Blast From Past: 'Dumbphones' Like Nokia 3310 Are Making A Big Comeback

[froggyboy604]

Highlights

• "Dumbphones" are making a comeback.
• a report by software firm SEMrush claims that Google searches for dumbphones went up by a whopping 89% between 2018 and 2021
• Another report claims that dumbphone purchases over the last year are about to hit a billion, up from 400 million in 2019

Is it nostalgia? The fear of Big Tech? The dependence on a screen? Perhaps, all of these things. Regardless, people are now embracing phones with limited functionality again.

Blast From Past: 'Dumbphones' Like Nokia 3310 Are Making A Big Comeback

Is the era of "dumbphones" back? Yep, brick phone lovers, we're looking at you! If you enjoy using phones with basic functionality (like the infamous Nokia 3310), you're not alone

www.indiatimes.com

I think more people are buying flip phones/dumbphones because they are more affordable, and the battery on flip phones usually don't need to be charged every few hours which can be useful if you live in a place with a lot of power blackouts, you lose your charger often, and you go to places like the dessert where finding a power outlet is not possible.

There are also a lot of people who may just need a cell phone for making voice calls, replying to text messages, and using a few apps like Camera, MP3 player, FM radio, mobile web browser, Maps, and calculator, 2D games and other apps which are compatble with their Flip phones's operating system like KaiOS.

Smartphones may also be too distracting for some people, and owning a smartphone is having a negative impact on their life like becoming addicted to social networking apps, so they choose to use a dumbphone/flip phone.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

People do crave the classics.

 

[Grungie]

I couldn’t go back to T9 texting. I wouldn’t mind a dumb phone with a full keyboard.

I don’t think I’ve used T9 since… 2007 or 8.

 

[froggyboy604]

People do crave the classics.

I agree people do crave classic designs like the original Motorola Razr flip phone and Nokia 3310.

Many affordable flip phones also have desirable physical classic features like a LCD clock on the lid of most flip phones's door, number and arrow buttons, MicroSD memory card slot, dual-sim card slots, basic camera, 3.5mm headphone and wired microphone jack, external antennae, rear speaker on the back of the phone for speakerphone and watching video files with sound, removable battery, Micro USB charging, and a durable screen and case design.

People who care more about physical features may buy a flip phone to use classic features which are harder to find on smartphones, or the digital version like touchscreen arrow buttons of the classic feature is not as enjoyable to use as physical buttons.

Some classic games like snakes, tetris, pac-man, pong, 2D side scrollers, driving games, and endless running games, are more fun to play on a phone with real buttons with clicking sounds compared to tapping and sliding a finger on a touchscreen which also gets dirty often which make playing the game not as enjoyable when the screen becomes greasy.

 

[Artisan Vistra]

Know what's better than a dumb phone? A retro dumb phone. You can play the installed games like Block Buster, or even big-name titles like Spyro or Crash as long as you had minutes. I feel the retro look around the 2000s era would be nice to see again. Especially having the cross connectivity as they did with Pokemon GSC in Japan. I feel like if they got rid of the touch screen and had good buttons they could surge again. Also, most Phone service plans are too expensive, to begin with. Even if the market is willing it doesn't seem responsible when you are supposed to be driving.

 

[froggyboy604]

I feel the Covid19 Stimulus checks cause more people to buy a flip phone because they had enough money from their stimulus checks to buy a cell phone and pay for cell service. More poor people who normally can't afford a cell phone may have enough money left over to buy a flip phone and pay for cell service even after they used their Covid stimulus check to pay for rent, electricity, gas, and food expenses.

 

[Grungie]

I feel the Covid19 Stimulus checks cause more people to buy a flip phone because they had enough money from their stimulus checks to buy a cell phone and pay for cell service. More poor people who normally can't afford a cell phone may have enough money left over to buy a flip phone and pay for cell service even after they used their Covid stimulus check to pay for rent, electricity, gas, and food expenses.

If you’re poor enough to be on welfare, they hand out free smartphones with service and stuff.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

I couldn’t go back to T9 texting. I wouldn’t mind a dumb phone with a full keyboard.

I don’t think I’ve used T9 since… 2007 or 8.

Always wanted those, figured they be the best option but they went out of style by the time I got around to getting a cell phone.

 

[Grungie]

Always wanted those, figured they be the best option but they went out of style by the time I got around to getting a cell phone.

I had a couple of those feature phones, and you could get them without the extra plans, so just calls and texting. Was amazing for the time.

I had the original Samsung Blackjack, which was a Windows Mobile “ripoff” of a Blackberry. Then I had a Blackberry Curve which was really nice. It had a better keyboard, and I loved the ball thingy to navigate the menus.