Nokia 8110 'Matrix' slider phone is back: This time it's reloaded with 4G

The Nokia 8110 curved slider phone makes a return in bright 'banana yellow'.

HMD is offering the Nokia 8110 in banana yellow and, for those want a more Matrix-like phone, black.

HMD Global, the company with a license to make Nokia phones, has once again gone retro to capture some attention at Mobile World Congress.

Following last year's relaunch of the 3310 candy bar, its 2018 blast from the past is the curved Nokia 8110 slider phone. The phone was launched in 1996 and later made famous by Keanu Reeves' character in the 1999 action flick The Matrix.

Fans of the slider design will be happy to know that you can answer a call by flicking open the device and end a call by sliding it shut. The original GSM Nokia 8110 was marketed as capable of storing 324 contacts and was the first Nokia phone with a monochrome graphics display.

The updated Nokia 8110 is, of course, a 4G phone and comes with a range of apps including Snake, Google Assistant, Google Maps, Google Search, Facebook, and Twitter. Apps run on a smart feature OS based on KaiOS, which apparently contains elements of Mozilla's abandoned Firefox OS.

The 4G Nokia 8110 has a 2.4-inch QVGA curved display, a 1.1GHz Qualcomm 205 processor, 512MB RAM, and 4GB storage. Unlike the updated 3310, there is no MicroSD slot. It also has a two-megapixel camera with LED flash and a removable 1,500mAh battery.

HMD says the phone offers around seven hours' talk time and standby time of up to 25 days. Extra features include an FM radio.

In a nod to the 'banana phone' nickname it earned courtesy of the curved design, HMD is offering the Nokia 8110 in banana yellow and, for those who want a more Matrix-like phone, black.

The phone is expected to retail for €79, or about $100, excluding taxes and subsidies, and will be available from May.

HMD Global debuted the Nokia 8110 alongside four new smartphones, including the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 6 and Nokia 1. They're all part of Google's 'pure and secure' Android One program.

The Nokia 1 is also one of the first Android Oreo Go Edition smartphones. Android Go is optimized for devices with less than 1GB of RAM and comes with a range of Go apps to assist users in areas with patchy connectivity. The Nokia 1 will cost $85 when it goes on sale in April and is available in red or dark blue.

HMD's new flagship, the Nokia 8 Sirocco runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and comes with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 5.5-inch QHD plastic OLED display. It also offers wireless charging and will cost €749 (about $920) when it goes on sale in early April.

According to HMD, the company sold an impressive 70 million Nokia-branded phones last year.

SOURCE BY ZDNet