The 379 yuan Nokia retro god machine 3210 is sold out, who is buying?

Chief Business Review

2024-05-15 20:40Posted on the official account of Shanghai Chief Business Review

In 2024, an era of fierce competition in smartphones, Nokia has unexpectedly become the focus of hot sales.

On May 8, Nokia announced when it released a new product: "Nokia 3210 is newly upgraded, and it still smells like that." Classic reproduction, intelligent upgrade. "In today's mobile phone market, it is difficult to sell many new smartphones, let alone old models.

However, the truth was unexpected. On the day of the release, Nokia's official Weibo announced that the first batch of Nokia 3210 4G had all been sold out.

Launched in 1999, this model took the world by storm, and with its unique design and outstanding quality, it sold an astonishing 160 million units, ranking second in history. The "Snake" game is the natal game of many people's childhood, and the old stalk "Nokia smashes walnuts" is about this model.

Nokia mobile phones were all the rage, but in the face of the changes in the smartphone era, they fell behind in the torrent of the times.

What is Nokia's intention for the launch of the classic 3210? What is the psychology behind the young people's crazy rush to the replica Nokia 3210?

What's changed in the new Nokia 3210 4G? 

In terms of price, Nokia 3210 4G is still at the price of 100 yuan, and the official price is 379 yuan.

So, what has changed about the new Nokia 3210 4G compared to its original predecessor in 1999?

In terms of appearance, the new Nokia 3210 4G inherits the essence of the original shape, but the body is thinner and lighter, the width is slightly increased, and it is available in three stylish colors: black, blue, and gold. The blessing of the metallic coating makes this mobile phone more textured and popular among young people. In addition, the classic snake game is kept on the phone.

In terms of screen, the new Nokia 3210 4G uses a 2.4-inch IPS large screen with a more delicate color display. At the same time, it is also equipped with a 2 million pixel rear camera and flash, and the photo effect is similar to CCD, which meets the basic needs of users.

In terms of performance, the new Nokia 3210 4G supports 4G networks of China Mobile, Unicom, China Telecom, Radio and Television, as well as VoLTE HD voice calls, and it also has dual NanoSIM small card slots, which support dual SIM dual 4G function. Inside, 128MB of storage is available, which can be expanded up to 32GB via a micro SD card.

In addition, the built-in 1450mAh battery ensures long-lasting battery life, while the modern Type-C port makes charging and data transfer more convenient.

In terms of software, the Nokia 3210 4G has also been upgraded. It has built-in apps like Himalaya and Migu Music, and supports mobile payment features such as Alipay. Users of the overseas version can also use apps such as news, weather, and even YouTube Shorts.

However, it's worth noting that the phone doesn't support WeChat, and you need to log in with your smartphone to pay by scanning the QR code.

Nokia clearly recognized the shortcomings of this phone in terms of configuration, so it positioned it as the first choice for the "spare phone group" and "student group" on the detail page.

Despite this, the enthusiasm of young people for this Nokia 3210 4G is still high. When searching on major platforms, the author found that Nokia 3210 4G is currently out of stock on the whole network. Nokia's Tmall flagship store shows that the model of mobile phone is out of stock, while Nokia's mobile phone Jingdong's self-operated flagship store, Douyin, Kuaishou live broadcast room, etc. have opened reservation channels.

According to Nokia's official Weibo release, the next batch of Nokia 3210 4G will be available for purchase at 8 p.m. on May 31.

Nokia doesn't sell mobile phones and sells patents?

Nokia single-handedly created the legend of an era. Since 1996, Nokia has occupied the top spot in mobile phone sales for 15 consecutive years, and the star Nokia 1100 has sold 250 million units, a record that has not been broken to this day.

At its craziest, Nokia had a 72.8% share of the global mobile phone market. In 2000, with sales of 128 million feature phones, net sales of 19.772 billion euros and operating profit of 3.908 billion euros were achieved. In those years, the overall image of Nokia in the minds of users around the world was that the operating system was friendly, the ringtones were unique, and the hardware was rugged.

The market is unpredictable. Just as Nokia was in full swing, Apple launched the revolutionary iPhone in 2007, and Google launched the Android operating system the following year, which revolutionized the mobile phone market landscape. However, Nokia failed to respond to market changes in a timely manner and stuck to its own Symbian operating system, and eventually fell behind in the smartphone era, with its market share plummeting from 70% to less than 4%, and its market value shrinking by more than 90%.

