacy and security problems of Android and none of the upside.

    What the punters really want is the old Nokias, with modern batteries and ability to connect to modern 3 and 4G networks, and that's it. No apps, no telemetry, nothing else.

    1. Dinsdale247

      Re: The problem is...

      And a decent camera. Please, Nokia, I would pay $200 for a phone like that. Just like the old phones but with a good camera. Wifi or blue tooth for transfering photos would be great but not a deal breaker.

    2. doublelayer Silver badge

      Re: The problem is...

      This phone runs on a chip intended for basic phones, with 8 MB RAM. These two facts combine to make it completely impossible to run any version of Android ever released on it. It very much doesn't. Now the Facebook app is concerning, but you can't break out the accusation of Android. If you want to determine whether you trust something, do your research to figure out what it actually runs before jumping to conclusions.

      1. Dave559

        Re: The problem is...

        The website says that it runs Series 30+, which sounds like it ought to be the half-forgotten-about last surviving great-grandchild of Symbian up in the attic, but Wikipedia says it isn't (but doesn't say what it actually is?)…

  18. Dinsdale247

    Quit telling me which box I fit in

    As a full time senior software developer I don't need a computer in my pocket. I need a phone with a good camera. I went as far as buying a Nokia 515 which is basically this phone with a 5 MP camera, but the frequencies don't work in North America.

    They have hobbled this phone on purpose with a VGA camera and that makes me mad. I just want a phone with a decent camera. Or a decent camera with a phone, I don't care...

    1. -bat.

      Re: Quit telling me which box I fit in

      Ah, the 515 - that was a fantastic phone. But Vodafone did *something* to their network in the UK around a year and a half ago which made it crash almost every time it received an incoming call. I had three of them, all the same fault, my sister had two too, and both of those did the same. I assume it was Vidafone at fault as it dint do it in Portugal roamed onto any of their networks.

      So now I have an iPhone. But the 515 (dual SIM!) I do miss....

  19. werdsmith Silver badge

    I love how people like to tell others what they require from a phone with the implication that everybody should be the same.

  20. Grease Monkey Silver badge

    Muddy Festivals?

    How I remember Glastonbury 97 (possibly the muddiest) arriving on friday and wandering round the site Nokia in hand (this was pre 3310 I think it may have been a 2191) trying to find a signal so we could meet up with our friends who'd arrived the day before and pitched the tents. Schlepping round in the mud was exhausting and when I finally found a signal mere yards from the cider bus with incredibly poor call quality I asked where they were. So bad was the call quality that I had to ask repeatedly and when they had finally understood me and I had finally understood their reply it turned out that they were about twenty yards away supping mulled cider.

    Remember those days when a mobile signal outside an urban area was the exception rather than the rule? Ah nostalgia.

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Muddy Festivals?

      "Remember those days when a mobile signal outside an urban area was the exception rather than the rule?"

      Come wine tasting in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake Counties. You can find any number of winerys and tasting rooms without a mobile signal. The lack of morons sharing their telephone conversations with the rest of the world is very, very nice :-)

  21. heyrick Silver badge
    Unhappy

    along with a pre-installed Facebook app

    Oh dear.

    Still, if it can run an app, is it J2ME or something? Might be able to put in something useful like ftp, telnet, etc. It'll be interesting with the T9 keypad, but sometimes even that's better than nothing.

  22. Rustbucket

    2G?

    The fact that it's only 2G in this day and age is ridiculous. The 2G bands no longer work for phones in Australia and a bunch of other countries. Would 3G capabilities have cost so much more?

  23. Rob Davis

    nokia 207 3.5G (works with three) no camera, basic phone, also acts as modem

    If you can find them on ebay, the Nokia 207 phone is worth a look, I got mine for around 15 pounds.

    It's 3.5G so will support HSPDA and 3G internet as well as 2/2.5G. Which gives you the option to use three which only supports 3G and up, as well as the others in the big 4, and the MVNOs.

    There has been talk in some places in the world dropping 2G to support 3G and up.

    It has a built in browser and email client to make use of that 3.5G connectivity. But also, it can be used as a modem, via USB tethering to provide internet to your computer.

    That 3/3.5G connectivity also means higher quality mobile to mobile calls.

    It has a removable battery, charged by micro USB, lasting around a week on standby. It supports up to 32Gb storage with microsd and can be used as a USB pen drive.

    It's based on S40 operating system so I'd assume that it is similar to the 5310 in terms of functionality.

    But - no camera. I think this is actually a bonus - it's simpler, and cameras in this sector may not be spectacular, some with fixed focus and limited video. Also, no lens to get scratched. Finally - great for privacy and for taking places where they have an aversion to cameras, security sensitive environments - and - some music concerts.

    With all that, I don't understand why Nokia stopped making them.

    1. Rustbucket

      Re: nokia 207 3.5G (works with three) no camera, basic phone, also acts as modem

      Or you may be able to find a Nokia 208 which had a basic (1.3M pixel) camera.

      1. Rob Davis

        Re: nokia 207 3.5G (works with three) no camera, basic phone, also acts as modem

        +1 upvote - Indeed - I had one of those as well, gave the 208 to an IT recycling charity and kept the 207.

        I deliberately wanted the 207 because it didn't have a camera. Particularly because I wouldn't want to worry about scratching the lens plus the bonus of the other reasons I mentioned. Also because the camera would be basic in this price bracket and also because I'd want to try and stay in the moment when at an event rather than record or photo something I'd never watch later. The 208 doesn't have a flash.

        I love the simplicity of the 207 phone but it being well appointed in essential specs such as 3.5G and USB modem. It's smaller than the 208 too.

        I should also add that the 207 supports bluetooth and connects to headphones like bose very fast.

  24. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

    ..SD cards up to 32GB, it can easily carry your music library...

    .. if you have a very, very small music library..

    Just the Genesis stuff takes up nearly 32GB - all the studio albums at high bitrates, all the optional extras and the bootlegs that I have. Then you add on Marillion, IQ, Flower Kings, Spocks Beard, Ayreon, Dream Theater, Runrig, Pendragon, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Renaissance, ERush, Steve Hackett etc etc..

    And that's just the live music library - if you add in the archived stuff that I can't fit on my MBP insternal drive you probably have about 500GB of music. With more being added all the time.

    Last I looked, I have several month's worth of songs if you played each track once back to back. And I just tend to listen to the same 30 albums.. (or the live music on shuffle)

    1. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: ..SD cards up to 32GB, it can easily carry your music library...

      I have an extensive music library as well and easily 3x that in audiobooks. I've been picking up iPod Touch 4G's cheap on eBay. One for Heinlein, one for Niven, one for Pratchett, one for rock, etc. As the later iPods come down in price, I'll be able to get higher capacity ones and consolidate a bit. I don't need my whole library with me all of the time. I've set up a bunch of playlists in iTunes and keep the two iPods in the car loaded with varying selections. Cast off phones that can take a large sd card are great music players too. As a photographer, I don't give a rat's posterior about the camera quality (or lack thereof) of a phone. I've usually got somebody much better with me and use the camera on the phone to take photos for reference while at the DIY shop or to get a snap of a product label to look up later if I see something I fancy.

    2. Alan Brown Silver badge

      Re: ..SD cards up to 32GB, it can easily carry your music library...

      "all the studio albums at high bitrates"

      There's no need for this on a mobile device. Seriously 128kb/s is almost CD quality and beats the pants off all but the most expensive headphones - and a quiet environment

  25. Cletus

    No mention of charging port in review?

    Pretty critical information to leave out - it is Micro USB btw - the right choice for the target market I guess but USB-C would have been nice.

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