News that Nokia is planning to re-launch its 3310 has sent fans of the iconic mobile phone into meltdown.
The device, released in 2000, is being lined up for a sensational return later this year in what commentators online are calling the “biggest tech comeback of all time”.
Perhaps that is a little over the top (let’s not forget the hipster resurgence of vinyl or the recent return of Polaroid cameras) but the thought of being able to play Snake, listen to monophonic ringtones and enjoy the phone’s month-long battery life has certainly got people talking.
In fact, it’s made us feel a little nostalgic.
Read more at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/nokia-3310-re-launch-the-nine-noughties-gadgets-we-all-miss-the-most/story-30139473-detail/story.html#AtuKgPY3P1t8UO2q.99
Nokia 3310s were a hallmark of early noughties tech, right up there alongside funky gadgets such as the Garmin GPS, Apple’s iPod and Playstation.
Let’s take a look at the best – and worst – devices that defined the decade.
1. Nokia 3310
We’ll start with this – the Nokia 3310.
It’s widely considered as one of the most iconic mobiles phones in history, as well as one of the most indestructible.
Released in 2000, it’s design laid the foundations for future phones while its simplicity made it a firm favourite with different ages and audiences.
Richard Addison
image: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276268/binaries/nokia333.JPG
The Nokia 3310 was iconic (and not just because of Snake)
The beauty of the 3310 was you could throw it down a flight of stairs, spill a pint over it or drop it in a pool of mud for a month straight and not only would it still function but it would still have battery life.
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Plus, Snake – the highly-addictive game where players direct a moving line (the snake) towards a dot (its food) – was obviously the most amazing phone game of all time.
2. Playstation Two (and Three)
Technically, Sony’s Playstation One kickstarted the Playstation console series – but it was released in 1994, so it doesn’t count.
image: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276268/binaries/tech2.jpg
The Sony Playstation is still going strong today, with number four only released in 2013
But it’s equally-impressive follow-ups, the Playstation Two (released 2000) and Playstation Three (released 2006) should not be understated.
Any gamer growing up during the noughties will fondly remember these consoles for their realistic (or what seemed realistic at the time) graphics and advanced gameplay.
Not to mention that far too satisfying loading screen.
3. iMac G4
The instantly-recognisable ‘Bondi Blue’ iMac G3, which came out in 1998, was the one which kickstarted Steve Jobs’ iMac range but its successors – the iMac G4, released in 2002, and the G5, released in 2004 – were the devices that cemented the iMac in computer tech folklore.
The G4 replaced the distinct egg-shape of the G3 while the G5 was the slimmest iMac to date.
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Neither bear much resemblance to their modern-day equivalent, however.
4. Walkman
What started life in 1979 as a basic cassette player with headphones had, by the early 2000s, become a portable device capable of playing and storing thousands of digital songs.
image: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276268/binaries/tech3.jpg
A still taken from a 1970s Walkman advert
The Sony Walkman is definitely up there with the Nokia 3310 when it comes to pioneering bits of kit. What the 3310 did for the mobile phone industry, the Walkman did to the music industry.
It changed the very way people buy and listen to their music, as tapes made way for CDs and CDs were eventually replaced with MP3s.
image: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276268/binaries/tech4.jpg
This is what the Walkman looked like at its most recent release, in 2009
Incredibly, despite the rise of the Apple iPod, Sony were still releasing Walkmans until as recently as 2009.
Did you have a Walkman growing up? Tell us which model and your memories of it in the comments below.
5. VHS
Video? No, no one misses video.
6. DVD
It feels almost wrong putting DVDs on this list, given they’re still a common feature among televisions sets in most front rooms, but even the mighty DVD – which replaced videos – is dwindling in popularity.
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That’s largely thanks to online streaming services such as Netflix, Now TV and the controversial Kodi boxes, which require users to pay a one-off subscription fee for access to the latest films and television programmes.
7. School projectors
No, not the modern-day projectors that are fixed into the ceiling but the early noughties version teachers used to have to wheel across the classroom and use transparent sheets to project information onto a white board.
Look at the size of that thing…
The modern-day projector
Ah, those were the days.
8. Floppy disks
Floppy disks were essentially the old-school version of USB sticks.
They weren’t actually floppy, confusingly, but were used to store data. They could be inserted into computers up until the late 2000s, when the disk space was replaced with a USB port.
Floppy disks weren’t actually floppy, but they used to be when they were originally invented
Interestingly, the original floppy disks – which were invented in the late 1960s – were eight inches wide and made from vinyl, so were often flimsy and ‘floppy’ – hence the name.
9. The iPod
Possibly one of the defining inventions of the noughties, the Apple iPod all but killed the Walkman upon its release in October 2001.
Apple went on to release six generations of the popular personal music device, with the most recent adaptations being released in July 2015.
[Source:-Bristol post]
