Nokia 3330
We’ve, of course, already discussed the Nokia 3310 in our weekly column ‘The forgotten phone’. Today it’s the turn of that handset’s successor: the Nokia 3330. This handset was released in 2001, one year after the Finnish manufacturer launched the hugely popular Nokia 3310. Its appearance had hardly changed from its predecessor. This meant you could use many of the same accessories, including the interchangeable front panels, with the new model. The very sturdy plastic casing, the large keys and the compact design also remained the same.
The monochrome screen was also retained. The Nokia 3330 weighed 133 grams and supported the 2G network on the 900 and 1800 MHz bands. The impressive battery life was also retained, and you could, of course, send text messages using T9 text input. An interesting feature was the inclusion of the WAP browser, which hadn’t been available on the previous model. At the time, it felt somewhat futuristic, and you could, for example, check the news or the weather on simple mobile websites. There was also slightly more memory, allowing you to store more ringtones, contacts and text messages. The Nokia 3330 also offered the option to download new ringtones via WAP, something its predecessor didn’t offer.
The biggest change was in the games. Snake was, of course, all the rage, but the Nokia 3330 featured the second generation: Snake II. This had larger levels, obstacles and more challenges within the game. The new Nokia also came with even more games to pass the time. For example, there was a simple space shooter that was very popular. This game was called Space Impact.
In 2017, HMD Global, the licensee of the Nokia brand, released a new version of the Nokia 3330. The 3330 from 2001 went on sale in the Netherlands for around 360–400 guilders, which amounts to about 165–180 euros. Various types of covers were available for the model, including transparent cases that allowed you to ‘see through the phone’, as well as glow-in-the-dark covers.
Nokia 3330 summarised in 3 points
- WAP browser
- Snake II
- Successor to the Nokia 3310
