Last year, the Nokia 3310 came back from the dead. And it was a fun time, with Nokia Mobile dominating a lot of the mainstream media coverage of last year’s Mobile World Congress; even if it was a little bit of a distraction from the serious business of Nokia’s new generation of Android handsets.

But Nokia clearly doesn’t want to turn down any more of the retro buzz so now it’s the turn of an old favourite, the Nokia 8110, to return from the back of your Uncle Ken’s drawer; the second in Nokia Mobile’s “originals” family.

The Nokia 8110 was always a “banana phone”; so much so that Nokia has decided to release it in Banana Yellow (as well as the traditional black). Ha.

But how does the new 8110 compare to last year’s 3310? Let’s find out.

Nokia 8110 vs 3310: Design and build

  • Lightweight handsets have smoother designs
  • 8110 features the traditional slider

Last year’s 3310 was nearly half the weight and thickness of the original model, but slightly taller and wider (115.6 x 51 x 12.8mm, 80g). The 8110 takes the concept further with a slider – we don’t have final measurements for the newer device.

The Nokia 3310 is plastic, but it's glossy in red or yellow, or matte in blue or grey – as we mentioned, it’s yellow and black for the 8110. These new retro Nokia phones dispense with the old squared corners to make them more comfortable to hold.

The Nokia 3310 has a removable back cover, so you can change it, or to access the battery. The button layouts of both these phones are basic but entirely changed from what they were like on the original versions of these handsets.

Nokia 8110 image 1
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Nokia 8110 vs 3310: Software

  • Now with added email and contacts on the 8110

Both of these phones feature Nokia’s Smart Feature OS – while the 3310 used Mediatek chips, the 8110 runs on top of Qualcomm’s 205.

Both of these handsets are more like early feature phones. There’s a basic browser, while you can sync your contacts across – and even your emails from Gmail or Outlook/Microsoft Exchange.

You can also play Snake as well. And the 8110 increases the appeal as it will have its own app store including Facebook. It supports over-the-air updates, too.

Nokia 8110 vs 3310: Display

  • 2.4-inch, 240 x 320 pixels, 167ppi, colour LCD 

Both of these phones has a QVGA colour 2.4-inch display. On the 3110 it stretching over the top half of the phone but on the 8110 it sits within a large and black surround.

The displays have a polarising layer to aid sunlight visibility. 

Nokia 8110 image 2
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Nokia 8110 vs 3310: Connectivity

  • 3G/GSM, Micro-USB, Bluetooth, 3.5mm jack, microSD, FM radio 
  • 3110 has a 3G variant, 8110 takes this to 4G and it has 802.11n Wi-Fi, too

Both of these handsets feature connectivity that’s significantly more advanced than their ancient namesakes.

For one thing there’s Bluetooth to connect to a headset or your car, MicroUSB for charging, microSD for expandable storage plus a 3.5mm headphone socket to listen to music (there’s a basic music player) or the FM radio. 

As well as the original 2G variant of the Nokia 3110, there was a later 3G version released in the Autumn. Now, the 8110 ups the ante to 4G. You can even use it as a 4G hotspot should you wish and it also supports VoLTE.

While the 3310 featured a mere 64MB of on board storage (remember there’s that microSD), the 8110 ups this to 4GB. The 3110 also didn’t have Wi-Fi, something the 8110 rectifies.

Both phones take a microSIM card. Dual-SIM slot versions of the 3110 and 8110 are also available in some territories.

Nokia 8110 vs 3310: Camera

  • Both are 2-megapixel with LED flash 

In 2017, most phones are judged by their cameras but both of these handsets aren’t that worried about that. Both have a 2 megapixel camera with flash, but it’s essentially only good enough for snapping things you just need to keep a record of rather than for decent photos.

Nokia 8110 vs 3310: Battery

  • At least 25 days of battery life on each!

The 3310 has a 1200mAh removable battery, 31 days standby time, 22 hours talk time.
The 8110 promises around 25 days of standby time and somewhere around 10 hours of calls on 4G.

With both these phones, the battery does almost last forever. With 31 days of standby on the 3110 and 25 hours on the 8110, you'll be hard pushed to drain these batteries. This is a phone you can probably go away with for a week and not need to worry about the charger. Crazy! The 3110 is a 1,200mAh battery and the 8110 is a 1,500mAh.

Nokia 8110 vs 3310: Price

  • £49 for the basic 3310, slightly more for 3G.
  • The 8110 will be €79 when it launches in May 2018.

The basic price for the 2G 3310 is only £49, and we’ve seen the 3G version available for around £55. That's almost disposable, it's probably less that you'll spend on a night out, but it's still a lot more than you'd pay for the Nokia 105. UK pricing for the 8110 is yet to be confirmed, but it will be €79 Euros when it launches across Europe in May.

Check out all out all the other stuff from Mobile World Congress 2018