Nokia's mobile phone business was eventually acquired by Microsoft for $7.3 billion, and CEO Yoma O'Lella lamented: "We didn't do anything wrong, but for some reason, we lost." ”

However, Nokia didn't really lose everything. After abandoning the mobile phone business, Nokia turned to the communications business, becoming the world's second-largest communications equipment manufacturer through a series of acquisitions such as Nokia Siemens Networks, Motorola's wireless network business and Alcatel-Lucent, and returned to the world's top 500 companies in 2017 with annual revenues of 185 billion euros.

In addition, Nokia has also obtained high profits through patent licensing, and its mobile communication technology patents exceed 30,000, covering from 2G to 5G, and it is difficult for global mobile phone manufacturers to circumvent its patent "wall". Patent licensing is Nokia's most profitable business, and the gross profit margin has been maintained at more than 90% for many years.

For example, mobile phones with cameras are also Nokia's patents, whether you are Apple, Samsung, Huawei, OPPO, VIVO, you have to pay money; Another example is the App Store, which is also a patent of Nokia.

Over the years, Nokia has sued and won many global mobile phone manufacturers. In 2011, Apple paid Nokia 420 million euros in compensation and 100 million euros a year in royalties, and in 2014, Samsung lost the lawsuit and had to pay Nokia more than 200 million euros a year.

People think that Nokia is out of the past, but in fact the company is still active and doing well. In 2022, against the backdrop of a general cold winter for global technology giants, Nokia grew against the trend, with revenue and net profit reaching 24.911 billion euros and 4.259 billion euros respectively, a year-on-year increase of 12.2% and 161.86%, and net profit hitting a new high in nearly 10 years.

Last year, Nokia replaced its nearly 60-year-old logo. Current CEO Pekka Lundmark said: "The old logo was associated with smartphones, and now Nokia is a business technology company. "After all, being able to make money lying on technology is not a success?

Young people are crazy to rob Nokia for mobile phone withdrawal?

As soon as this Nokia 3210 4G was launched, it immediately evoked the memories of a large number of netizens. Many people have lamented that this is not just a mobile phone, but also a symbol of their youth. "It's not a mobile phone, it's youth." "The first phone my father bought me was a Nokia 3210." "I dreamed back to 1999, when I had just graduated from high school." ……

In addition to feelings, there are other reasons for young people to choose Nokia. For example, the mobile phone does not freeze and does not heat, the quality is strong and fall-resistant, and the quality is "invincible", and its photo function has a retro texture, which is known as the "affordable version of CCD".

In some people's minds, although the appearance and interior of a classic Nokia are not up to date, it feels good to use, at least it is stable and steady, and it also carries a memory.

Of course, there is another important reason why young people choose Nokia - to quit mobile phones. In the age of information explosion, social media apps are everywhere and people can hardly get a moment of peace. Many young people use the 3210 4G as a spare mobile phone to recall the era when there was no WeChat and DingTalk, and life and work were not fully bound.

Not only that, but in the United States, there is also a boom in "mentally retarded mobile phones" among young people. These phones aren't as feature-rich as smartphones, but they give users a space to escape the all-around bombardment of social media, creating a private haven for them to be undisturbed.

In recent years, Nokia's feature phone sales have surged in the global market. In June 2022, Nokia officially announced that the global sales of its feature phone 105 series have exceeded 200 million units. In 2016, more than 10,000 units were sold per month.

Young people understand that it is impossible to avoid social interaction altogether, but it is necessary to seek short periods of tranquility and rest. So they use Nokia phones as a backup tool to balance life and work, and find that temporary peace.

In fact, the Nokia we are discussing today is no longer the Nokia of the past. Since selling its Devices & Services business to Microsoft in 2014, Nokia has pulled out of the smartphone market. In 2016, the Nokia brand was licensed to HMD Global.

At present, HMD Global is not only actively shaping its own brand image and launching HMD-branded smartphones, but also committed to reviving Nokia's mobile phone business, focusing on the development and promotion of feature phones.

The 3210 is not the only retro phone that HMD has launched for Nokia. In fact, HMD Global has launched the "Revival Family" series, including the Nokia 8210 4G that returns to 1999, and the Nokia 5710 phone that dates back to 2007.

Nokia 5710 XpressAudio

However, these replicas of feature phones are aimed at a specific niche market, and it will be difficult to make a comeback with retro models alone.

But whether you are young or middle-aged, buying a retro mobile phone can be regarded as reminiscing about your past.

So, would you consider buying a retro model?

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Personal opinion, for reference only