Blast from the Past: HMD Revives 'Banana Phone' with The New Nokia 8110 4G

Besides unveiling a whole host of modern Android devices, HMD Global saved some excitement for the tech nostalgia brigade as well. The company announced a new version of the iconic Nokia 8110 4G, completed with 4G connectivity and specialized apps, at MWC 2018.

You lot may remember the Nokia 8110 as the phone seen in The Matrix, and used by Keanu Reeves' Neo. The distinctive curved shape, the snap of its cover and the classic look made it an instant striking in the marketplace. Last year, HMD remade the classic Nokia 3310, so naturally this time information technology had to bring out a new version of one of its other iconic phones.

The Nokia 8110 volition come in either black or yellow, which is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the banana telephone moniker the original had picked upward. The 8110 volition run an operating system known as Kai Bone, with Google and Facebook working on apps for the feature phone. The price of the 4G device is expected to exist around $100, which is a steep price to pay for nostalgia.

"Nokia had these very iconic design legends and dissimilar people remember the 8110 for different reasons — merely, certainly information technology'due south a lot most that emotional factor. But, really it is also in Western markets, it'south more equally a lifestyle secondary phone and bringing it with 4G and Wi-Fi and some key apps people apply everyday, information technology tin now be a true secondary device. But in some of the emerging markets, it is still a primary device," Florian Seiche, CEO of HMD Global, told CNBC.

The 8110 4G has back up for VoLTE calls and for Wi-Fi hotspots, plus information technology features an aplenty 1,500mAh bombardment that is rated to terminal over ix hours for VoLTE calls, and for 48 hours of music playback. HMD will be launching unmarried and dual-SIM variants of this phone.