The Nokia 8310 had a difficult job: to follow up on the success of one of the most successful handsets of the period: the Nokia 8210. Released in 2001, it managed to do this successfully and helped really set the tone for the next couple of years as Nokia released further customisable devices based around the same operating system.
The brief must have been fairly simple, as much of what the made the Nokia 8210 so successful was retained: a tiny size, an intuitive operating system, the Snake mobile game, a variety of different coloured covers, a big battery life…. all these features were kept in the Nokia 8310.
There was little change in size to the model, with the Nokia 8310 weighing in at an extra 5 grams. Most notable was the change in backlight colour (which went to an ice-blue colour) and the more playful angular design of the housing. Full specifications here.
Rather unusually, the phone had an almost identical brother: the Nokia 6510 was released quickly after this and was almost identical but in purely metallic colours, aimed at the more professional market. The proper successor to the Nokia 8310 was probably the Nokia 7210 which introduced both a colour display and a slightly bigger screen to the flagship handset.
Pros of Nokia 8310
Perhaps the best things going for this mobile was the simplest: the retention of the Nokia OS in an almost identical form to previous Nokia phones made this an extremely accessible handset for most.
The premium design was well intoned. At 84g this phone was much lighter than the more budget Nokia 3310 at 133g. This was an extremely noticeable feature.
The phone also brought in distinct improvements over its predecessor that were to become standard for a few years: the WAP browser allowed access to basic internet sites of sorts, and the phone also featured an FM radio which required the headphones to act as a antenna.
The design was also much unlike many other phones as colour was embraced. A two-tone facade on the keypad and housing was available in several different colour combinations officially and dozens more unofficially.
Cons of Nokia 8310
The price point of the phone surprised a few people when it came out, as it was much towards the top of the pricing charts. As a SIM-free phone this was above the £300 mark early on, which made this an expensive purchase. This was balanced out by being available on most contracts.
The design was bold but admittedly not for everyone, as the keys were much smaller than that of other phones. With a plastic finish, this lacked the metallic good looks of phones such as the Nokia 8850, albeit at a different price point.
Whilst phone lighting had improved (the light faded out instead of turning off), the screen display itself was no different from the earlier Nokia 8210 model.
With no 3.5mm jack, you are restricted to using Nokia’s handsfree kit to listen to the radio, which were inferior to other in-ear phones at the time.
Future Prospects and Current Pricing
The Nokia 8310 is already quite keenly sought after now, despite being produced in huge numbers. This is in common with many Nokia phones of this age and a handset in good condition is worth more than many of the other budget newer Nokia handsets that followed.
In the future it does seem likely that these models will always be collectibles.
Where can I get one?
Both Ebay and Amazon have second-hand and refurbished models.
Interested in more phones? See a list of phones I own here.