HMD Global Not Launching Nokia 3310 3G in India

HMD Global has announced that the Nokia 3310 3G variant, launched back in September, will not be hitting the shelves in India.

According to a NokiaPowerUser report, the company is thinking of manufacturing a 4G-enabled Nokia feature phone in light of the success and popularity of the JioPhone.

However, it is now confirmed that the iconic Nokia 3310 that has been redesigned to sooth the eyes of the current generation of smartphone users is not coming to India and is going to target consumers in Australia and the United States.

Yes, the Nokia 3310 3G will be available in both Australia and USA.

— Nokia Mobile (@nokiamobile) September 28, 2017

In any case, a 3G variant of a feature phone does not make a lot of sense in the Indian market, which is primarily dominated by 2G and 4G models. On this note, HMD Global’s move to make a 4G variant of the same model sounds more logical.

Ajay Mehta, Vice President of HMD Global, says that the brand is considering to enter the 4G-enabled feature phone market. In an interview with Economic Times, Mehta said, “JioPhone is definitely going to have an impact on the segment, and there is no question about it. We are watching how this materializes. If we see a viable business proposition, we will definitely consider it and participate.”

JioPhone to Face Tough Competition

There was a time when we all had at least one Nokia feature phone in our place. Be it the 3310 model or other models from Nokia, all of us have spent countless hours on the phones playing games, listening to music, chatting via SMS (Yup! Ol’ times) or making a voice call to friends and family. Nokia was then a household name.

With its plan to relaunch its trusted feature phones in the Indian market, Nokia is poised to give JioPhone a run for their money. Apart from Nokia, Micromax is also developing its budget line-up with Bharat mobiles packing 4G VoLTE connectivity.

Telcos like BSNL, Airtel, Idea, and Vodafone have tied up with popular budget phone manufacturers like Lava, Intex, and Micromax to boost the development of 4G-enabled ultra-budget phones for the Indian middle-class consumer.

Last updated on 8 Feb, 2018